Nadan Beef Curry

Nadan Beef Curry is Kerala comfort food doing what it does best: beef, coconut milk, curry leaves and spices slowly getting acquainted in a pot. Unlike the darker, drier beef roasts, this one stays gloriously gravy-forward, with potatoes soaking up all that beefy, coconutty goodness along the way. A final tempering of shallots, mustard, fennel and curry leaves provides the customary Kerala fireworks. There is also a sneaky spoonful of coconut powder for extra body, a trick I picked up from a Mallu friend and have absolutely no intention of giving back. Best eaten with appam, rice or anything capable of soaking up an unreasonable amount of gravy.

Ingredients

For the curry

• 500 g beef with bone, cleaned and cut into small pieces

• 1 medium potato, cut into large cubes

• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced

• 1 tbsp ginger, roughly pounded

• 1 tbsp garlic, roughly pounded

• 2 green chillies, slit lengthwise

• ½ tbsp Kashmiri or regular red chilli powder

• 1 tbsp coriander powder

• ½ tsp turmeric powder

• ½ tsp black pepper powder

• 1 tsp Kerala meat masala

• 2 cups thin coconut milk

• ½ cup thick coconut milk

• 1 tbsp coconut powder, optional

• 2 tbsp coconut oil, plus more for tempering

• Salt, to taste

For the tempering

• 4–5 sambar onions, thinly sliced

• 1 tsp mustard seeds

• A generous pinch of fennel seeds

• 1 sprig curry leaves

• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Method

Build the masala
Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in a heavy-bottomed kadai or pot over medium heat.
Add the sliced onions and sauté until they begin to turn golden.
Add the pounded ginger, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves. Cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
Lower the heat and add the chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric, black pepper and Kerala meat masala.
Add a little salt and fry the spices gently for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly. If the masala starts catching at the bottom, add a small splash of water.
Cook until the oil begins to separate from the masala and everything smells deeply roasted.

Add the beef
Increase the heat to medium-high and add the beef.
Toss thoroughly so every piece is coated in the masala and cook for 4–5 minutes, allowing the meat to brown lightly.

Slow-cook the beef
Add the thin coconut milk and, if using, the coconut powder.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover.
Simmer for approximately 1 hour, or until the beef is well on its way to becoming tender.
The cooking time will depend on the cut of beef. Check occasionally and add a little water if necessary.

Add the potatoes
Once the beef is about 75–80% cooked, add the potato chunks.
Cover and continue cooking until both the beef and potatoes are completely tender.
At this stage, the curry should still look relatively thin. Don't reduce it too aggressively because the thick coconut milk will add body later.

Finish with thick coconut milk
Lower the heat and add the thick coconut milk.
Stir gently and heat until the curry is just warmed through. Avoid vigorous boiling once the thick coconut milk has been added.
Taste and adjust the salt.
Switch off the heat and let the curry rest for 15–20 minutes. It will thicken slightly as it rests.

Make the tempering
Heat 1 tbsp coconut oil in a small pan.
Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter.
Add the fennel seeds, sliced small onions and curry leaves.
Fry until the onions turn golden brown and fragrant.
Pour the entire tempering over the beef curry.

Serve
Serve hot with:

• Appam

• Chapati

• Kerala parotta

• Steamed rice

The curry should be thin enough to flow easily over rice or soak into an appam, but rich enough to cling lightly to the beef. The bone-in beef, coconut milk and final tempering are doing most of the heavy lifting here, so there is no need to complicate it further.