Beef Fry Kerala

BEEF FRY KERELA

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 kg of beef, washed, drained and cut into cubes
• 1 cup of finely sliced shallots/ onion(preferably red onions) 
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
• 1/2 tbsp of chilly powder
• 3/4 tbsp of coriander powder
• 1/2 tbsp of fennel seeds/ perumjeerakam
• 1 sprig of curry leaves
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped ginger
• 1 tbsp of finely chopped garlic
• Sliced coconut/ Thengakothu
• Salt to taste
• For frying
• 5 -6 shallots finely sliced
• 1/2 tbsp of pepper powder
• A sprig of curry leaves
• 1-2 tbsp of coconut oil

METHOD:

1. In a pressure cooker, drop all the ingredients from 1 to 11. Drop in 2 tbsp of water and give it a thorough mix with you hands. Let it marinate for about half an hour.
2. Now cook it. For me, it took, 1 whistle on high heat followed by 4 whistles on medium heat. It would truly depend on the quality of the beef. The beef would be almost cooked(not fully cooked) by now. Do not over cook it.
3. Remove it from heat and let the pressure release on its own. Only once the pressure has come down, open the cooker. 
4. In a thick bottom skillet, drop in the oil. Once the oil is hot, drop in the sliced shallots and curry leaves. Saute it till golden brown. Drop in the pepper powder, stir it. 
5. Drop in the cooked beef and give it a mix. Now turn down the heat to medium and let the gravy thicken and get dried. Keep stirring them in intervals so that they don't burn and stick to the bottom and get roasted well to get the dark colour.

TIPS

• Do not cut the beef into very tiny cubes. Else they would break and would not remain in shape.
• Do not use too much of onion, else they might leave a sweet taste to the beef fry. Traditional recipe calls in for use of shallots. But using red onions is equally good. 
• Do not use too much water while cooking the beef. The water content in the beef is enough to get them cooked.
• Use chilly powder and not paprika/kashmiri chilly if you need the dark colour to your beef fry.
• Do not over cook the beef in the pressure cooker, else they would fall apart and loose its shape while frying.
• If you feel the beef is getting too dry, you could use a bit more of oil.

Source: Palaharam