Kerala Beef Curry

A Kerala beef curry slow-cooked in black pepper, fennel and curry leaves, finished in coconut oil.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 20 min
Cook: 2h
Total: 2 hours 20 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Easy

Ingredients

  • 1kg beef braising steak, cut into 4cm pieces
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp fresh root ginger and garlic paste
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 500ml water
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 2 onions, finely sliced
  • 3 green chillies, slit lengthways
  • 12 fresh curry leaves
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1 1/2 tsp garam masala

Method

  1. Put the beef in a heavy pan with the turmeric, chilli powder, coriander, black pepper, ginger and garlic paste, salt and water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer on a low heat for 1 hour 15 minutes until the beef is almost tender.

  2. Heat the coconut oil in a separate pan over a medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and fennel seeds and cook until the mustard seeds pop.

  3. Add the onions, green chillies and half the curry leaves and cook for 10 minutes until golden. Add the tomato and cook for 4 minutes.

  4. Tip the onion mixture into the beef with the garam masala. Simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes until the beef is tender and the gravy is thick.

  5. Scatter over the remaining curry leaves and serve with parotta, appam or rice.