Tuesday 13 April 2010

Beef and pea curry

This was MUCH nicer than it sounds. I remember my friend Mariane making something a bit like this more years ago than I care to remember when we were at university. I only remember the fact that there was mince, there was peas, it was quite dry in consistency and it was really quite hot, so here's my attempt (and it came out very tasty, if I do say so myself).

You need:

500g good minced beef (we got ours from the butcher)
1 small pack of fresh shelled peas, I guess about a cupful?
2 small courgettes
1 good sized white onion
1 good sized green pepper
Good squeeze of garlic paste
Whopping squeeze of tomato puree
healthy shake of lemon juice
A good pinch of salt
Beef OXO cube (this is optional)

and then the spices. I am HOPELESS at measuring, so this is approximately what went in.
1 tbsp tandoori spice
half tsp cumin
1 tbsp black onion seed
half tsp cinnamon
tsp chili powder
half a tsp dried chili flakes, or one chili, chopped finely (this is optional)
really big pinch of cayenne pepper

Start by thoroughly browning the mince off in the pan. If it looks a bit insipid add a beef Oxo cube but if it's good quality don't bother. Add the cinnamon at this point too.

When it's brown, add the chopped onion to soften and then follow it up with the garlic. Give that a couple of minutes and then sling in the courgettes, pepper, tomato paste and all the rest of the spices. Stick the lid on and go and shuffle about for about 10 minutes or so.

At this point if you're having rice, get the rice going. After about 15 minutes or so it'll all be ready but don't forget the peas about 3 or 4 minutes (at most) before you serve, just to barely cook them.

Serve with yogurt, salad, chutney, rice, whatever you fancy :)

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