Beef mappas

Recipe adapted from here

To pressure cook

Beef- 500gms (cut into medium cubes)

Freshly ground coarse pepper- 1/2 tsp

Garam masala- 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Crushed garlic- 1 heaped tsp

Crushed ginger- 1 heaped tsp

Green chilli- 2, slit

Shallots- 12 small, roughly chopped

Vinegar- 1 tsp

Water- 1/2 cup

Salt- to taste

For the curry

Coconut oil- 2 tbsp

Cinnamon- 1 inch stick

Cardamom- 3 pods

Cloves- 3 pods

Onion- 2 big, finely chopped

Crushed ginger- 2 tsp

Crushed garlic- 1 1/2 tsp

Green chilli- 1, slit

Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder- 2 tsp

Freshly ground black pepper- 2 scant tsps

Garam masala- 1 tsp

Meat masala- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Tomato- 2 small, finely chopped

Potato- 1 large peeled and cut into largish cubes

Thin coconut milk- 2 1/4 cups

Fennel seed powder- 1 tsp + enough to sprinkle

Thick coconut milk- 1/2 cup

Salt- to taste

To temper

Coconut oil- 1 tsp

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Shallots- 3 to 4 small ones, roughly chopped

Dried red chilli- 1 large, broken in half

Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Mix together all the ingredients to pressure cook and cook till the beef is done. 

I cook on high heat till the steam comes and only then put the weight. Wait for one whistle, and then i reduce heat to medium low and cook for about 15 minutes. 

Once the time is up, remove from heat and wait for the steam to die on its own and then open the lid.

Heat a large pan over medium heat and add the coconut oil

Throw in the whole spices and once they become fragrant add the onions, crushed ginger, garlic, curry leaves and green chilli. Cook till the raw smell disappears and the onions turn a light golden brown.

Add all the spice powders and give a good mix. Cook this for about a minute or two.

Mix in the chopped tomatoes and cook till they turn mushy. You can cover and cook to speed up this process.

In goes the potato, give a good mix so the masala coats the potatoes.

Pour in the cooked beef along with all the stock and stir it all together.

Pour in the thin coconut milk and cook covered for about 12 to 15 minutes till the potatoes are cooked and the curry comes to a light boil.

Check for salt and add more if required and also don't forget to stir in between.

Once it comes to a boil mix in the fennel seed powder.

Cook without the lid for another 5 or 6 minutes, for the gravy to thicken.

Finally, add the thick coconut milk and heat through. It shouldn't come to a boil after you've added the thick coconut milk.

Sprinkle a little fennel powder on top, close with a lid and remove from heat.

To temper (I do this just before serving, after I've heated up the curry), heat coconut oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds.

Once they splutter, add the dried red chilli, shallots and curry leaves and cook till the shallots turn golden brown.

Pour over the curry and leave covered for a few minutes after which you can stir well and serve with bread of choice.

Its ridiculously tasty with appam, idiapppam and bread.

Notes: When buying beef make sure you buy it was a bit of fat, trust me it makes a world of a difference.

I thought the pepper flavour was a bit over powering, so next time id reduce it to about 1 1/2 tsp in the curry.

Its a really thick, delicious curry which tastes much better the next day. 

Mum's Kerala chicken stew

Serves 4 as part of a main meal

Chicken- 1 baby chicken (around 800gms), cut into medium size pieces, and without skin

Coconut oil- 2 tbsp

Cinnamon- 2 inch stick

Cloves- 3

Cardamom- 3

Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Onions- 2 scant cups, thinly sliced

Garlic- 2 tbsp, finely chopped

Ginger- 1 1/2 tsp, finely chopped

Green chillies- 2, slit (add more if you want it spicy)

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder- 2 tsp

Fennel powder- scant 1 1/2 tsp (freshly ground)

Pepper powder- 1 1/2 tsp (freshly ground)

Tomato- 1 large, thinly sliced (or 1/2 tbsp tomato paste

Potato- 1 medium, peeled and cut into medium size cubes

Thin coconut milk- 2 cups

Thick coconut milk- 1/2 cup

Garam masala- 1/2 tsp

Salt- to taste

For tempering

Ghee- 1 tsp

Shallots- 2, roughly chopped

Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Meat masala- 1/2 tsp (optional, but def makes a difference)

Heat coconut oil in a pan and add the whole spices.

Once they start to sizzle add the curry leaves, onions, garlic, ginger, green chillies and some salt.

Cook on medium heat till the onions turn a light golden colour and the raw smell of the ginger and garlic disappears.

Make sure you cook the onions properly, but not to the golden crispy stage.

Add the turmeric powder and saute for a minute after which you add the coriander, fennel and 1 tsp pepper powder.

Cook till the raw smell disappears and then throw in the tomato.

Cover and cook till done, and the tomatoes are mushy and oil lightly appears around the edges.

Add the chicken and potato and mix well making sure you coat with the masala as much possible.

Pour in the 2 cups of thin coconut milk, enough salt and cover and cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat. Keep stirring in between.

Once the stew starts boiling and the chicken is almost cooked, stir in the thick coconut milk, remaining pepper powder and garam masala, and salt if needed.

Continue to cook  on medium high for another 10 minutes or so without the lid, till the curry becomes thick and oil surfaces on the top. 

Take it off the heat and keep aside.

Do a tempering with the ghee, shallots, curry leaves and meat masala (without burning the masala) and pour on to the stew. 

Cover with lid and keep aside for about 10 minutes before serving.

