Baked Beef Curry

This week, we are honouring Deb who is absent due to the loss of her dear mum. I know no words can comfort her for her loss however, I hope that as we all here in IHCC make something comforting for Deb, it would be able to let her seek some solace in it virtually. 

For me, comfort food would be something that warms the stomach as they say, the only way to a man's heart is through his stomach. With that, I've decided to cook Baked Beef Curry from Madhur Jaffrey's At Home with Madhur Jaffrey. See my modifications in blue.

Ingredients:

6 tbsp canola oil

6 green cardamom pods

2 cinnamon sticks

1 kg beef stew meat (cut into cubes)

1 tsp whole cumin seeds (I used cumin powder instead)

300g plain yoghurt

2 cups chopped onions (I used the red big onions)

2 tbsp chopped coriander (I used coriander powder)

2 tsp ginger paste (I grated about 2 inch ginger to get this amount)

1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (this is not spicy enough so I added other powders instead)

1-2 tbsp chilli powder (depending on your spiciness level intake)

2 tbsp meat curry powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 low msg chicken/beef stock cube

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius.

Heat oil in an ovenproof pot over medium high heat. When the oil is heated,  add the cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks, stirring to let the fragrance diffuse a little.

Brown beef in batches, keeping browned pieces in a bowl.

Once all the beef is browned and set aside, add cumin seeds powder and let them pop before adding the onions. Fry the onions until they turn pale brown.

Add ginger, ground coriander, cayenne, chilli powder, curry powder and salt to pan and mix thoroughly with onions.

Lower the heat a bit and return the beef and any accumulated juices to the pot, making sure to coat the beef well with the onion and spice mixture.

Add yogurt to the pot and stir to mix. Increase the heat to medium-high until the gravy begins to simmer.

Turn the heat off and place a large piece of aluminium foil and cover the top of the pot and tightly seal the edges. Then place the lid on top and place the whole pot into the oven. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes.

Remove the pot from the oven and slowly take off the lid and remove the foil. Be careful not to burn yourself with the hot steam from the pot. Finally, stir everything in the pot to make sure that everything is well mixed before eating.

The moment I tried this baked beef curry, I knew Mr G is going to love this for sure. When Mr G tasted it, he was so delighted. I thought this would definitely go well with paratha or roti prata. Mr G said that this baked beef curry is good enough to be sold in shops. That means very good and he loves it!! Yippee!!! Psst, did I tell you that whilst I was baking the beef curry, my neighbour commented how nice it smelt?

I'm submitting this to I Heart Cooking Clubs.

I'm also submitting this post to Cook-Your-Books#23 organized by Joyce of kitchenflavours.

I'm also submitting this post to Little Thumbs Up May 2015 organized by Cheryl of Baking Taitai, Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY.

I'm submitting this post to Cook with Herbs organized by Karen of Lavender and Lovage.