Beef and more beef is a weekend must at most South Indian Christian homes. It is our kinda spicy version of a Sunday roast.
Wash and clean 1 kg beef chunks. Add ½ tbs turmeric powder and a little salt and cook the beef. The meat should come out more tender than how you would cook it for a normal beef curry. Keep this aside.
Pour 4 tbs oil into a thick-bottomed pan, preferably a cast iron one.
Once the oil is hot, fry some coconut slivers (half a coconut) in it. Thinly slice 4 onions and add them to the pan. Sauté the onions till they turn a translucent brown.
Now add 2 tbs ginger-garlic paste and sauté the mixture again for a few minutes. Next, add 5 sprigs of curry leaves and a handful of coriander leaves to the mixture and continue to sauté. Then add 2 ½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder (or Paprika powder) , ½ tsp. turmeric powder, 2 ½ tbsp. beef masala and 1 tbs garam masala. Continue to sauté the mixture. You can also add salt to taste. If you feel the mixture looks dry, add a little more oil. Once the mixture looks well combined and sufficiently sautéed, add the cooked beef along with the stock, to the pan.
Let it all simmer, until the gravy thickens.
Continue cooking until the gravy barely coats the meat. Once this happens, take the pan off the stove. You can now pound the meat with a thick wooden spoon or an meat pounder until the meat is mashed well. Then put the pan back on the stove and gently roast the mixture once more. And the tasty beef is done.
NB: Another way to make this dish would be to add all the spices to the beef before cooking it. You can then add this whole mixture to the pan with the fried coconut pieces and sauté it until the gravy thickens. Then follow the same steps as given above to pound and tenderise the meat.
By Nidhi Roney
Online journalist Nidhi Roney is a loving wife and doting mother of two bubbly, active little boys. Nidhi finds time in between her busy work schedule to cook up lovely treats for her family and friends. She is just as creative with food and fashion, as she is with words. Follow her to grab more recipes for finger-lickin good food: https://www.instagram.com/nidhironey
