Meat mains
Beef curry with spiced fried aubergine slices
A boldly spiced, melt-in-the-mouth beef curry, this recipe is well worth the bit of extra time required for marinading. It's reheats happily for a weeknight dinner. Serve with rice and naan bread. You'll need to marinade the beef 24 hours before you want to eat this dish.
Ingredients
for the aubergine
- 1 aubergine, sliced
- oil for frying, e.g. vegetable
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
for the curry
- 500g diced beef
- 5 tbsp plain yoghurt
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- oil for frying, e.g. vegetable
- 1 onion or 3 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or crushed
- small piece root ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 3 cloves
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chilli powder or 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 500ml beef stock
- fresh coriander leaves, chopped, to serve (optional)
- salt and pepper
Method
For the aubergines
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Step 1
mix the spices together in a bowl. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the aubergine slices.
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Step 2
Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle each slice with a little of the spice mixture. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden. Sprinkle with chopped fresh coriander if using.
For the beef curry
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Step 1
24 hours before cooking, mix the yoghurt and curry powder and add the diced beef. Leave in the fridge to marinate.
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Step 2
24 hours later, heat the oil in a large casserole and add the onion. Fry for 4-5 mins. Add the garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, chilli and fry for another min or two.
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Step 3
Add the marinated beef and yoghurt mixture and fry for about 10 mins on a low to medium heat. Add the beef stock, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 hour, or until the meat is tender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with naan bread or rice, the aubergine slices and extra yoghurt to serve.