Indian Beef Curry dish is inspired by a type of meat curry ”Keema” of South Asian origins. You would typically use finely minced lamb, but in this dish we use ground beef and green peas for little bursts of color and sweet flavor. Coconut milk adds sweet richness to the sauce. Who needs forks when you’ve got naan, our favorite edible utensil.
To understand this Indian Beef Curry dish we have to learn about curry powder. Curry powder includes coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, and chili peppers. Depending on the recipe, additional ingredients like ginger, garlic, asafoetida, fennel seed, caraway, cinnamon, clove. Also mustard seed, green cardamom, black cardamom, nutmeg, white turmeric, curry leaf, long pepper, and black pepper may also be included.
The Best Spices to Go With Beef Curry
Mace made from lacy, red outer coating that covers the shell around the nutmeg kernel. The coating is removed, it’s dried, and can be found and purchased as whole, golden-orange “blades”. Mace is commonly sold ground. In flavor, mace is very similar to nutmeg, though more subtle and delicate.
Himalayan Pink Salt
Himalayan Pink Salt is the purest form of salt. Harvested by hand from Khewra Salt Mine in the Himalayan Mountains of Pakistan. Its color ranges from off-white to deep pink. The salt’s pink color comes from trace amounts of iron oxide, the salt is predominantly sodium chloride. In the same chemical general range as basic table salt. Rich in minerals contains the 84 natural minerals and elements found in the human body.
The mineral content gives it a bolder flavor should be used as finishing salt. Salt slabs are used for cooking and serving (Himalayan salt retains temperature for hours), and unfinished pieces even appear in shops as lamps.
Marjoram
Marjoram is somewhat cold-sensitive perennial herb or undershrub, with sweet pine and citrus flavors. In Middle Eastern countries, marjoram is synonymous with oregano.
Paprika
Paprika is a great spice for beef curry . This spice made from dried red fruits of the larger and sweeter varieties of the plant Capsicum annuum, called bell pepper or sweet pepper. The most common variety used for making paprika is tomato pepper. Sometimes with the addition of more pungent varieties, called chili peppers, and cayenne pepper.
Wine pairing
Merlot
Body and Tannins: soft tannins
Merlot is a dark blue-colored wine grape variety. Used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color of the grape. Pairs Well With These Foods: wine-infused red sauces, grilled vegetables, black olives, sweet potatoes, curry.
Tips for cooking
SALT STEAK BEFORE COOKING:
- Salt steak for 30 minutes before cooking. This is the best option for those nights when you’re cooking steak on a whim. Salting relatively close to cooking seasons the steak and helps create a dry surface for searing.
- Salt steak for 24 hours: Salting your steak overnight also creates a dry surface for searing, but with the added bonus of a bit more concentrated flavor in the interior tissue.
Indian Beef Curry with Peas & Buttery Naan
This dish is inspired by a type of meat curry—"Keema"— of South Asian origins grass-fed ground beef and green peas for little bursts of sweet flavor. Coconut milk lends a slightly sweet richness to the sauce. You’ve got naan, our favorite edible utensil.
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 1 oz fresh ginger (use half)
- 3⁄4 oz coconut milk powder
- 12 oz grass-fed ground beef
- 1⁄4 oz curry powder
- tomato paste (use 1 Tbsp)
- 2 naan
- 21⁄2 oz peas
- 1⁄4 oz fresh cilantro
- What you need
- kosher salt & ground pepper
- neutral oil (such as vegetable)
- 1⁄2 Tbsp butter
Prep ingredients: Peel and finely chop onion. Finely grate half of the ginger. In a measuring cup, combine coconut milk powder with 2⁄3 cup hot tap water and stir until smooth.
Sauté aromatics & beef: Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pot on medium-high. Add onions and cook, stirring, until golden brown, for 5 minutes. Add ginger and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add ground beef and 1⁄4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook, until lightly browned, 4–6 minutes.
Add curry & tomato paste: Spoon off excess fat. Add all of the curry powder and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of the tomato paste, 1⁄4 teaspoon salt, a few grinds pepper and combined, for 1 minute.
Add coconut milk: Add prepared coconut milk plus an additional 3⁄4 cup water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until slightly thickened and flavors meld, about 15 minutes.
Toast naan: Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Rub both sides of naan with 1⁄2 tablespoon butter total. Add naan to skillet and cook, pressing lightly with a spatula, until browned in spots, 1 minute per side.
Finish curry & serve: Stir peas into curry and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pick cilantro leaves and tender stems from sprigs. Serve curry topped with cilantro. Cut naan into wedges and serve alongside.
Allergens
Egg (1), Wheat (2), Milk (3), Mustard (4), Soy (5), Tree nuts (6). May contain traces of other allergens. Packaged in a facility that packages gluten containing products.