Beef Fry

- Submitted by Dahlia

(Kerala Beef Fry, Beef Varuval, Beef Ularthiyathu, Beef Sukha)

The very thought of Beef Fry makes me drool. This spicy dry dish is served in all road side shops, known as thattukadai in Kerala. It pairs well with parotta, aapam, puttu and with ghee rice. The main flavours of this fry is the coconut oil, crushed black pepper, lots of curry leaves and the little bits of coconut which is fried along with the beef pieces. Since I was not able to get coconut pieces here in US, I haven't added them. 

In the recipe below, I have roasted the beef with freshly ground spices. This imparts a fresh flavour. If you can find coconut pieces, do add them. The final dish is delicious. 

Recipe for Beef Fry

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients

• Beef - 2 lbs (1 kg cut into cubes)
• Shallot onions - 10/ Onion - 1 big (sliced)
• Tomato - 1 (pureed/chopped))
• Ginger Paste - 2" piece
• Garlic Paste - 8-10 cloves
• Green Chilies - 3
• Curry Leaves - 2 strings
• Coconut Oil - 4 tbsp

Spice Mix

• Coriander Seeds - 3 tbsp
• Peppercorns - 3/4 tbsp
• Fennel Seeds - 2 tbsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
• Dry red Chilies - 10
• Cloves - 6
• Cinnamon Stick - 1 small stick
• Cardamom - 5
• Star Anise - 1
• Curry Leaves - 2 strings

Method

1. Dry roast all the ingredients under 'spice mix' in medium low flame till all the spices give a nice aroma and turns lightly golden brown.
2. After it cools down, grind it to a coarse powder.
3. Mix this with the beef along with required salt, turmeric powder, ginger paste, garlic pate, tomato puree and finely chopped green chilies.
4. Put this beef with all the spices into a pressure cooker with very little water and let it cook for 2-3 whistles till the meat turns tender. (Note : - If you do not have a pressure cooker, cook it in a big vessel for about 40 minutes or until meat is tender.)
5. After the pressure comes down, open the cooker. Switch on the flame again.
6. Add some fresh curry leaves and sliced onions to the cooked beef and let it cook on medium high heat till all the liquid evaporates.
7. Add oil little by little and continue frying till it becomes dry  and dark brown in colour. 
8. All the masala, sliced onions and curry leaves will also get fried and get stuck to the beef. This forms a yummy coating around each beef piece.

Serving Beef Fry

• Serve the hot Kerala beef fry with steaming rice, nei choru, parotta, aapam, dosa, pathiri, chapati etc.

Tips

• You could also make mutton fry or lamb fry using the same recipe.

More Beef Recipes

Kappa Biriyani	Beef Stew
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