‘Beef is the soul of cooking.’ – Marie Antoine Careme

It’s been a while since I posted, in fact a couple of months? 2019 was a year of learning and rediscovering myself. So much to be grateful for, at the same time with the lockdown and schools closed, I found I had time on my hands to fine tune and learn more about baking bread. Seems like yesterday. 2020, 2021- came and went. And now we are in 2022. Happy New Year to all. Hopefully, I will try and post more regularly.

Being a Malayalee, I have always preferred beef over mutton. The beef you get in Kerala is no way comparable to what you get anywhere else. When we go home for holidays, at meal times it’s always all of us gunning for the beef . Cooked in so many different ways- be it chops, pepper fry, vindaloo, beef Olathe or just a naaden beef curry, it tastes great always.

This is a recipe I came across a few months back, the secret of this dish lies in the marination. The longer the marination, the more tasty it is. Of course, the basic pre-requisite for any dish is good quality ingredients, from the meat to the spices. I’ve made this with veal and beef, either ways the meat has to be cooked to perfection and the slow frying at the end will ultimately be a testimony of this recipe. Every time I put up a post, I look at the ingredients first, any Indian kitchen should have it all. Cooking should be a stress buster, at least it is to me. With a free spirit and lots of love each dish should be a winner. Happy cooking to all.

Try this recipe out and let me know- it’s awesome!

Ingredients:

• Meat (any kind of meat) -1kg
• Small onions -8-10
• Kashmiri chilli powder- 3 tbsp
• Coriander powder -3 tbsp
• Turmeric powder-1 tsp
• Pepper powder-1 tsp
• Ginger- garlic paste -2 tbsp
• Aniseed -1 tsp
• Cinnamon -2 inch piece
• Cloves -5-6
• Vinegar -1 tbsp
• Onions sliced -3-4
• Curry leaves -a few
• Green chilli slit – 4-5
• Salt to taste

For the seasoning:

• Mustard seeds -1 tsp
• Small onions sliced -1/2 cup
• Coconut oil as required
• Dry red chillies – 3-4
• Minced tomatoes -1/2 cup ( seedless- 1/2 a tomato)

Method:

• Clean and cut the meat into cubes.
• Grind all the ingredients from small onion to cloves to a thick fine paste adding a little water.
• Marinate the meat in the ground masala and vinegar for an hour. Add salt.
• Keep aside.
• In oil, add sliced onions and fry till golden brown, add slit green chillies and curry leaves.
• Add the marinated meat and mix thoroughly. Add salt if required.
• Add a cup of hot water, cover and cook till meat is tender. You can use a pressure cooker. Veal (20 minutes) Beef (35 minutes) Mutton(20 minutes) Pork (30 minutes) – after the first whistle.
• In a little coconut oil, add mustard seeds, broken dry chillies, curry leaves and sliced small onions ( fry till golden brown) and minced tomato.
• Add the cooked meat along with the gravy and mix well.
• On a low fire keep stirring the meat till moist and well coated.
• Taste for salt.
• Serve hot with Kerala parathas or any Indian bread.

Chefs tips:

• Buy good quality meat, be it beef, veal, pork, mutton, duck or chicken.
• Use minimum quantity of water to prepare the paste.
• Marination can be from 1 hour to overnight.
• Use coconut oil for added taste and flavour.
• Slow frying over a low flame will give you the best results ever. Should be moist but not dry.
• This serves 8-10 adults – hopefully!!!

Till my next post,

Cheers

Rose