Nice n Spicy Beef Curry

Nice n Spicy Beef Curry

• 1kg braising steak, cut into cubes
• Sea salt and ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp Garamond masala
• 2 tbsp natural full fat yoghurt
• Couple of glugs of olive oil
• 2 large onions finely chopped
• 2 fat cloves of garlic, minced
• A knob of fresh ginger, grated to make a tbsp
• 2 good squirts of tomato purée
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 X 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 400ml beef stock
• Small handful of coriander, leaves separated, stalks finely chopped
• 5 cardamom pods - bashed lightly so they just split
• A small handful of dried curry leaves
• 4 fresh green finger chillies - cut in half

To make the spice mix

• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp madras curry powder

Method:

Up the beef cubes into a bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle with the farm masala, add the yoghurt and a good glug of olive oil.  Season with a little more salt and a good amount of black pepper.  Give it a good mix so the beef is coated, cover with cling film and leave to marinate for at least an hour.

In a dry frying pan over a high heat, toast the cumin, coriander, fennel and fenugreek seeds, keeping the, moving so they don't burn.  Just a couple of minutes will do - until they start to smell nice.  Now put them into a spice grinder or use a pestle and mortar and grind to a fine powder.  Stir in the turmeric and curry powder, mix well and set aside.

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large cast-iron casserole dish.  Add the onions, garlic, ginger and a little seasoning.  Give it a good stir and then cover and cook for about 10 minutes until the onions are soft, giving it a stir a couple of times.  Add the sugar, spice mix and tomato purée, stir for a minute before adding the tomatoes,,stock, chopped coriander stalks, cardamom pods, curry leaves and chillies.  Throw in the beef, give it a good stir, then cover the pan with a lid.  Place the dish into a pre-heated oven, (160 degrees) and cook for 4 hours, stirring every hour.

This recipe was recommended to me by my friend Joanne and boy am I glad she did!  This curry is packed full of flavour and has just the right amount of kick (obviously add more chillies if you like it really spicy).  I served this with some coriander rice and the usual dips and poppadoms, perfect for a Saturday night with friends, the recipe serves 4 with good sized portions.  

Recipe by Gordon Ramsay