Beef and Mustard Seed Curry

I'm not that good at making any beef dishes. But the other day i was going through my Low GI Recipe book and saw this recipe for Beef Fajitas. I am a total sucker for Mexican grub and so decided to give this a shot. As usual i changed my mind and instead decided to make this from the '30 Minute Curries' book. It came out quite nice, except it was super spicy, which i enjoyed, but Ro started sweating and coughing. I have however adjusted the spice intake in the recipe. But if you think this is still too spicy for you, reduce it even further.

Beef- 300gms, diced

Coriander pwd- 1 tsp

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

Pepper pwd- 1/4 tsp

Mustard seeds- 1 tbs

Dried red chillies- 3

Yellow split peas- 1 tsp

Garlic paste- 1 tbs

Ginger- 1/4 inch, sliced into very small pieces

Turmeric pwd- 1/4 tsp or even less

Kashmiri chill pwd- 1 tbs (optional)

Curry leaves- a sprig

Beef stock- 1/2 cup

Shallots- 3 medium sized, thinly sliced

Tomatoes- 3, diced into small pieces

Oil- 2 tbs

Pressure cook the beef with coriander pwd, pepper pwd, cumin seeds and half a 1/4 cup water for just one whistle. Open the lid and reserve the beef stock for later use.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat the oil over medium heat, add mustard seeds, chillies and split peas. As soon as the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the shallots, garlic, ginger, curry leaves, Kashmiri chilli pwd and turmeric. Cook for about 5 minutes and then add the tomato, mix well and cook till the oil separates. To this add the diced beef and stock. Bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer and cook till the sauce is reduced and the masala is well caught on to the beef cubes. Serve hot with rice or roti.

The curry tasted even better the next day as the flavours had caught on nicely. Initially it tasted like a pickle, which i think the mustard seeds brought out. But it tasted different and i am definitely trying it again, this time a little less spicier:)

Notes: The pressure cooking method was my idea because it pre cooks the beef to an extent. The recipe called for complete cooking in the stock which would amount to about 30 minutes. This was the easier way out. Also the masala added to the beef while pressure cooking was just to give it a flavour and can be omitted.

I added Kashmiri chill pwd for that red colour

The original recipe was of semi-gravy state but i needed gravy and so didn't keep it on fire for it to completely dry up.