red currants at Lower Longley

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Ceylon Beef Curry

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg stewing beef steak
• 3 tablespoons ghee or oil
• 2 large onions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 4 tablespoons of Ceylon curry powder (see right)
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 2 fresh chillies, seeded and chopped
• 3 ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped

Directions

• Cut steak into squares.
• Heat ghee or oil in saucepan and gently fry onions, ginger and garlic until just beginning to turn golden (the longer you can gently sauté, the better the end result).
• Add curry powder, turmeric, mustard seeds and fry over low heat for 2-3 minutes.
• Add salt and vinegar and stir well.
• Add steak and fry, stirring to coat meat well.
• Add chillies and tomatoes, cover pan and simmer on very low heat for at least 2 hours.

Serve with rice and other accompaniments. If gravy is too thin when meat is tender, cook over high heat, uncovered, until reduced.

Ceylon curry powder

In Sri Lankan (Ceylonese) cooking, one of the main characteristics is that the spices are dark roasted. This gives them an aroma completely different from Indian curries, so be sure to use curry powder that is labelled 'Ceylon Roasted Curry Powder'. If you cannot buy it ready-made, here is a simple recipe which makes a wonderfully aromatic powder for a great curry.

Ingredients

• 1 cup coriander seeds
• ½ cup cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1 cinnamon stick, about 5 cm
• 1 teaspoon whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
• 2 tablespoons dried curry leaves
• 2 teaspoons chilli powder, optional
• 2 tablespoons ground rice, optional

Directions

• In a dry pan over low heat, roast separately the coriander, cumin, fennel and fenugreek, stirring constantly until each one becomes a fairly dark brown. Do not let them burn.
• Put into coffee grinder together with cinnamon stick, broken in pieces, the cloves, cardamom and curry leaves. Grind until finely powdered.
• Combine with chilli powder and ground rice if used.

Store in an airtight jar.