Beef Madras

It's that time of year again when we start to crave warm, hearty Winter cuisine. DH asked for Indian food so I chose a Beef Madras from Madhur Jaffrey's Simple Indian Cookery. Very rarely do I cook Indian food but when I do I always like to make the curries from scratch. Jaffrey recommends you use Pork or Lamb but I don't really eat either so I went with her third choice, Beef, which requires an additional half hour of cooking. The ingredients required aren't your every day spices so make sure you give yourself some time to acquire everything you need, and read through the recipe a couple of times so you know what you're up against. What you will need:

• 1 Tbsp Coriander seeds, whole
• 1 tsp Black Peppercorns
• 1 tsp Fennel seeds, whole
• 10 Fenugreek seeds, whole
• 4 Cloves
• 4 hot dried red chillies (I used red chilli flakes because I couldn't find dried hot chillies)
• 6 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 Onions, finely sliced
• 1 tsp Ginger, finely grated
• 2 tsp Garlic, crushed
• 3-4 hot Green chillies (I used 2 because my chilli threshold isn't great)
• 900g Chuck/Stewing Steak, cut into large cubes
• 2 Tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1.5 tsp Salt
• 400ml can Coconut milk

Ingredients ready for mixing

First step is to roast all of the herbs and spices in a hot saucepan. Stir every now and then to ensure none of them burn or stick to the pan. Roasting should only take a few minutes. You will know when they are done by the strong aromas from the pan. Let them cool slightly and then either grind in a mortar and pestle (like I did) or in an electric grinder. 

Ground roasted spices

 Next heat the oil in a large, saucepan and when hot, add the onions cooking until just tender, or browning at the edges. Add the garlic, ginger an green chillies stirring for 20 seconds. 

Onions cooking

Next add the meat to the pan stirring for about 5 minutes. 

Meat added to saucepan

Finally mix in the tomatoes, roasted spices, salt and coconut milk and bring the sauce to the boil. 

Finally stages 

Reduce the heat, cover and let simmer for approximately 1 to 1.5 hours, or until the meat is tender, storing occasionally to avoid burning. Uncover the saucepan, boil away majority of the liquid and when the sauce has thickened considerably and clings to the meat, the Beef Madras is done. Serve with boiled rice. Serves 4 people.

The Final Product: Beef Madras

For my first attempt at Beef Madras I'm very happy. It tasted great, though there could have been a bit more chilli.  I can't wait to see what DH thinks of it.......