Beef Varutharacha Curry (Beef Cooked In Roasted Coconut Gravy)

We were recently invited for dinner by one of our friends. Without doubt, I accepted the invitation immediately, but only after a while I realised that we were on lent that time! I messaged my friend about our lent and pat came her reply that we can meet the following week. Since we had something else planned for the next week, I replied saying that we didn't mind a veg menu.

Let me correct that statement, it's actually I didn't mind veg menu, Jose definitely minds ;)

I was sure about one thing… even if we both didn't bother much about the menu being veg, our host definitely bothered. Ask any non veg person to cook a complete veg menu and you know what I'm talking about! Some of my friends absolutely hate (I know, hate is a strong word to use, but that's the truth) cooking a complete veg menu. The reason most of them say that is that they don't know what to cook other than Paneer and Dal. Are you like that by any chance? (Vegetarians please excuse, it's nothing personal ;)

Going by the increasing number of bans in India on non veg food, I guess it's safe to say that non veg people better start enjoying or at least try to pretend enjoying veg food, you never know when your “acha din” is going to pop up ;)

Coming back to our friends dinner, I should say the food was just great! I didn't even miss the non veg, even though there was my fav Beef Fry and Chicken Biriyani. I don't mind whether the food is veg or non veg, as long it's cooked completely and it has flavour!

Now, if you are wondering why I went on about the whole veg and non veg conversation, the thing is, it's been sometime, I've been feeding you (virtually) only veg recipes. Yeah, I posted a fish recipe in between, but you know what, for hardcore non-vegetarians, “Meat” is the ultimate thing! So, I didn't want to test your patience further by posting more veg or similar recipes.

You might have noticed my love for “Varutharacha Curries” (roasted coconut gravy). Honestly, I wasn't very familiar with this flavour while growing up, except for Theeyal recipes. I guess I got hooked on to it, after coming to Bahrain. During my initial days in Bahrain, we used to order Puttu and Varutharacha Chicken Curry from one of the Kerala restaurants here. I loved that combo and that led to many recipes like Pork Roast, Njandu Roast, Varutharacha Meen Curry, Varutharacha Sambar and Varutharacha Chicken Curry. See, I told you I just love this style of cooking.

About this recipe, well, for me any Beef recipe is good ;) The roasted coconut masala gives a wonderful flavour and richness to the curry. that goes well Steamed Rice, Ghee Rice, Roti, Appam, Puttu, Idiyappam etc;

Here is the recipe…

Heat oil in a pan and fry coconut, small onion (8), fennel seeds and turmeric powder (1/4 tsp) till it becomes golden brown. Let it cool completely. Grind the mixture without water…

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Marinate cleaned beef pieces with ingredients listed from onion to coriander powder and salt for 10-15 mins…

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Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add cloves and cinnamon stick. Add marinated beef and curry leaves. Cook for 2-3 mins on low flame…

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Add potato and water. Mix well. Bring it to boil and close the cooker and cook till the beef is done (refer notes)…

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Add the ground coconut mixture to the cooked beef and cook on low flame for 5-7 mins. Do a taste test and add more salt or water if required…

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Heat a little oil in a small pan and crackle mustard seeds. Add sliced small onion (5) and fry till it turns golden brown. Add this to the beef curry…

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Recipe adapted from Ummi Abdulla's “Malabar PachakaVidi”

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Varutharacha Beef Curry

Beef Varutharacha Curry is a traditional Kerala beef curry with roasted coconut masala that gives a wonderful flavour and richness to the curry. It goes well Steamed Rice, Ghee Rice, Roti, Appam, Puttu, Idiyappam etc;

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Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian, Kerala, South Indian

Servings: 4 -5

Author: Maria Jose Martin

Ingredients

• ▢ 500 gms Beef (measured after cleaning, cut into bite size pieces)
• ▢ 1 small – medium Potato (cubed)
• ▢ 3 Cloves
• ▢ a small stick Cinnamon
• ▢ 2 big Onion (sliced)
• ▢ 1.5 tbsp Crushed ginger & garlic (each)
• ▢ 2 Green chillies (chopped)
• ▢ 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• ▢ 2 tsp Chilli powder
• ▢ 3 tsp Coriander powder
• ▢ 1 cup Grated coconut
• ▢ 8 Small onions / Pearl Onions (sliced)
• ▢ 1 tsp Fennel seeds
• ▢ 1/4 tsp Turmeric
• ▢ 1 cup Water
• ▢ Salt
• ▢ Coconut oil
• ▢ Curry leaves

To temper

• ▢ 5 Small onion / Pearl onion (sliced)
• ▢ 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

Instructions

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  Heat oil in a pan and fry coconut, small onion (8), fennel seeds and turmeric powder (1/4 tsp) till it becomes golden brown. Let it cool completely. Grind the mixture without water. Add 1-2 tbsp hot water to the ground mixture and keep it aside.
• ▢
  Marinate cleaned beef pieces with ingredients listed from onion to coriander powder and salt for 10-15 mins. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add cloves and cinnamon stick. Add marinated beef and curry leaves. Cook for 2-3 mins on low flame. Add potato and water. Mix well. Bring it to boil and close the cooker and cook till the beef is done (refer notes).
• ▢
  Add the ground coconut mixture to the cooked beef and cook on low flame for 5-7 mins. Do a taste test and add more salt or water if required. The gravy tends to thicken a little as the curry rests, so adjust the consistency accordingly. Remove from fire.
• ▢
  Heat a little oil in a small pan and crackle mustard seeds. Add sliced small onion (5) and fry till it turns golden brown. Add this to the beef curry.
• ▢
  Let the curry rest for sometime before serving, this helps the flavour to develop.
• ▢
  You can serve the curry with Rice, Chapathi, Pathiri, Appam, Puttu etc;

Notes

I use Indian beef.
To cook beef: Close the cooker and put on weight. Cook on high flame, till the first whistle comes. Reduce flame to the lowest and cook for 10-12 whistles. Switch off and keep the cooker closed till pressure drops, around 15-20 mins.
The cooking time of beef may vary depending on the type of beef you use.
The curry keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Tried this recipe? Let others know by…mentioning @mariasmenu or tagging #mariasmenu

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