Mum’s meat curry is full of flavour and is one dish that truly reminds me of home. When I first learned to make this curry (- and it tasted like my mother’s) I really felt like I had leveled up in my cooking! Now that I live in a different city to my parents, I make this when I’m missing home and it feels like my mum is with me! 🤤
ingredients.
1kg of meat (beef or lamb)
¾ onion, sliced
1 tsp salt
1½ tsp Sri Lankan curry powder
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp chilli powder
2 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp coriander
1 Tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 small green chilli (or more!), chopped
2 Tbsp tomato paste
4 Tbsp greek yoghurt (optional)
1 star anise, a small stick of cinnamon, 2 cardamom pods and 4 cloves (wrapped in a small piece of cheesecloth)
2-3 curry leaves
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Finishing touches:
¼ onion sliced
¼ tsp garam masala
½ tsp roasted cumin
½ tsp fennel seeds (ground)
Chopped cilantro to garnish
process.
Heat 2 Tbsp of oil and sauté the onion for 3-5 minutes until lightly browned. Turn your fire to the lowest heat, and add: salt, curry powder, turmeric, chilli powder, cumin, coriander and ginger-garlic paste. Turn heat to medium, and mix well for about a minute to toast the spices. Add the chopped green chilli and cook for another minute. Add the meat and tomato paste, then mix well to coat the meat in the curry paste, making sure each piece of meat is coated and sealed with the spices. Brown the meat for about five minutes. Then, add the greek yoghurt.
Turn the heat to medium-low. Add the beef stock, all of the meat should be just submerged - if not, add more beef stock or boiling water until the beef is just covered. Add the mixed spice pouch and curry leaves and stir. Cover and leave to simmer on medium-low heat (stirring gently once or twice) for at least half an hour, until the meat is tender but not falling apart - the timing will depend on the cut of meat used. While the meat is cooking, get your finishing touches ready. Fry the ¼ remaining sliced onion until browned and add the garam masala to it. Set aside about a teaspoon of this to garnish. Once the meat is cooked, if there is still a lot of liquid remaining, cook on medium-high uncovered until the gravy thickens. Once the curry is ready, add the fried onion-garam masala mixture, the roasted cumin, fennel to the pot and mix well and continue cooking for two more minutes. Garnish topped with fresh chopped coriander and the teaspoon of fried onion-garam masala you set aside.
notes.
The beef stock can be substituted with boiling water.
For a drier curry, leave out the greek yoghurt.
For a milder curry, leave out the green chilli.
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