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Beef Korma From The Mughal Empire

February 17, 2020 by Dennis Leave a Comment

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Beef korma with a parsley and walnut garnish, white rice on the side
This beef korma recipe puts a few twists on an ancient classic.

Beef Korma Background

So, obviously some of you will wonder why I’m making beef korma instead of the well-known chicken korma. I just wanted to put my own twist on it. Plus, there’s a lot less beef korma recipes (taps head).

Beef isn’t eaten much in India, killing cows is actually illegal in 20 of its 29 states. This is because the Hindu majority does not wish to kill cows, which is great. But I am willing to. And so is the 11% of the Indian population that is Muslim.

You see, the Mughal Empire ruled most of India and Pakistan in the 16th – 17 century. The official religion was Islam, even though the majority of their subjects were Hindu. I won’t get into any of the problems that caused. This is a food blog!

Anyway, that’s my roundabout explanation for why using beef isn’t a violation of Indian cuisine. I got some terse words from someone for substituting gouda for queso fresco in my papa a la huancaina recipe. So if anyone gets angry, that’s ok. Just remember there’s more than one way to skin a cat.


Beef Korma Tips

1. Meat Marinade

Chunks of sirloin steak marinating in yogurt and spices
Put it in the fridge next.

You want to let your meat marinate for at least an hour. Let the flavor penetrate deep into the meat. Some liquid will probably be drawn from the meat because of the salt, which is expected. Pour out the liquid before moving the meat to the skillet. You don’t have to take it out of the fridge early, since we are just searing it.

2. Blend The Sauce

Chopped onion and shallot in a blender.
Put the top on.

You don’t have to cut up your veggies finely at all. It was my first time with this blender, so I wanted to take it easy. Some liquid in the bottom helps the blender, so you can throw in some olive oil and yogurt before the veggies.

3. The Spices

Cinnamon, black pepper, salt, coriander, garam masala, nutmeg, tumeric, cumin, curry powder, and cardamom.

What I’m about to say might be heresy, but here it goes: you probably don’t need all these spices. If you don’t have them already, then it’s going to cost you like $50 in spices alone. Garam masala actually has a lot of spices in it already. So you could just use garam masala, tumeric, curry powder, salt, and pepper. Also, anything with lots of spices and cream is going to be great, so don’t be afraid of not following the recipe.

4. The Rest

The finished beef korma sauce, with cooked steak chunks in the skillet.

So, this is what your curry should look like before the finishing touches. Always taste your food before it’s too late!!! In this particular test, I used walnuts, which I found gave off a bitter flavor. I had to add more sugar and cream to cover that up.

That’s why I’m recommending you use pecans instead. Or almonds, but every korma recipe calls for almonds and I like to be different. I thought this was pretty delicious, but let me know below if you agree or disagree!


Beef korma with a parsley and walnut garnish, white rice on the side

Beef Korma

Dennis
A twist on a classic korma curry, using beef and walnuts.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hr 15 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 1 hr 45 mins
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine Indian, Mughlai
Servings 5 people
Calories 918 kcal

Equipment

  • 1 large pot
  • 1 skillet

Ingredients
  

Meat Marinade

  • 1 lb sirloin steak
  • 3 tbsp yogurt
  • salt
  • pepper
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • ½ tsp curry powder

Blend The Sauce

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 white onion
  • 2 shallots
  • 2 jalapenos
  • ¼ cup yogurt
  • 4 garlic cloves

The Spices

  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • ¾ tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp tumeric
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp coriander
  • 2 tsp curry powder
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • ½ tsp cardamom
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ⅓ tsp black pepper

The Rest

  • ½ cup yogurt
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 2 tomatoes diced
  • ½ cup pecans chopped
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 cups rice (optional)

Instructions
 

Meat Marinade

  • Start by chopping up the steak into 1 inch chunks. Put in a container. Add spices and yogurt. Combine thoroughly. Put it in the fridge. Let it set for at least an hour.

Blend The Sauce

  • Cut the veggies into quarters so they fit nicely in the blender. Pour olive oil in first. Then yogurt, then the veggies on top. Pulse into a liquid. If the blender is having trouble starting, add some water or milk.
  • Add a little olive oil to the bottom of a large pot and heat on medium. Add your paste, add the spices, stir, and cook for 6 minutes.
  • While cooking the paste, go ahead and start the steak. Add a little olive oil to the skillet and heat up on medium. Add the steak to the skillet. Sear the steak on every side, about 6 minutes. Take off heat.

The Rest

  • Add the yogurt, heavy whipping cream, brown sugar and tomatoes to the paste. Turn heat to medium-low. Stir thoroughly. Cook until tomatoes have wilted, about 10 minutes. Taste and make any desired changes, more salt, sugar, etc.
  • Add steak into curry, cook for another 3 minutes to combine flavors. Serve in bowls with a hearty scoop of rice on the side. Garnish with chopped pecan on top.

Nutrition

Calories: 918kcalCarbohydrates: 76gProtein: 31gFat: 55gSaturated Fat: 26gCholesterol: 192mgSodium: 586mgPotassium: 811mgFiber: 4gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1918IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 199mgIron: 3mg
Keyword beef, curry, indian, indian food, korma, north indian
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Get some spices yourself and start cooking! (doesn’t have to be here)

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Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: beef, curry, indian, korma, north indian

About Dennis

When I'm not experimenting in the kitchen, I enjoy rock climbing and acting. Meme expert. Anime connoisseur.

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