Beef curry (2024)

FAQs

What beef is best for curry? ›

Chuck Steak

Chuck is juicy, flavourful, and versatile with the fatty juices providing a rich, delicious curry. Plus, the chuck steak is easy to cut into small pieces, so it cooks quickly and evenly.

Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, turmeric, ground coriander and cardamom and fry for two mins. Tip in the tomatoes, stock and sugar and bring to the simmer. Add the beef, put a lid on top of the curry and cook over a low heat for 1 ½ – 2 hrs or until the meat is tender and falling apart.

Cook it ling and slow, 4 hours minimum in a low oven, keep testing, when the fibres fall apart it's tender. Don't add ingredients such as carrots at the beginning as they will turn to mush by the end, add then an hour before the end. Marinating the meat in all the spices overnight can help to tenders too.

First off, cooking meat causes it to lose moisture and the tissues shrink, making it tougher. Braising (cooking meat in a liquid) allows the meat to reabsorb moisture and breaks down the tough tissues. This lead to a more tender piece of meat.

The use of beef in Indian cooking is fairly limited. And due to religious reasons there are many regions of India where it is actually illegal to eat beef.

Beef stew meat: Stew meat, often a mix of cuts like chuck and round, provides tenderness and a wonderful ability to absorb flavors, making it an excellent choice for curry. Short ribs: For a luxurious touch, short ribs add both succulence and a deep, meaty essence to your curry.

The actual sweetness and creaminess of such curries meanwhile, usually comes from fried onions and either cashews and/or dairy products. Instead of (or in addition to) onion, ground coconut may be used. White poppy seeds and/or watermelon seeds are also used in some creamy sauces.

Fenugreek (Methi)

This Indian spice is what people say "smells like curry." Of all Indian spices, this spice may be the most essential. You may use up to a few tablespoons in a family size dish near the end of the cooking process, but start with a teaspoon. Fenugreek seeds also have many health benefits.

The easiest way to fix a bland and tasteless curry is by adding spices like red chili powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala, curry leaves and turmeric. Just make a quick tempering and pour over the curry to give it a nice punch of spices and herbs.

Your curry can taste bitter if the spices and garlic are burnt or if you've added too much fenugreek to the dish. You see, the secret to cooking a delicious curry recipe is to create a spicy paste and slowly cook it before adding your meat.

How do Chinese make beef so tender? ›

In Chinese cooking, proteins like beef, pork or chicken are velveted first before stir-frying them. There are several ways to velvet, but at its most basic level, it involves marinating meat with at least one ingredient that will make it alkaline. This is what tenderizes the meat, especially cheaper, tougher cuts.

Chuck beef is ideal to make a curry. It's lean but all the collagen and connective tissue in this cut will make the meat tender when braised for a length of time (which is why I use that cut to make sous vide chuck roast as well).

Best beef for beef stew is chuck beef. Because it's nicely marbled with fat, it's the best beef for braising for hours – it's got terrific flavour, is juicy and beautifully tender. Boneless beef rib also works very well.

SHIN and LEG

Inexpensive cuts with bags of flavour, made up of very lean muscle. The best-known type of braising steak, and what most recipes mean when they call for this. A very tasty cut of beef that can be sliced or diced.

Chuck. Made up of multiple muscles, chuck is a well used area so contains a great deal of connective tissue. Popular for its balance of meat and fat, the chuck offers ribs, roasts and steaks and suits a range of cooking methods. Perfect for curries and stews with great full flavour and a fantastic gelatinous texture.