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Beef Curry with Crushed Spices and Channa Dal

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 21, 2007

Time

1½ hours

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Beef Curry with Crushed Spices and Channa Dal

Ingredients

¼ cup vegetable oil (or canola oil)1 teaspoon cumin seeds 2 teaspoons coriander seeds 1 medium onion, sliced thin4 large cloves garlic, pureed in a minichopper with 1 tablespoon water (about 2 tablespoons)1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, pureed in a minichopper with 1 to 2 tablespoons water1 ½ pounds top sirloin, trimmed and cut into ¾-inch cubes1 teaspoon ground turmeric Table salt 3 plum tomatoes (canned), chopped, plus 1 tablespoon juice, or ⅔ cup crushed tomatoes2 cups water 1 jalapeño chile, stemmed and cut in half through the stem end½ cup Indian split peas (channa dal)2 - 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Before You Begin

Channa dal is the name for yellow Indian split peas, available at Indian markets and sometimes near the dried lentils and peas in the supermarket. Green split peas or four medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces, may be substituted for the channa dal. Gather and prepare all your ingredients before you begin. Garlic and ginger may be pureed by hand or in a minichop food processor. If using a minichopper, process the garlic and ginger with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water until pureed. You may substitute a scant 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper for the jalepeño, adding it to the skillet with the other ground dried spices. Feel free to increase the wet (garlic, ginger, jalepeño, and onion) or dry spice quantities. Serve the curry with basmati rice.

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in large deep skillet or soup kettle, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking. Crush cumin and coriander seeds in mortar and pestle, and add to skillet. Almost immediately add onion to skillet; sauté until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.
  2. Crush garlic and ginger along with pinch kosher salt in mortar and peste. Stir in crushed garlic-ginger mixture, beef, ground turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and tomatoes; cook, stirring almost constantly, until liquid evaporates, oil separates and turns orange, and spices begin to fry, 5 to 7 minutes, depending on skillet or kettle size. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until spices smell cooked, about 30 seconds longer.
  3. Add 2 cups water and jalapeño and season with salt; bring to simmer. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until meat is tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
  4. Add Indian split peas; cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in cilantro. Simmer 3 minutes longer and serve.
Beef Curry with Crushed Spices and Channa Dal

Beef Curry with Crushed Spices and Channa Dal

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

1½ hours

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

¼ cup vegetable oil (or canola oil)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 medium onion, sliced thin
4 large cloves garlic, pureed in a minichopper with 1 tablespoon water (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, pureed in a minichopper with 1 to 2 tablespoons water
1 ½ pounds top sirloin, trimmed and cut into ¾-inch cubes
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Table salt
3 plum tomatoes (canned), chopped, plus 1 tablespoon juice, or ⅔ cup crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
1 jalapeño chile, stemmed and cut in half through the stem end
½ cup Indian split peas (channa dal)
2 - 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Ingredients

¼ cup vegetable oil (or canola oil)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 medium onion, sliced thin
4 large cloves garlic, pureed in a minichopper with 1 tablespoon water (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, pureed in a minichopper with 1 to 2 tablespoons water
1 ½ pounds top sirloin, trimmed and cut into ¾-inch cubes
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Table salt
3 plum tomatoes (canned), chopped, plus 1 tablespoon juice, or ⅔ cup crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
1 jalapeño chile, stemmed and cut in half through the stem end
½ cup Indian split peas (channa dal)
2 - 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Ingredients

¼ cup vegetable oil (or canola oil)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 medium onion, sliced thin
4 large cloves garlic, pureed in a minichopper with 1 tablespoon water (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, pureed in a minichopper with 1 to 2 tablespoons water
1 ½ pounds top sirloin, trimmed and cut into ¾-inch cubes
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Table salt
3 plum tomatoes (canned), chopped, plus 1 tablespoon juice, or ⅔ cup crushed tomatoes
2 cups water
1 jalapeño chile, stemmed and cut in half through the stem end
½ cup Indian split peas (channa dal)
2 - 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Why This Recipe Works

For a deeply flavored curry, we fried the crushed spices and onion in oil for intense flavor, and then added the aromatic ginger and garlic with the meat, ground turmeric, and tomatoes. Next, we added jalapeño and water and simmered until the meat was fully cooked. We finished our beef curry by adding the split peas and cooking until all the ingredients were melded and tender and then adding cilantro.

Before You Begin

Channa dal is the name for yellow Indian split peas, available at Indian markets and sometimes near the dried lentils and peas in the supermarket. Green split peas or four medium red potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces, may be substituted for the channa dal. Gather and prepare all your ingredients before you begin. Garlic and ginger may be pureed by hand or in a minichop food processor. If using a minichopper, process the garlic and ginger with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water until pureed. You may substitute a scant 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper for the jalepeño, adding it to the skillet with the other ground dried spices. Feel free to increase the wet (garlic, ginger, jalepeño, and onion) or dry spice quantities. Serve the curry with basmati rice.

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in large deep skillet or soup kettle, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking. Crush cumin and coriander seeds in mortar and pestle, and add to skillet. Almost immediately add onion to skillet; sauté until softened, 3 to 4 minutes.
  2. Crush garlic and ginger along with pinch kosher salt in mortar and peste. Stir in crushed garlic-ginger mixture, beef, ground turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and tomatoes; cook, stirring almost constantly, until liquid evaporates, oil separates and turns orange, and spices begin to fry, 5 to 7 minutes, depending on skillet or kettle size. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until spices smell cooked, about 30 seconds longer.
  3. Add 2 cups water and jalapeño and season with salt; bring to simmer. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until meat is tender, 30 to 40 minutes.
  4. Add Indian split peas; cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in cilantro. Simmer 3 minutes longer and serve.

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Appears In

Magazine

January / February 1997

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