Easy Beef Curry | Bangladeshi Style Recipe

This is the simplest way to make an authentic homey beef curry from scratch!

Minimal time spent on the moshollah koshani, aka the long and constant stirring of the onions and spices to make the curry base, makes this recipe much easier to whip up. I will just take 10-15 minutes to form the base then let it simmer for 2 hours while you get on with your day.

Serve it with some Patla Khichuri for those dreamy rainy days!

For best flavor and tenderness, you NEED to let this curry simmer for the full 2 hours.

Without that time, the spices can still tend to taste a little undercooked since you won’t be spending much time on it at the first stage, and the delicious meaty beef flavors will not release into the sauce in less time. You want the meat to be very tender by the end, easy to break apart with your fingers, and the sauce luscious with all that gelatin released from slow cooking the tendons, ligaments, and bones in the meat. You can use a boneless chuck roast from the supermarket, or get a pack of beef with bones from your favorite halal store. Bones add a lot of flavor to the curry!

For a more caramelized and rich flavored sauce, you can fry your onions till golden brown/brown instead of translucent.

I skip this step to make my curry easier, since browning the onions properly on medium low heat does take an extra 20 minutes sometimes, and with a 2 hour simmer it really doesn’t affect the taste enough for me to spend that much time on it. If I’m cooking for guests I’ll brown the onions first.

Check out the video below for the whole process!

INGREDIENTS  

• 2 lbs beef
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup mustard oil (can substitute with veg)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 5 cardemom pods
• 4 cloves
• 5 black peppercorns
• 1 large white/yellow onion (about 2 cups)
• 1 tbsp ginger paste
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1/2-1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
• 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp brown sugar (optional)
• 5 green chilis
• 1/4 bunch cilantro (optional)
• 1 cup water (or as needed)
• limes to serve, (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS 

Cut your beef into 2 inch cubes, and slice your onions finely

Heat a heavy bottomed pan on medium high heat. Pour in your oils and let it heat up for a minuteAdd in bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. fry for as couple of minutes to let the flavors release.

Then add in your cardamom, cloves, and black pepper pods. Give them 30 seconds-1 minute in the oil until the aromas release. Do not burn. Then throw in your onions.

Sauté until translucent. Then add in your ginger and garlic paste. Sauté until the raw smells are gone. Do not burn.

Then add in all your ground spices and a splash of water to keep them from burning.

Reduce until the oils come out. You can repeat this step multiple times for better flavor if you’d like. Then add in your beef cubes.

Fry in your curry for a few minutes until all the pieces are coated and the curry sticks to them. Then pour in a cup of water and your salt.

Turn your heat down to low, cover and let simmer for 2 hours until your beef is tender. Stirring once in the middle.

Throw in some green chilies, turn up the heat a little to bring it to a boil and let the sauce reduce or add more water depending on how thick/thin you want your sauce.

Taste and adjust salt and add a bit of brown sugar if needed. Garnish with some cilantro right before taking it off the heat if you’d like, and serve with lime wedges. Enjoy!