Spicy West Indian Beef Curry

West Indian Spicy Beef Curry
From LCBO’s Food & Drink, Autumn 2006 issue

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30-40 minutes


Serves 4

Ingredients:
Curry Mixture:
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 ½ tsp anise or fennel seeds
½ tsp black mustard seeds
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp Jamaican allspice (not sure what mine is)
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Meat & Vegetables:
2 lb/1kg beef sirloin or tenderloin cut into 2” cubes
Salt to taste
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, (1 cup) chopped
½ red pepper, diced
½ yellow pepper, diced
1-2 hot peppers, chopped, seeded (optional- add as much or little as you like)
½ small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1” chunks
1 cup tomatoes, chopped (fresh or canned)
2 cups beef or chicken stock
2 tbsp lime juice
¼ cup fresh coriander/cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Place the coriander, anise or fennel, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and allspice in a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir and shake until fragrant (? Minutes).

2. Remove from heat and grind in a spice grinder. Stir in turmeric and cinnamon.

3. Dredge the meat with 1 tbsp curry mixture, reserving the rest. Season with salt.

4. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the meat in batches to sear on all sides until well browned on the outside but very rare on the inside. Do not crowd or the meat will simply “stew”. (about 4 minutes per batch). Remove each batch when done and reserve.

5. Add a little more oil to the skillet if needed. Reduce heat to medium and add the onion, peppers (if you like your curry spicy, add some hot peppers to the mix) and sweet potato with 1 tbsp curry powder. Sauté until the onions are soft. Add the tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes uncovered until the sauce thickens and the sweet potato chunks are soft. Stir in the lime juice.

6. 10 minutes before serving (you can be preparing the couscous – a great base), add the meat to the curry sauce and simmer until the meat is hot and a little more cooked (about 10 minutes).

Sprinkle with fresh cilantro/coriander and serve with lime wedges. It’s great over rice or couscous.


Related links: Food and Drink recipes meat curry