Time to immortalize this recipe that seems to have captured many a heart er.. tummy here. The basic recipe is from a friend, the method from my Mom and the addition of coconut is my husband's suggestion. He is the one who painstakingly broke the coconut, shelled it out and cut into nice thin pieces all for the sake of having it included. I used to make this sans the coconut but since it has added exponentially to the taste, will forever remain a part of the recipe. The major trick for this to come out fabulous is the slow frying at the end. The longer you can do this, the better. All measurements for this one are mostly approximate as I forgot to keep up with it...
In The Mix
beef - 2 lbs (diced, washed & drained)
coconut - fresh diced from a half shell
onion - 2 medium sized, sliced
tomato - 2 medium sized, diced
chili powder - 1 to 2 heaped tsp
coriander powder - 5 to 6 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp (2X)
vinegar - 1 tbsp
garam masala - 1 to 1 1/2 tsp (made of equal measures of cloves, cardamom & cinnamon powders)
oil - 1 to 3 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
shallot - 1 sliced thin
curry leaves - as many sprigs as you want:-)
salt to taste
How To Do
Marinate the beef overnight with the vinegar, 1/2 tsp garam masala, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tbsp coriander powder and 1/2 tsp chili powder.
Heat some of the oil and saute onion till brown. Add all the remaining curry powders and roast well. Add tomato, mix well and saute. Add diced beef and fry for 2-3 minutes. Add coconut pieces to this mix and saute for some more time. Add 1 cup of water if the beef does not have a lot of it. Cover and cook in medium heat. 15 to 20 minutes should do.
Heat remaining oil in a thick bottomed pan and break mustards. Add shallots, curry leaves and saute well. Add the prepared beef to this and mix very well. Boil at high heat to remove water if in excess. From now keep it low heat and slow fry till dry. Stir occasionally so it won't stick to the pan. May take as long as 30 -45 minutes for this last step depending on the amount of water you started out the step with. So long as you remember to check back you can actually do other pending stuff like finishing off that book or playing with the kids. The resulting beef fry is one to die for! Enjoy it with Kerala porotta, rice & buttermilk curry, tapioca or just by itself. Any way you consume, it is a winner:-)
