This is a delicious creamy coconutty curry imparted with fantastic beefy flavour. I another hunk of meat that I recovered from the bottom of my freezer drawer. You could use more expensive fillet or sirloin beef, but by bashing the topside with a meat hammer to tenderise it, the results are pretty much the same.
400g topside beef or 2 steaks
2 green chillies, seeds removed and sliced into rounds
50g creamed coconut, crumbled
For the curry base
4 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
2 onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
Thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
For the marinade
200g Greek natural yogurt
1 tsp Chinese spice powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
1. Make the curry base by heating the oil in a large frying pan, then gently cooking the onions, garlic and ginger for 12-15 mins until very soft. Add some water if it gets too dry to prevent it burning. Transfer everything to a food processor and whiz into a puree.
2. To make the marinate, mix the yoghurt with all the spices (except the garam masala) and salt in a shallow dish.
3. With the knobbly side of a meat mallet (or use a rolling pin), bash the beef until about 0.5cm thick to tenderise it. Chop into slices and add to the marinate, then mix until the beef is thoroughly coated. Put in the fridge for an hour.
4. Add another tablespoon of oil to a frying pan and gently heat the onion puree. Add the green chillies and cook for 2-3 mins, until the chillies soften.
5. Add the beef and the marinate and gently cook for approx. 10 mins until the beef is cooked through. Add the creamed coconut and a little water, then stir through to thicken the sauce. Sprinkle in the garam masala and stir through.
6. Serve with spinach bhajee, made by gently cooking 1 sliced garlic clove in a little oil, then add 2-3 big handfuls of washed spinach. Cook down to release the water from the spinach for around 5 mins. Sprinkle over 1 tsp garam masala and stir fry for 30 seconds.
