Harak Mas Curry
Inspired for something with beef and the flavours of Sri Lanka, I made Harak Mas Curry in the tagine tonight.
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Rogan Josh (variant) with Coconut Rice
Tonight I made a variant of Rogan Josh, which is an Indian dish (some might call it a curry), rich in tomatoes and beef.
We haven’t had curries in quite a while, mainly due to the youngest ones inherent dislike of “spicy” foods. I therefore made this particular curry reasonably mild. You can vary the spiciness levels by adding more or different chillies.
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h2. Ingredients.
h3. For the Curry…
* 500g rump (or other beef cut) steak
* 1 potato (this is the variant)
* 1 capsicum (bell pepper)
* 1 large onion (or two small ones)
* 4 cloves of garlic (or a quantity of asafoetida, if you have some, you’ll know how much to use)
* 1 tin of roma tomatoes (or use fresh, you’ll need 5 or 6)
* 2 Tablespoons of tomato paste
* salt
* pepper
* 2 Tablespoons of Ceylon Curry powder
* 1 teaspoon of standard curry powder
* 1 dessertspoon (half a Tablespoon) of Tamarind paste
* 1 small bunch of coriander leaves
h3. For the Rice…
* 1.5 cups of long grain rice
* 1 can (400ml) of coconut cream
* 3 quarters of a cup of water
* half a teaspoon of salt
* 5 saffron strands
h2. Method.
Dice the onion and capsicum and fry in a wok with some oil (or ghee). Add the finely chopped garlic and diced potato (1 cm cubes, no bigger).
Stir and fry then reduce the heat and cover with a lid (yes, my wok has a lid).
Dice the rump into 1.5 cm cubes. Add to the wok, increasing the heat a little and stirring until the meat is browned.
Add the curry powders, and stir through.
Now add the tomatoes, tomato paste and tamarind paste. Stir through, breaking up the tomatoes. Reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer. Stir occasionally.
I typically microwave my rice in a casserole dish (covered). To do it that way, put all the ingredients in a deep microwave safe casserole dish and microwave at 50% for 20 mins, stir with a fork, then microwave for 3 mins on high.
You could do the rice in the oven, using the same method. However it will take longer (about 40 mins) and you’ll need an extra half cup of water.
When the rice is done, the curry should also be done. Throw in the coarsely chopped coriander leaves and stir through.
Serve with a little plain yoghurt.
Ghee Rice
Right beside the Ceylon Curry Powder Recipe, I also found my old recipe for Ghee Rice. This is another Sri Lankan dish, and goes extremely well with beefy curries.
Cooks in about 25 mins or so, and takes about 35 to 40 mins to prepare.
h2. Ingredients.
* 2 cups of Bas Mati rice (or you can substitute Long Grain rice)
* 2.5 Tablespoons of Ghee (clarified butter)
* 1 large onion, finely diced.
* 4 cloves of garlic (whole)
* 6 cardamon pods (green & bruised)
* 1 cinnamon stick
* 3.5 cups of beef stock (can use chicken or mutton stock to match your main dish)
* 2.5 teaspoons of salt
h2. Method.
Wash the rice and drain for 30 mins (yes really drain it).
Heat the ghee in a saucepan and sauté the onions until golden brown, then add the spices, garlic and rice.
Fry, stirring constantly for five (5) minutes over a moderate heat.
Add the stock and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat to very low and cover tightly with a lid. Cook for 15 to 20 mins (err towards 20) without lifting the lid (not even once to satiate your curiosity!)
When finished, allow to stand uncovered for five minutes (don’t stir it).
Gently fluff the rice with a metal fork, and serve with a metal slotted spoon to avoid crushing the grains of rice.