Beef or Lamb Curry

My late Mum's most popular dish.

 

Meat Curry (Beef/lamb)

 

Half kilo meat - Cut into bite size pieces.

2 medium red onions chopped very fine

2 or 3 tablespoons red or white vinegar

Salt and sugar to taste.

 

Grind to paste:
9 Kashmiri Chillies – soaked in hot water & deseeded
1/4 tsp cummin seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

5 cloves

4 or 5 small sticks of cinnamon (each about 1" long)

1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste

1/2 teaspoon peppercorns

 

Fry the onions in a good amount of oil.   I use sunflower oil. When the onions have browned, add the ground masala (spice mix) and fry for a minute.  It will give off a wonderful aroma. Add the meat, vinegar, pinch of sugar, salt and enough water to make a gravy.  Mix well and cook till meat is tender. 

 

Garnish with coriander leaves.

For more gravy add 2 tablespoons tomato puree after frying the onion. Be sure to add 2 or 3 extra chillies to the spice mix.

Potatoes and carrots go well with this dish.  If you love potatoes like me, peel and quarter 2 large potatoes and add to the meat when it is half cooked.  Same with the carrots. 

As we all know, meat dishes cooked on low flame taste best.  However beef or lamb tends to be tougher where I live hence it takes about an hour of slow cooking. So if you are using a pressure cooker (like we do in India to save on fuel and time) bring the cooker to full pressure and then cook on low flame for 20 or 25 mns.  Don't add the potatoes or carrots to the cooker as they will get overcooked.

Note: I like to marinate the meat in a little vinegar, salt and turmeric powder.  I keep this in the fridge overnight or at least for 4 hours.  It tastes a lot better.  If you're doing this, then ofcourse the vinegar you add later will be less than mentioned in the list of ingredients.  Taste the cooked gravy before adding more salt.