Kerala Beef Curry

This is Kerala Beefy Curry is one of my favourite curries to make in the slow cooker.  This curry is fresh, fragrant, and light with thick curry sauce coating the metlingly tender pull apart beef.  Its easy to make with just 15 minutes of prep and there are no unusual ingredients.

If you love light curries with a gentle spice, my Kerala Fish Curry is a must make.  It’s sweet, sour and tangy all at once with thick, luscious coconut cream curry covering chunky pieces of firm white fish. My Chicken Kerala Curry recipe is also simple and quick with thick creamy sauce and simple ingredients.

Why make This Recipe

• Meltingly tender, pull apart beef covered in thick rich curry sauce
• You can make it in the Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker (Both instructions are included in the recipe card below)
• Its light enough to eat in Summer, and substantial enough to cozy up with in Winter
• There’s no hard to find ingredients – buy everything at your local supermarket
• Easy to adjust the level of heat and spice to your liking
• Perfect for freezing
• 15 minutes of pre and it cooks itself
• Those crunchy curry leaves on top of the curry are the bomb!

Main Ingredients

All the ingredients for this Beef Curry Kerala Style can be bought from your local supermarket (eg:  Coles and Woolworths if you’re in Australia).  There’s nothing unusual that you have to hunt down or go to a specialist Indian grocer for.

TIP:  The curry leaves are pretty important in this recipe and they really make a big difference.  Whilst fresh curry leaves are best, you can use dried – they are a good substitute.

Spices

This bold combination of simple easy to find spices produces the most amazing curry base

Ingredient Notes

1. Meat:  I used Beef Shin for this recipe.  I bought it in steak like pieces from Woolworths, and chopped it into 1 inch pieces.  You can also use  chuck steak, skirt steak, shin, brisket.  Just be sure to trim off excess fat from the meat .  
2. Tomatoes:  Canned tomatoes work great in this recipe, however you could also use two large ripe tomatoes finely chopped. 
3. Curry Leaves:  I buy curry leaves from both Woolworths and Coles in Australia – from the fruit and veg section with the fresh herbs.  I Always buy two packs, because I love frying lots of curry leaves off and using them as a garnish at the end.
4. Green Chillies:  Make sure to buy the long green chillies as they are not overly hot.  The smaller green chillies are VERY hot and not suitable for this curry.
5. Spices:  All the spices in this recipe are from Woolworths/Coles.  No special trip to the Indian Grocer needed.

How To Make in the Slow Cooker

1. Cook: Heat a pan on medium high heat.  Add vegetable oil  and once hot, add the onions.  Cook until they just start to become soft. 
2. Add Tomatoes: Add the tomatoes and stir through, cooking for 1 minute

3. Add spices: Add the spice mix ingredients and green chillies, stirring through, cooking for another minute.

4. Transfer to Slow Cooker: Transfer mixture to slow cooker, along with beef, curry leaves (still on stem)  and water.

5. Slow Cook: Cook on LOW  in Slow Cooker for 8 hours.  Remove curry leave stems.
6. To Thicken:  Make a cornflour slurry with 1 tablespoon of cornflour and 2 tablespoons of tap water mixed together in a small dish.  Pour into the curry whilst its still in the slow cooker and hot, stir through – it will thicken slightly.  If you’d like it even thicker, repeat.
7. Curry Leaves:  Heat a small pan on high heat with ½ tablespoon of oil (any will do).  Remove curry leaves from the stems and add to pan once heated.  Stir them around in the pan – they will sizzle and crackle a bit and will only take a minute or two to cook. Once they’ve become crisp and turned a darker shade of green, remove from pan.
8. To Serve:  Divide curry and rice equally among 4 bowls, sprinkle the curry leaves on top.

Expert Tips

• Cornflour Note:  If using cornflour and refrigerating leftovers, when you reheat, the curry may appear a bit gelatinous, but once its heated that will disappear and you’ll be left with delicious thick rich curry.
• Spice Level:  This is a medium curry, so it has a bit of heat to it.  To make it less spicy, remove the seeds from the green chillies, and halve the amount of black pepper and chilli powder
• More Spicy:  If you like it hot, add additional green chillies.
• Storage:  This curry freezes well.  Portion out into serving sized containers with a lid, label and date the containers and they’ll keep in the freezer for 3 months.
• Defrosting:  Defrost in microwave on defrost setting, or alternatively, put container in fridge overnight to thaw, then reheat in a pot on stove, or heat in  microwave

Serving Suggestions

• Traditional:  Steamed basmati rice (or jasmine rice if that’s what you have on hand), naan bread, roti, pappadums.
• Low Carb:  cauliflower rice (I like to buy the frozen bags of cauliflower rice/veggie rice from Coles or Woolworths and heat in the microwave.  Its quick and convenient!), shredded lettuce also works to soak up the curry juices, or even low carb noodles.
• Something Different:  mashed sweet potato, a mix of steamed green veges.

Your Questions Answered

I love making slow cooked curries.  They take very little effort and practically cook themselves.  This Kerala beef Curry is no exception.  Its both a gentle and robust curry at the same time.  Full of flavour, richness and complexity. 

The meat is delicate and tender and pulls apart with your fork.  And those lightly fried crunchy curry leaves on top are so addictive, I always make extra, piling on a ridiculous amount.  This is a curry for Summer, Winter and in between.  Its light, fresh and filling and won’t weigh you down.

