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–+ servings
Amrita de Soyza

Sri Lankan Dry Beef Curry

It was chance that led me to make and serve this dish so I call it Beef Serendip. Most Sri Lankan curries include a rich gravy. This curry is dry, and I find it is preferred over the gravied curries by many of my friends in the US. It comes out coated in a think blanket of spices and the meat is soft and flavorful. Serve with rice and a couple of vegetable dishes like a potato white curry or parippu (lentil curry). Or if you want the meal to be a little special, a Cadju (cashewnut) curry. If you make more than you need, thats good. It tastes even better the day after!
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Sri Lankan
Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients
  

The Spice blend
  • 12 pods Dried red chilies
  • 1/3 cup Coriander seed
  • 2 tsp Fennel seed
  • 1 tsp Cumin seed
  • 2 tsp Fenugreek seed
  • 3 Cloves
  • 2 pods Cardamom Bruised
  • 2 inch stick Ceylon cinnamon Use only Ceylon cinnamon
  • 24 leaves Curry leaves Fresh leaves are preferred. Can use dried leaves
  • 1/2 tsp Black mustard seed
  • 1 pinch Turmeric powder
The Curry Base
  • 1/3 cup Oil (peanut, sunflower, safflower, coconut or canola) Olive oil may burn but can be used with care
  • 1 large Onion Sliced
  • 2 fruit Roma tomato Chopped large
  • 4 inches Pandanus leaf Fresh is better, dried is ok. Cut into 1-inch segments
  • 24 leaves Curry leaf Fresh leaves are preferred. Can use dried leaves
  • 8 - 10 cloves Garlic Finely chopped
  • 1 tsp Ginger Grated
  • 1 tsp Salt Adjust to taste
The Meat
  • 1 kg Stewing Beef Remove excess fat & sinew, chop into 1-inch cubes

Equipment

  • Spice grinder
  • Heavy bottomed pot with lid
  • Cutting board and a sharp knife
  • Frying pan

Method
 

Make the Spice Blend
  1. In a frying pan, dry roast all Spice Blend spices except the powdered turmeric over a medium to medium high heat, stirring frequently, until the spices begin to smoke lightly and darken. Remove from heat and allow to cool
  2. Place the cooled dry roasted spices in a grinder and grind (pulse) into a fine powder. Add the turmeric powder and grind briefly to mix in.
Prepare the Beef
  1. Coat the beef in half the spice blend, cover and set aside for 10 - 15 minutes
  2. Heat the oil in a pot and brown the spice-coated beef on high to medium high heat
Cook the Curry
  1. Add the onion, tomato, pandanus leaf, curry leaves, garlic and ginger to the meat, stir lightly, and cover the pan.
  2. Let the beef cook for 1 hour, stir quickly a couple of times (do not leave the lid off for long)
  3. Reduce the heat to low and cook for another 30 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated - but do not let the meat burn.
  4. Turn the heat off and leave covered for about 15 minutes.
  5. Transfer to a serving disn making sure to capture all the juices from the pot. Enjoy!
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