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Beef with Green Masala

Closely adapted from Ajoy Joshi and Alison Roberts; double the recipe for an entree curry instead of starter.

Course Appetiser, Entree
Cuisine Indian, Southern Indian
Keyword beef, curry
Servings 4

Ingredients

For green masala paste:

  • 1 bunch cilantro, all parts roughly chopped including roots if possible
  • 1 medium white or yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 4 serrano chile peppers, seeded and chopped
  • 2 sweet yellow bell peppers, chopped
  • 1 inch piece fresh ginger, cleaned and chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 inch piece cinnamon stick (I used Ceylon)
  • 2 green cardamom pods
  • 1 t coriander seeds
  • 1/2 t ground turmeric

For the curry:

  • 1 lb beef stew meat (lamb will work also), cubed
  • 1 t coarse sea salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 t freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 t ground turmeric
  • 1/4 cup ghee (butter can substitute)
  • 1 large yellow or white onion, chopped
  • 1 lb sliced crimini mushrooms (optional, better if serving as entree)
  • 1/4 cup chicken stock
  • 1 lime
  • full fat yogurt, for serving
  • lime wedges, for serving (I used lemons as it was all I had)

Instructions

For the green masala paste (preferably prepare the meat rub first, see below):

  1. For a standard food processor, place everything except the spices into the processor and blend. Grind the spices in a spice grinder and add to processor to blend completely.

  2. If you have something like a wet dry grinder or a high performance blender, place everything into the blender and blend until smooth.

For the curry:

  1. Whisk together the 1 teaspoon of salt and freshly ground black pepper with the turmeric. Rub all over the beef and let sit while you make the green masala paste.

  2. In a heavy pot such as a Dutch oven, add the ghee and melt over high heat. When it is hot, add the beef cubes and brown on all sides, in batches if you have doubled the recipe for entree portions. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

  3. Lower the heat to medium low and add the chopped onion with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and golden, about 10-15 minutes. Then add the mushrooms with another pinch of salt (if using) and stir until they have released their water and are starting to brown.

  4. Add the chicken stock and deglaze the bottom of the pan, scraping up all of the tasty browned bits. Add the beef cubes back into the pot including any juices.

  5. Bring the curry to a simmer and then partially cover the pot and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the beef is tender, about an hour.

  6. Stir the curry. Add the green masala paste and stir to incorporate. Raise the heat to continue a gentle simmer, only this time uncovered, and stir frequently. Cook, stirring, for 10 minutes.

  7. Taste for salt and add the juice of one lime. Serve with yogurt and additional lime wedges.

  8. As a starter, serve just the beef or with flatbread, but as an entree I liked this over Basmati rice.

Recipe Notes

I was surprised this dish was listed as a starter and automatically doubled it for an entree. It was delicious either way, but would definitely be filling as a starter!