Notes: If using coconut milk from a can or coconut cream, remove 1/2 cup of thick milk/cream and to the rest add enough water to make it 2 cups. Stir well and then add to the curry. This is the thin coconut milk. The 1/2 cup kept aside is to be used at the end.

The stew tastes much nicer the next day

Make sure the curry gets to the 'vatticha' state and not watery. It should be thick.

Meat pattichu varuthathu

Adapted from Mrs K. M Mathew's book Flavours of the Spice Coast

 Beef- 1 kg*, cut into medium size pieces

To roast and grind

Fennel seeds- 1 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon stick- 2 inch piece

Cloves- 6

Peppercorn- 2 tsp

Kashmiri chilly powder- 2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Coriander powder- 3 1/2 tsp

Ginger garlic paste- 2 tsp

Vinegar- 2 tsp

Salt- to taste

Coconut oil- 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1 tsp

Curry leaves- 2 sprigs

Shallots- 10 to 12, roughly chopped

Ginger- 2 tbsp, sliced

Garlic- 5 cloves, sliced

Dry roast all the ingredients in the roast section for about 3 to 4 minutes on medium heat. Keep stirring continuously or else you will end up burning the spices.

Once slightly cool, grind them finely.

Remove 1 tsp of this powder and to the rest add the ginger garlic paste, vinegar and salt.

Marinate the meat with this mix, and keep aside for an hour or so. 

Transfer the meat to a pressure cooker and cook with about half cup water till done. 

(I close the lid and cook on high till steam comes after which i put on the weight and wait for the first whistle. Once the first whistle is out, i reduce heat to medium and cook for about 15 minutes. For the beef we get here, this method works well).

Open the pressure cooker, and if there is a lot of liquid, evaporate most of it on high heat, leaving about a quarter cup of liquid with the meat.

Heat coconut oil in a large wok and add mustard seeds.

Once they splutter, add curry leaves, shallots, sliced ginger and garlic and cook till slightly brown and the raw smell from the ginger and garlic disappears.

Add the reserved tea spoon of masala powder to the onions and saute for a few minutes.

Finally, tip in the beef along with the gravy and fry on medium heat till dark and semi dry. I dont like my beef too dry, but with some wet masala smothering it.

The masalas will start leaving the sides of the pan, and there will be some oil visible around the pan. At this point, you can add some more fresh curry leaves, give a final mix and take it off the flame.

Serve hot with Kerala porotta or rice and moru kachiyahu.

Notes: The preparation is just moderately spicy, you can increase the pepper and red chilly powder to suit your taste

*The beef i used here is a roasting joint which has a nice layer of fat. Please do yourself a favour and use beef with a bit of fat, for this recipe. Trust me, it makes a difference.

I also added a few beef short ribs just to see what its like. I personally think it didnt make too much of a difference, however if it was a curry i was making, it would have amped up the taste. 

You can do the entire prep in a normal pot, but cooking time is longer and also make sure you add at least 2 to 3 cups of water to the beef while cooking, so it doesnt dry out.

You can try the same with mutton as well, and it tastes great.

Moru kachiyathu (without coconut)

Recipe adapted from here (serves 3 as part of main meal)

 

Yoghurt- 1 cup

Water- around 1/2 cup

Salt- to taste

Coconut oil- 1 tbsp

Curry leaves- a generous sprig

Shallots (cheriya ulli)- 3 to 4, peeled and roughly chopped

Garlic- 4 pods, peeled and finely chopped

Ginger- 1 tsp, finely chopped

Green chilly- 1, roughly chopped or slit in half (add more if you want it spicier)

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

To temper

Coconut oil- 1/2 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

Dried red chilly- 2

Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Fenugreek seeds- a pinch

Fenugreek powder- a pinch

Cumin powder- a generous pinch

Chilly powder- a generous pinch

Mix together the yoghurt, salt and water using a whisk till smooth. You can whizz it in a blender as well.

The yoghurt mix shouldn't be too thick, so add more water to thin it out if you feel its still too thick. Keep aside.

In a deep pan, heat the coconut oil.

Add the curry leaves, shallots, garlic, ginger and green chilly. Saute till the onion becomes a light brown and the garlic and ginger no longer smell raw. About 3 to 5 minutes on medium flame.

Add the turmeric powder and cook till the raw smell from the turmeric disappears.

Reduce heat a bit and pour in the yoghurt mix.

Keep stirring continuously till the yoghurt heats up, but don't by any means let it boil, or the yoghurt will split.

Also, make sure the pan is not really hot or else when you pour in the yoghurt it will split immediately.

Lift the spoon in between and if you can see steam lift off the spoon then the yoghurt has warmed through.

Transfer to a serving bowl immediately.

In a small pan, heat the oil. Keep it on medium heat.

Add the mustard seeds and once they crackle add all the other ingredients one after the other. Keep stirring and making sure the spices don't burn, but at the same time the spices shouldn't be raw.
Pour over the yoghurt, mix well and keep covered for about 5 minutes before serving with rice.

Notes: The yoghurt thickens as its sits, loosen with a wee bit of warm water if it really becomes too thick.
If your moru curry doesn't look yellow enough, you can add a bit of turmeric along with the tempering ingredients.
If you feel there isn't enough salt, you can add it in at the very end as well.
Do not warm the curry in a microwave, instead take it out of the refrigerator an hour or so before serving. Make the rice really hot, so it doesn't feel unpleasant to eat the cool curry.
I do have another similar version here