Beef Madras

Beef Madras

A great British favourite – this curry is full of spice with melt in the mouth beef!

Serves 4 small portions, 2 large

Prep time:   20 minutes

Cooking time: 105 minutes

Ingredients

1 cinnamon stick, 2.5cm

10 green cardamom pods

8 cloves

10 black peppercorns

2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp coriander seeds

6 dried Kashmiri chillies, seeds shaken out

2½ tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, sliced

½ tsp turmeric

1 tsp garam masala

1 pinch of salt

500g/17 ½ oz diced beef/stewing steak

2.5 cm fresh root ginger, peeled

7 garlic cloves, peeled

2 tomatoes

4 whole green chillies, pierced

To serve

4 tbsp single cream

1 handful fresh coriander, chopped

Basmati rice or Indian breads

Method

1.  Place the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, peppercorns, cumin and Kashmiri chillies into a spice grinder or pestle & mortar, grind until you have a fine powder.

2.  Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onions and cook on a gentle heat until softened.  Stir in the ground spices with the turmeric, garam masala, salt and a splash of water.  Cook for 1 minute.

3.  Add the beef and fully coat with the spices, cook until browned all over.

4.  In a small food processor blend the ginger, garlic, tomatoes with a splash of water until you have a smooth puree.  Add the mixture and green chillies to the beef, bring to the boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until all the sauce has almost been absorbed into the beef.

5.  Pour in enough water to cover the beef curry, bring to the boil, cover and reduce to a simmer.  Cook until the beef is tender, around 1 ¼ hours.

6.  Uncover and simmer until you have a thick sauce, season to taste.  Serve the curry with a drizzle of cream, a sprinkling of fresh coriander, basmati rice or Indian breads, enjoy!