We don't buy beef that frequently here. But when we do buy it, I almost always make this Kerala Style Roast or Cutlets. After all, beef roast with red boiled rice is comfort food for us.
My sister and I used to tinker with whatever recipes available to us that promised to replicate my Mom's cooking back when we were both going to college from home. Once in a while, we would more or less nail it. This beef roast (which can also be made into a curry - you just have to stop cooking earlier instead of slow roasting the meat.), was incidentally, one of the first recipes that passed my sister and mine's rather exacting scrutiny (of our own cooking).
This recipe uses the Homemade Meat Masala Powder that I had posted a few days ago. The original recipe is my Aunt GA's and although there was no real reason to alter her recipe, I did play around with the ingredients a bit over the years and this here is the final version.
Ingredients:
The Meat:
- Beef, cubed - 1/2 kg
- Shallots, sliced - 3/4 cup
- Garlic, crushed - 2 tbsp.
- Ginger, grated - 2 tbsp.
- Tomato, diced - A generous 1/4 cup (Optional. Not in my Aunt's original recipe. But I like to add it.)
- Coriander Powder - 1 and a 1/2 tbsp.
- Home Made Masala Powder - 1 generous tbsp. (You can see the recipe here. With the ingredients specified there, you will get a good quantity of the masala powder. If you cut the quantities by fourth or even fifth, you will get enough to make this recipe plus a little left over.)
- Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder - 3/4 tbsp.
- Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp.
- Vinegar - A scant 1/2 tbsp. (Reduce/omit if the tomatoes are sour.)
- Curry Leaves - 1 stalk
- Water - About 1/4 cup or just enough to pressure cook.
- Salt
- Onions, thinly sliced - 1 cup
- Coriander Powder - 1/2 tbsp.
- Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tbsp.
- Meat Masala Powder - 1/2 tbsp.
- Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp. (Optional)
- Curry Leaf - 1 stalk
- Coconut Slices - 1/3 to 1/2 cup. (Optional)
- Coconut Oil (Use a neutral tasting oil if you do not have coconut oil.)
Directions:
Marinate the beef with all the ingredients mentioned under 'The Marinade' except water. Keep for half to one hour at room temperature.
Add water to the mix and pressure cook the marinated beef till done. (You can cook in a tightly covered pot too. But it will take longer to cook the meat.)
Heat some oil in a wok and splutter mustard seeds. Sauté onions till they get browned and then add the powdered spices (if you are adding them). Stir around for a few seconds.
Add the curry leaves and then tumble the cooked beef into the pan.
Simmer the gravy without lid till it coats the beef pieces well. Check for seasonings in between.
The gravy gets more and more dried up as you reheat the beef. You can of course, do it in one go - just that it will take a touch more effort.
Make sure that you don't make the roast too dry or else the meat will become too tough and chewy.
Serve with rice and vegetables.
Notes:
- As was mentioned in the introduction, you can make a curry with the same set of ingredients and procedure. Proceed till you add the cooked beef to the sauteed ingredients and then bring the whole mix to a boil. Simmer for about ten minutes, adding more water if required.
- You can dispense with the sliced coconut if you are making a curry.
- You can use normal, spicier red chilli powder instead of Kashmiri red chilli powder. (In a much lesser quantity.). The former version would be a more traditional ingredient - however, we are a bit intolerant to it and so never stock it. Alternately, you can use a mix of the two. (Adjust to suit your spice tolerance level.)
- You might find it helpful to go through the comment section on getting the meat browned.