Sri Lankan Beef Curry Dinner

I'm not quite sure what possessed me to make this meal. I think it had something to do with having most of the ingredients on hand. I've been trying to make a new recipe for beef stew every week, because Kevin and Maya adore it, and it's fun for me to work with new flavor combinations. This Cooking Light recipe is certainly an odd blend of flavors, in my opinion, so I was a bit concerned that it would taste... well... strange. Also, it has the word "curry" in the name, but there is no curry in the recipe. Well, how do you like that? I made a few modifications to the recipe, because I realized, at the last minute, that I was missing a can if coconut milk (I needed 2, and only had one - oops), and I figured Kevin wouldn't be a huge fan of the lemon rind, so I only kept it in the pot for about 30 minutes of the 2 hour cooking time. The end result was a tasty, interesting beef stew, with a great smell and flavor. Kevin and Maya really liked it, served with rice and peas. Kevin says he'd want me to make it again, but I'm not sure how I felt about it. The prep is easy, but it cooks for a whopping 2 hours, so it's definitely a project for a whole afternoon, know what I mean?



Sri Lankan Beef Curry Dinner (My modifications are in parentheses)

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 2/3 cup beef mixture and 3/4 cup rice)


1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 pounds boneless sirloin steak, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes (I used half this amount, but kept everything else the same, so I'd have a nice sauce for the rice - it worked perfectly)
Cooking spray
3 cups chopped onion (about 2 medium)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 red jalapeño peppers, minced (I used canned - easy peasy)
3 cups light coconut milk (I used 1 can, plus 1 1/3 cups of beef broth)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (1 tbl is more than enough for this fam)
2 (1 x 3-inch) lemon rind strips (I used half this amount, and took it out after 20-30 mins)
6 cups hot cooked basmati rice
Frozen Peas (Not in the recipe at all, but a lovely veggie addition to a curry recipe)

Cook coriander, cumin, fennel, and turmeric in a small saucepan over medium-low heat 7 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally.

Combine toasted spices, black pepper, salt, and beef in a large bowl. Cover and marinate in refrigerator 1 hour.

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, ginger, garlic, and jalapeños; sauté 3 minutes or until onions are tender. Remove onion mixture from pan. Recoat the pan with cooking spray. Add half of beef; cook 6 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining beef. Return onion mixture and beef to pan; stir in milk, vinegar, and rind, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 hours or until beef is very tender. Discard rind. Serve over rice.

CALORIES 414 (25% from fat); FAT 11.7g (sat 6.5g,mono 2.6g,poly 0.3g); IRON 4.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 90mg; CALCIUM 33mg; CARBOHYDRATE 42.9g; SODIUM 653mg; PROTEIN 33.5g; FIBER 2.1g

Cooking Light, MAY 2006