I think it was originally a week, like the way it is now month?
It has been awhile since I have contributed to the concept of trying to be more enthusiastic about cooking interesting meals. Ali, I am finally getting around to it after weeks of wanting to. I promise I haven't been eating baked beans on toast every night since January. The odd boiled egg has been made.
So here is my ingredient. TAMARIND.
Mr N and I discovered a great B&B a few years ago where you can learn how to cook authentic Thai food. Here, is where I was introduced to tamarind. However, the recipe that I am sharing is Malaysian. I often feel like a good hearty curry to cheer up my sinuses when burdened with a cold. Do you? So I found this in a new book Mr N was given for Christmas and decided to give it a go.
Apparently the original recipe calls for 40 red chillies. The book calls for 4. I’m calling for one because I want the kids to enjoy it too. (And can I just say that my kids were so badly behaved tonight whilst cooking this, that if I can successfully make this then anyone can...just add wine to your bench top. It took me much longer than it should have.. you have no idea how many time outs were enforced!)
Red curry? Maybe I should have cooked a yellow curry. Wear disposable gloves when cutting chilli ( you know that right?) but also when cutting fresh turmeric. My in laws pick and bottle their own tomatoes in beer tallies so I used this instead of a tin of toms. The last photo is from the book. Dinner is literally thrown on the table at night, so there is never enough time to take photos. But why is it that food never photographs well unless in a studio? It always looks like crap, but the smell and taste of this is so gooooood. Give it a go if you like a red beef curry.
Daging masak merah – red curry of beef
Ingredients
2 tsp chopped fresh root ginger
2 tsp chopped turmeric root
½ tsp coarse sea salt
500gms of rump or sirloin steak cut into pieces
3 tblspns of groundnut oil ( I used vegetable)
3 tblspns thick tamarind water
6 ripe red tomatoes, skinned and shopped or a 400g tin of toms, drained.
300ml (10fl oz) of coconut cream or plain yoghurt.
Handful of mint and coriander leaves roughly chopped.
Red paste
3 shallots, chopped
6-8 garlic cloves, chopped
4 large red chillies deseeded and chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped (optional)
4 tbspns tomato pureé
4 candlenuts, roughly chopped then roasted (optional) I didn’t bother.
2 tspns of groundnut oil.
To garnish.
4 tbspns deep-fried shallots
60g unsalted cashew nuts fried in a little oil until browned
60g sultanas, fried briefly in a little oil until plump
Method
Grind ginger, turmeric, and salt in a mortar and pestle to make a paste. Rub the pieces of the beef all over with paste, and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
To make the red paste, blend all the ingredients together with 3 tbps water until smooth. Transfer the paste to a large saucepan and simmer over a moderate heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the pieces of beef, a few at a time, for 2 minutes on each side, turning them over once only. Set aside
Reheat the paste in the saucepan for 2 minutes, stirring well then add 120ml hot water and the tamarind water. Bring to the boil. Put in the beef, stir and cover the pan. Continue cooking on a moderate heat for 6-8 minutes.
Add the toms and stir to mix with the beef. Cook for 3 more minutes. Now add the coconut cream or yoghurt and continue cooking, turning the beef over several times, until the sauce is well reduced. This will take only a few minutes. For the final minute of cooking, put in the mint an coriander leaves.
Garnish.
