Calcutta Beef Curry

A delicious aromatic curry, well worth that little bit of extra time to prepare!
- Ready In:
- 1hr 45mins
- Serves:
- Units:
4
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ingredients
- 1 lb beef, Braising, trimmed and Cubed
- 2 ounces oil or 2 ounces ghee
- 1 medium onion, Sliced
- 1 teaspoon garlic, crushed
- 3 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 1 1⁄2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 4 dried red chilies, large
- 2 inches fresh ginger, grated
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1⁄2 pint beef stock
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces desiccated coconut
- 1⁄4 pint water
- 1 lemon
directions
- Cube meat to 1 1/2 inches. Heat oil in medium saucepan; add the onion and garlic and cook slowly until soft.
- Crush the black pepper, coriander and cumin seeds (pound gently in mortar and pestle so that they just crushed--not powdered). Add to saucepan with the chilies (for a milder taste, remove seeds before crushing), and cook for a minute. Add the grated ginger and turmeric; stir for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the beef, turning quickly to coat with spices. Pour in the beef stock simmer for 15 minutes, and then add the salt.
- Combine coconut with hot water in liquidiser, blend for 1-2 minutes. Pour mixture into saucepan; squeeze in the juice of the lemon.
- Bring back to boil and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Thicken with corn flour if necessary.
- Serve with Basmati rice and accompaniments.
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RECIPE MADE WITH LOVE BY
@JoyfulCook
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@JoyfulCook
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"A delicious aromatic curry, well worth that little bit of extra time to prepare!"
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Love this curry. I was in a hurry today, so took two shortcuts. 1) Rather than lug out the mortar and pestle, I put the coriander and cumin seeds, peppercorns and two dried chillies (broken up slightly and retaining the seeds) into the spare coffee grinder I reserve for spices and pulsed them 12-15 times. That gave a perfect result. 2) I didn't bother 'blending' the coconut and water -- just mixed them together briskly. Suppose my finished result wasn't as creamy as it could have been, but it was delicious anyway. And a few side comments. There was no need to thicken the sauce. It cooked down so much that I had to add a few tablespoons of water. The curry with two chillies is quite mild, even with the seeds, so people who like heat can up the number of chillies. And finally, I assume you are referring to an English pint -- meaning 20 ounces to a pint (or 2 1/2 American cups) -- that's what I used. Thanks for posting a great recipe that we thoroughly enjoyed.Reply
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I made this tonight and thought it was really easy to make. I stuck a finger in it after adding my boxed liquid stock and decided against adding salt as the stock was going to be more than enough once it reduced. I put the coconut and hot water in a jug and turned the stick blender on. Heaps sprayed out all over my kitchen, so I just gave up and tipped it in to the curry-not fine and creamy, but quite a nice texture and a lesson to get the regular blender out next time. I opened a new packet of dried chillies for this and after cooking discovered the two I used were as hot as I'd like my curry to be LOL. All in all, a really good curry that I'll probably make again though.Reply