Beef curry

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Another tasty curry from my early Indian cookery courses.

You can vary the flavours to suit your taste, but this recipe is a good starting point.

Ingredients

• 675 g (1.5 lb) of braising steak, cut into thin strips and bashed with the back of a heavy frying-pan, Jamie Oliver style, to tenderise.
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• ½ teaspoon peppercorns
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2.5 cm (1") peeled ginger, ½ grated, ½ julienned (cut into very thin strips)
• 6 curry leaves
• 5 cm (2") slice of coconut block
• 2 large onions, peeled and slices
• 1 can of tomatoes or equivalent amount of fresh tomatoes
• 1 green chili, chopped finely
• 1 tablespoon malt vinegar
• 2 tablespoons ghee, oil or butter

Mise en place

• Grind all of the whole spices, except for the curry leaves, to a powder in a coffee grinder or pestle and mortar.

Method

1. Add the oil to a heavy frying pan or wok, brown the meat quickly over a high heat, remove and reserve.
2. Fry the onions, garlic and grated ginger until the onons are sort, about 8 minutes.
3. Add the ground spices and fry for a minute more.
4. Stir in the tomatoes, vinegar and julienned ginger and mix well.
5. Cover and cook until the meat is tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. If the meat is still tough, add ½ a cup of boiling water and continue cooking for 20 minutes.
6. Remove the cover, add the coconut block, green chili mix well and cook until the coconut is dissolved.

Serving suggestions

Serve with plain boiled rice

Variations

Add cubed potatoes and a little extra liquid at the start.

If you don't have curry leaves, just use a couple of bay leaves.