Kerala Nadan Beef Curry

'Nadan' means country-style. This is the everyday beef curry of Kerala homes – thinner than the dry beef fry, with a gravy of roasted coconut that soaks into rice, appam or puttu.

Roasting the coconut until dark brown gives the curry its colour and nutty taste.

• Serves 4
• Prep 20 min
• Cook 90 min
• gluten-free · dairy-free · Spicy
• Famous in Kerala

Ingredients

• 800 g beef chuck, in 2–3 cm cubes
• 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp grated or desiccated coconut
• 2 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp black pepper
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 15 shallots or 2 onions, sliced
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 3 green chillies, slit
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 sprigs curry leaves
• ½ tsp mustard seeds

Method

1. Cook the beef with turmeric, chilli powder, salt and 300 ml water until tender: 60–70 minutes covered or 4–5 whistles in a pressure cooker.
2. Dry-roast the coconut in a pan, stirring, until dark brown. Add the coriander, Kashmiri chilli, garam masala and pepper and roast 30 seconds. Grind with a little water to a paste.
3. Heat the coconut oil, crackle the mustard seeds, then fry shallots, ginger-garlic, green chillies and curry leaves until golden.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook until soft, then the coconut paste; fry 2 minutes.
5. Add the beef with its stock and simmer 10–15 minutes until the gravy is thick and glossy.

Tip: A few slices of coconut fried in coconut oil on top make it look and taste like a Kerala toddy-shop curry.

Shop the ingredients

Everything you need for this recipe is in stock at Farmah’s – order online or pick it up at Annenstraße 41, Graz.