West Indian Spicy Beef Curry Food

WEST INDIAN SPICY BEEF CURRY

Steps:

• Place coriander, anise or fennel, black mustard seeds, cumin seeds and Jamaican allspice in a dry skillet over medium heat. Stir seeds together until mixture smells fragrant. Remove from heat and grind in a spice grinder. Stir in turmeric and cinnamon.
• Dredge meat with 1 tbsp (15 mL) curry mixture, reserving remainder. Season with salt.
• Heat oil in a sauté pan or deep skillet over high heat. Add meat in batches and sear until well browned on all sides, about 4 minutes. Remove from skillet and reserve. The meat should be rare.
• Add more oil to skillet, if needed, reduce heat to medium and add onion, red and yellow peppers, sweet potato and 1 tbsp (15 mL) spice mixture (there may be some left over). Sauté until onions are softened. Add tomatoes and stock. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until sauce is thickened and sweet potato is cooked. Stir in lime juice.
• When ready to serve, reheat sauce and add meat. Simmer together for 5 to 8 minutes or until meat is hot and a little more cooked. Sprinkle with coriander just before serving.

WEST INDIAN CURRIED CHICKEN ROTI

Steps:

• In a medium skillet or saute pan combine the turmeric, chili flakes, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, ginger, garlic powder, mustard seeds, pepper, allspice, and cinnamon and cook, shaking the pan frequently, until spices are fragrant and just beginning to smoke. Remove from the heat, transfer to a shallow plate and allow to cool completely. Transfer to a coffee grinder or spice mill and process until very finely ground. Reserve 6 tablespoons of the spice mixture separately and transfer the remainder to an airtight container and save for another purpose.
• In a mixing bowl combine the chicken, 2 tablespoons of the curry powder, 1 teaspoon of the salt and 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil and set aside, covered, for 20 minutes.
• In a large Dutch oven, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and, when hot, add the chicken pieces and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, thyme, hot pepper if using, and remaining 4 tablespoons curry powder and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, and brown sugar and bring to a simmer. Add the remaining teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is very tender and falling from the bone and the sauce has reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 1 1/2 hours. Stir in the cilantro and adjust seasoning, if necessary.
• (Note: traditionally, curried chicken roti is eaten with the chicken still on the bones. If you prefer otherwise, at this point you can remove the chicken from the sauce and remove the meat from the bones and then return the meat to the sauce before serving.)
• Serve the chicken and sauce ladled into the center of the roti breads, then fold both sides over the filling. Fold the top and bottom ends over the sides to form a neat square package, and serve.
• To make the breads, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Combine the oil and water and add this mixture to the well. Using your hands, mix to form a dough. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth. Divide the mixture into 6 balls of dough and set aside for about 2 hours, covered with a damp kitchen towel. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball of dough into a thin, flattened circle about 9 inches in diameter. Set aside, covered, until ready to cook the breads to serve. (Do not stack.)
• Heat a large griddle or 12-inch skillet over high heat and add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil. When hot, add the bread dough and cook until brown spots form on the bottom, about 1 minute. Turn the bread and cook on the second side, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to a large plate or baking sheet and cover with a damp towel to keep warm while you prepare the remaining breads.

WEST INDIAN LAMB CURRY

Steps:

• Pat lamb dry with paper towels and place in a large bowl. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon curry powder, the salt, the ground ginger and the black pepper. Add spice mix to large bowl and toss with lamb.
• Combine onion, scallion, garlic, fresh ginger, allspice, thyme leaves and 2 tablespoons oil in a blender; purée until smooth. Scrape mixture over lamb and toss to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir in 2 teaspoons curry powder and heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding the pot, brown the meat on all sides. Drizzle in additional oil, if needed, to prevent meat from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Transfer browned meat to a plate as it browns.
• Once all the meat has been browned, return it to the pot, along with any juices on the plate. Add enough water to just cover meat. Bring liquid to a simmer, covered, then uncover the pot and cook gently for 45 minutes.
• Stir potato, carrot and pepper into pot. Simmer until vegetables are fork tender and meat is cooked through, about 30 to 45 minutes longer.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer meat and vegetables to a bowl. Simmer cooking liquid until it has reduced and thickened to a saucy consistency (to taste), about 15 minutes. Taste sauce and add more salt if needed. Pour sauce over meat. Serve over rice, topped with a squeeze of lime, a dollop of mango chutney or pickle and fresh cilantro.

WEST INDIAN CURRIED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook the chicken, onions, and garlic until the chicken has browned; about 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes, salt, and curry powder; add enough water to cover the chicken halfway. Cover, and simmer until tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Season to taste with hot pepper sauce.

WEST INDIAN SPICED AUBERGINE CURRY

Steps:

• Mix the dry spices and 1 tsp salt together in a bowl and set aside.
• Slice the aubergine into 1cm rounds, then score both sides of each round with the tip of a sharp knife. Rub with the spice mix until well coated (you should use all of the mix), then transfer to a board. Put 150ml water in the empty spice bowl with the tomato purée, chilli, ginger and sugar. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and arrange the aubergine in the pan, overlapping the rounds if needed. Fry for 5 mins on each side, or until golden. Add the liquid mix from the bowl, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 mins, turning the aubergine occasionally until it's cooked through. If it seems dry, you may need to add up to 100ml more water to make it saucier. Season.
• Scatter over the spring onions and coriander, and serve with rice, yogurt, roti and lime wedges for squeezing over.

WEST INDIAN BEEF STEW

Steps:

• Stir together flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 6-quart wide heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking.
• While oil is heating, dredge one third of beef in flour, shaking off excess, then brown on all sides, about 6 minutes total. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Dredge and brown remaining meat in 2 batches in same manner, adding 1 tablespoon oil per batch and transferring beef as cooked with slotted spoon to bowl.
• Add remaining tablespoon oil to pot and sauté garlic, onions, and bell peppers, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 12 minutes.
• Whisk together tomato paste and water in a small bowl.
• Add tomatoes with reserved juice to onion mixture along with tomato paste mixture, bay leaf, Tabasco, and sugar. Bring to a boil and add beef, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until meat is very tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Stir in rum and olives and simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaf.