Beef Korma (Afghan Style)

This recipe is FANTASTIC! I mean it!

Usually the beef korma is something we order from an Afghan restaurant and we just love it but this recipe came so close in flavour that I would just make it all the time from now on!

If you've got a pressure cooker by all means use it, or even a slow cooker because the meat is going to need some cooking to tenderize. I cooked mine in a pot on the stove for about 5 hours.
Also it sat in the fridge for two days or so and developed even more flavour.

No caramelizing onions required so the recipe whips up in minutes!

Beef Korma

2 tbsp Oil (and 1 tbsp butter to brown meat)

1 tbsp fresh chopped garlic
1 tbsp fresh ginger

1 finely Chopped onions

Stewing beef (I used half a pound, which is everything in that plate - but you could use a whole pound to feed more people!)

4 tbsp yogurt (I added 6)

2 tsp fresh corriander (I added more!)

1 green chili chopped

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp salt (to taste)

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 whole tomatoes (from can or fresh with skin removed by quick blanching in hot water)

Cut the tomatoes finely with a knife.

1. First I started with a pot and butter, heat the butter and add a drop of oil and once it's hot adding all the stewing beef to brown on all sides. Don't be afraid just let it brown until you see brown bits on the bottom of the pan.

2. Remove the beef onto a plate.

3. Add some more oil if necessary to the pot and then onions and sautee until they look clear on medium (keep an eye on it, I burnt the first batch!)

4. Next to go in is the spices and they toast for a few seconds, then the fresh garlic and ginger (lots of!)

5. Meat gets added back in and finally the yogurt gets fried in the pot a bit until things look a little brown.

6. Add the chopped tomato and some liquid to cook. Simmer and let cook until meat is tender.

Cover the meat with water to cook, as it dries up keep adding more water until the meat is cooked... once it flakes apart if you touch it with a fork it means it's done.

If using a pressure cooker it will cook faster and then if there is extra liquid just let it cook and evaporate off. This should be on the dry size but not too dry. If you see the oils as you see in the plate and the meat is tender then you're on the right track)

I didn't have tomato paste but it turned out just great, also I used a little extra yogurt (double!) and added chopped cilantro 30 mins towards the end of the cooking time because I like my herbs to be "fresher" but not sure how the cilantro in the beginning affects the curry so maybe next time I'll add some in the beginning and end.

Served with little homemade naan breads.

A little yeast, a tbsp of yogurt, flour, salt, water and melted butter. Then they're garnished with sesame seeds and black seeds (Nigella seeds/kalonji/onion seed) before baking on 500 F for a few seconds.

This recipe for the bread was made up, it's not precise so I didn't list the amounts, if you're into bread making like me you'll just throw something together and know how to go by feel, what I would do next time is add more butter to make it flakey.

1 3/4 - 2 cups flour (start with less and use more after adding the water)

1/2 tsp instant yeast

little sugar to feed the yeast

1 tbsp yogurt
1/2 tsp salt

Melted butter - about 3 tbsp

Water to form a dough, just add a few tbsp at a time and knead

Get the yeast going by proofing with a bit of water and the sugar, then add:

Yogurt
The flour

Salt

Add in the butter and stir until it is all absorbed by the flour and distributed. Then add enough water to form a dough.

Let it rise for 4 hours. Make small balls and let them rise a bit more. Flatten out using knuckles and spread with some melted butter and the seed (or a bit of egg and melted butter)

Bake for seconds. (keep an eye on it!) Flip it over if necessary.

So if you're in the neighbourhood come by and share this pot of curry or for more curry recipes and info on the 'Cook & share a pot of curry' event click here

Baghali Polo

Here is a familiar dish that I recently learned had roots in Persia. My mother was introduced to this dish by my sister's childhood Kurdish friend when her mother brought a plate of it over to our house. It's a dill and fava bean rice, known as Baghali Polo in Persian Cuisine.

Favas in Arabic are Baqila, and they are very popular all over the Middle East. In Iraq they are known as Bajila and the dry form is boiled and served as a nice soup - introduced to you hopefully in another post sometime - and the green form is also cooked in this Persian style rice.

All that said I doubt they are as pouplar anywhere as in Egypt, where it is a hearty rustic dish that everyone is familiar with and known as "foul mudamas"

Just like peas and mint are a pouplar combination favas go beautifully with Dill, Shbint in Kurdish or Shibitt in Arabic and Farsi or sometimes Sheveen in Farsi too.
The rice my mother knew was made with a round calarose type rice in Kurdistan but upon searching almost all the Persian recipes were made with a nice fluffy basmati, and being my favourite rice I thought to go with it.

I've combined two recipes that I found online but it's a simple recipe.

-Lots of chopped fresh dill

-Shelled green baby favas (I had thawed from frozen)
-Soaking basmati in salted water for a few hours

-Took the recommendation from one recipe to sautee the fava with some garlic and set aside

-Bring Basmati to a boil for 10-12 mins in a big pot of salted water, drained and rinsed.

Then it was all assembled layering the rice over some oil and a few drops of water and then adding dill, fava and more rice until the last layer was rice. Making holes in the rice and steaming on high for 8 mins or so then adding a bit of water (less than half the amount of rice) and steaming with a lid covered in a kitchen towel for 40 mins or so on a low setting.
A little melted butter can be added to the top when it's done then flipped out onto a pan and gently arranged for serving.

Next time I'd like to add more dill, lots more and see what other things I can do to learn how to perfect the cooking process. I'd also like to add more chopped dill to it after it's cooked because I like the fresh taste.

Any tips and ideas are welcome, feel free to comment and let me know what you think.