Aloo gosht

That is beef & potato curry for everyone else! One of my favourite curries especially when Mom makes it, mmmmmm!

Preparation: 20 minutes                                Cooking: 45 - 60 minutes
Serves 6

Ingredients

1 kg rump steak

3 large potatoes, peeled & chopped into 2 inch cubes

2 medium onions thinly sliced

2 tablespoon olive oil

¼ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon paprika powder

2 ½ teaspoon coriander powder

1 ½ teaspoon garam masala

1 ½ tablespoon ginger paste

1 ½ tablespoon garlic paste

3 tablespoon tomato paste

1 large dollop full fat yoghurt

1 cup vegetable or beef stock

3-4 whole green chillies

1 bunch fresh coriander chopped

1 teaspoon salt (to taste)


Method

• Marinate meat in turmeric, paprika, coriander powder, garlic & ginger paste. Cover & place in fridge.
• Par boil the potatoes, drain and shallow fry in one tablespoon hot olive oil. Sear potatoes on all sides till brown. Turn out on paper towel to drain excess oil.
• Put rest of the olive oil in a pan and heat.  Add onions and cook till brown.  Add marinated beef and stir in high heat to sear all sides.
• Add any left over marinade, potatoes & stock. Put chillies in & reduce temperature, cover & simmer for about 20-25 minutes.
• Add tomato paste, yoghurt & salt. Stir well & sprinkle fresh coriander on top.  Cover once more & simmer for another 15-20 minutes till oil comes to the surface of the pan.
• Serve hot with rice or naan bread & a yoghurt condiment.

Notes

• Use braising steak when you intend to cook this curry very slowly.
• Always put salt right at the end or after the meat is cooked - check flavour first and then season to taste.
• If you want a spicier version use chilli powder instead of paprika and add chopped green chilli as part of marinade.
• Onions can be chopped instead of sliced if you want a smoother finish to the curry.
• If you don’t have ginger & garlic paste handy you can get away with using powder however I feel it does not add the freshness you get when you make the paste on the day!
• I usually use stock granules as it does the same job.

Karhi

I have finally found some time to put up a couple of curry sauces (of course nicked from my mother!). This one is quite different to most curry sauces you may have tried.

Preparation: 5 minutes                       

Cooking: 10-15 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup of yogurt

2 ½ heaped tablespoons gram flour

1 medium sized onion finely chopped

½ teaspoon chilli powder - you can put more or less according to taste

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoons cumin powder

4 curry leaves

salt to taste

1 litre water

Bunch of coriander roughly chopped

Method

• In a bowl, mix the gram flour with 2 tablespoons water (add a bit more if needed) until it is a thick paste like consistency. Add yogurt and the rest of the water – mix well. Strain the mixture through a sieve (to remove any lumps) into a medium sized pan.
• Add the onion, chilli, turmeric, cumin & salt to taste. Add more according to taste if needed.
• When you get the first boil let it cook on high heat for few minutes, then cook on low heat for up to 10 minutes, stirring all the time.
• Finally add the curry leaves then let it cook on a low heat until it thickens stirring from time to time. The thickness of the karhi is according to your taste. 
• You can make plain pakoras and add to the karhi or you can eat it without the pakora with rice.
• Add coriander once heat has been turned off so the flavours can infuse.

Note:

Plain pakoras are very easy to make. Just take 2 cups of gram flour, add ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon garam masala and enough water to make a very thick batter. Put tablespoon sized portions in very hot oil until the pakoras become brown and float on top. Drain on kitchen paper then add to the hot karhi. Add garnish on top before serving.