More Curry Recipes:

• Slow Cooker Mango Chicken Curry
• 15 Minute Yellow Thai Fish Curry
• Easy Apricot Chicken Curry
• Thai Pineapple Chicken Curry
• 30 minute Kerala Fish Curry

Kerala Beef Curry

Kim

This kerala beef Curry can be made in either the Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker. It's fresh, fragrant, and light with thick curry sauce coating the metlingly tender pull apart beef. 

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 hours hrs

Total Time 8 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4 people

Calories 546 kcal

Equipment

• Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• 1 kg 2 pounds Beef, - chopped into 1 inch pieces (chuck steak, skirt steak, shin, brisket)
• 2 medium Red Onions - sliced finely
• 1 can 400 g Diced Tomatoes (or 2 very ripe fresh chopped tomatoes)
• 3 Long Green chillies, - chopped
• 2 sprigs of Curry leaves
• 2 tablespoons Vegetable oil
• ½ teaspoon Sea salt
• 1 cup water

Spice Mix Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons Grated Ginger
• 2 tablespoons Crushed Garlic
• 2 tablespoons Ground Coriander Powder
• 1 tablespoon Garam Masala
• 1 teaspoon Black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
• ½ teaspoon Sea salt
• ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder

To Serve

• Fresh coriander
• 2 cups Cooked Jasmine Rice
• 4 Sprigs of Curry Leaves

Instructions

 

Slow Cooker Instructions

• Heat a pan on medium high heat. Add vegetable oil and once hot, add the onions. Cook until they just start to become soft.
• Add the tomatoes and stir through, cooking for 1 minute
• Add the spice mix ingredients and green chillies, stirring through, cooking for another minute.
• Transfer mixture to slow cooker, along with beef, curry leaves (still on stem) and water.
• Cook on LOW in Slow Cooker for 8 hours. Remove curry leave stems.
• To Thicken: Make a cornflour slurry with 1 tablespoon of cornflour and 2 tablespoons of tap water mixed together in a small dish. Pour into the curry whilst its still in the slow cooker and hot, stir through – it will thicken slightly. If you’d like it even thicker, repeat.
• Curry Leaves: Heat a small pan on high heat with ½ tablespoon of oil (any will do). Remove curry leaves from the stems and add to pan once heated. Stir them around in the pan – they will sizzle and crackle a bit and will only take a minute or two to cook. Once they’ve become crisp and turned a darker shade of green, remove from pan.
• To Serve: Divide curry and rice equally among 4 bowls, sprinkle the curry leaves on top.

Pressure Cooker Instructions

• Set the Pressure Cooker to “Sear on High” and set timer for 10 minutes
• Add coconut oil to inner pot of pressure cooker. Once hot, add the onions and cook until they just become soft. Add the canned tomatoes and stir through. Then add the spice mix ingredients, stirring through for a minute, or until fragrant.
• Add the beef, curry leaves and ¾ cup water to the pressure cooker
• Select the menu by pressing the PRESSURE COOK button
• Select the “MEAT/POULRTY” setting and adjust the cooking time to 40 minutes.
• Press start to commence the cooking process. (make sure pressure valve is set to “Seal”)
• Once timer has gone off, release pressure valve so steam can escape. Remove the lid, being careful of any steam. Stir the curry with a spoon.
• To Thicken: Make a cornflour slurry with 1 tablespoon of cornflour and 2 tablespoons of tap water mixed together in a small dish. Pour into the curry whilst its still in the slow cooker and hot, stir through – it will thicken slightly. If you’d like it even thicker, repeat.
• Curry Leaves: Heat a small pan on high heat with ½ tablespoon of oil (any will do). Remove curry leaves from the stems and add to pan once heated. Stir them around in the pan – they will sizzle and crackle a bit and will only take a minute or two to cook. Once they’ve become crisp and turned a darker shade of green, remove from pan.
• To Serve: Divide curry and rice equally among 4 bowls, sprinkle the curry leaves on top.

Notes

1. Meat: I used Beef Shin for this recipe.  I bought it in steak like pieces from Woolworths, and chopped it into 1 inch pieces.  You can also use  chuck steak, skirt steak, shin, brisket.  Just be sure to trim off excess fat from the meat .  
2. Tomatoes: Canned tomatoes work great in this recipe, however you could also use two large ripe tomatoes finely chopped. 
3. Curry Leaves: I buy curry leaves from both Woolworths and Coles in Australia – from the fruit and veg section with the fresh herbs.  I Always buy two packs, because I love frying lots of curry leaves off and using them as a garnish at the end.
4. Green Chillies: Make sure to buy the long green chillies as they are not overly hot.  The smaller green chillies are VERY hot and not suitable for this curry.
5. Spices: All the spices in this recipe are from Woolworths/Coles.  No special trip to the Indian Grocer needed.
6. Spice Level: This is a medium curry, so it has a bit of heat in it.  To make it less spicy, remove the seeds from the green chillies, and halve the amount of black pepper and chilli powder
7. Storage: This curry freezes well.  Portion out into serving sized containers with a lid, label and date the containers and they’ll keep in the freezer for 3 months.
8. Defrosting: Defrost in microwave on defrost setting, or alternatively, put container in fridge overnight to thaw, then reheat on stove/microwave.
9. Cornflour Note: If using cornflour and refrigerating leftovers, when you reheat, the curry may appear a bit gelatinous, but once its heated that will disappear and you’ll be left with delicious thick rich curry.
10. Nutritional information includes the curry + half a cup of rice for 4 people.

Nutrition

Calories: 546kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 32gFat: 39gSaturated Fat: 11gFiber: 5gSugar: 5g

Note: Sugars contained in this recipe are from naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables or other natural sweeteners.

Keyword Kerala Beef Curry

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