It’s no surprise that it is freezing in South Africa at the moment. Although our winter is only a third of the whole year, I can’t wish for it to be over quicker. It really is a little selfish! Our winters are actually not too bad. We barely have any snow or ice falls, and it rarely gets to below zero degrees during the day (in Johannesburg). However, we find ourselves cocooned in our little nests, with the electric blankets and warmers on and we layer ourselves with woolens and cottons like it’s the ice age.
What better a dish to cook then, than this wonderful recipe of Beef Curry. Honestly, there is nothing like a hearty and hot curry to keep our bodies nice and warm during a cold winter’s eve.
With delightfully rich flavors, this dish is perfect for a (icy) Sunday Lunch or even a weekday meal. In this recipe I used beef chuck to make my curry with. Only because it has succulent pieces of fat and there is something about chewing meat of the bone…somehow. If you are not keen on beef, replace it with chicken pieces instead. The flavorsome curry sauce is great either way.
I use my own spices to grind in the pestle and mortar for my curry sauce. However if you are not such an expert in choosing your own curry spices, the store bought version is just as great – and saves you extra grinding! By using store bought curry powder you can control the amount of heat your curry contains as there are different versions of curry powder available.
So here is my combination of spices that I believe makes up the best curry powder:
- 4 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 3 tablespoons cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon and I like to add whole cinnamon sticks to my curry as well.
- 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
- A few cardamom pods.
- And don’t forget the chili!
| Prep Time | 15 min |
| Cook Time | 2 hours |
| Servings | people |
- 15 ml olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic chopped fine
- 2 bird eye chili chopped fine
- 4 teaspoons curry spices ground in a pestle and mortar
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon ground
- salt and black pepper to season
- 2 onions peeled and chopped fine
- 15 ml olive oil
- 1 kg beef stewing meat
- 500 ml beef stock
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 whole star anise optional
- 4 large potatoes peeled and chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 3 tablespoons brown onion instant soup
- 3 cups cooked basmati rice to serve
Ingredients
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- Heat a saucepan and dry roast all the spices to release their wonderful aroma.
- Add the olive oil and mix spices to paste.
- Add the onions and saute for a few minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and chili - and more oil to saute if you need.
- Remove the curry and onion paste from pot and heat the next bit of oil to brown the meat. Remove the meat from the pot.
- Return the onion and curry paste to the pot and add the stock. Add the bay leaves and whole star anise (optional).
- Replace the meat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, covered.
- Add the potatoes and carrots. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes until veggies are soft.
- If your curry sauce is still very watery, you can add the brown onion instant soup to thicken it up.
- Serve with basmati rice.
