Beef Kanthari Roast

Beef Kanthari (bird’s eye chilies) Roast Recipe

Ingredients (Serves 3 – 4)

1. Beef – 1/2 kg, cubed

Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp

Salt – 1/2 tsp or as needed

Water – 3 tbsp

2. Coconut oil – 2 tbsp

3. Kathari mulaku (bird’s eye chilies), whole  – 2 – 3 (You can use diagonally sliced green chilies instead)

4. Shallots – 1 cup, thinly sliced

Ginger – 2 – 3 tsp crushed

Garlic – 1 tbsp, crushed

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

5. Coriander powder – 1 tbsp

Pepper powder – 1/2 tsp

Thenga kothu / coconut tidbits – 2 – 3 tbsp

6. Kathari mulaku / bird’s eye chilies – 4 – 6 (Add according to your spice tolerance. You can use green chilies instead)

Curry leaves – 6 – 8

Water – 1 tbsp or as needed

7. Garam masala powder – 1/2 – 1 tsp

Coconut milk, medium thick – 1/3 cup

8. Cashew paste – 1 – 2 tbsp (Soak 6 – 7 whole cashews in 2 – 3 tbsp hot water for 20 minutes. Grind to a very fine paste in the small jar of a blender.)

9. Thick coconut milk – 1 – 2 tbsp

Curry leaves – A few

Coconut oil – 1 tsp

10. Salt – To taste

Method

1. Pressure cook beef adding turmeric powder, salt and 3 – 4 tbsp water for 3 – 4 whistles until cooked through.
2. In a pan, heat coconut oil and add kanthari mulaku/sliced green chilies. Stir for a minute. Add sliced shallots, little salt, ginger, garlic and curry leaves. Cook till shallots turn light brown. Add coriander powder, pepper powder, thenga kothu / coconut tidbits and cook for a few minutes over low heat. Cook until their raw smell is completely gone. Add green chili paste and cook for a minute or two. Add little water, if the spice powders stick to the bottom of the pan. Scrape the pan well and cook for a minute. Add 1/3 cup coconut milk and mix well. To this, add cooked beef along with gravy. Mix well and taste-check for salt. Bring to a boil. Add garam masala powder and cashew paste. Mix well and cook covered for 10 – 12 minutes over low heat, stirring in between. Finally add thick coconut milk, a tsp of coconut oil and a few curry leaves. Cook for a minute and switch off. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Beef Kanthari Roast goes well with appam, idiyappam, chapathi, pathiri, porotta etc.