Beef Vindaloo

We had some leftover Wagyu beef from a previous meal (Braised Short Rib in Barolo), and thought we might give it a try in a curry. When we lived in the UK, you couldn't throw a rock in any direction and NOT hit 6 Indian restaurants. And now that I think about it, we have really not had Indian food in some time.

Vindaloo (as I have had it) is usually crazily-spiced. Not a lot of elegance to it, but that wasn't what I was eating it for. Eating it made me sweat, and probably linked to some kind of endorphin release and/or link to the brain's pain/pleasure centers. I ALWAYS suffered some 'next-day effects' which sometimes couldn't wait past 3AM. But I digress...

So we cracked the 'Best-Ever Curry Cookbook' which, as I have said before, I was wary of buying as cookbooks that proclaim themselves to be the 'best' of anything immediately sends red flags up. Anyhow this, like everything else I have cooked from this cookbook, actually is (or is very close to) the best ever. Using meltingly delicious Wagyu beef certainly didn't hurt it. The spice was subtle and overall, the dish was quite aromatic. One of those you just want to keep eating. So I did.

1 tablespoon cumin seeds
4 dried red chiles
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
5 green cardamom pods, seeds only
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon demerara (raw) sugar
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
900 g stewing beef, cut into 1-in cubes
1" piece ginger, shredded
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
plain and yellow rice, to serve

Use a pestle and mortar to grind the cumin seeds, chiles, peppercorns, cardamom seeds, fenugreek seeds and mustard seeds to a fine powder. Add the salt, sugar and white wine vinegar and mix to a thin paste.

Heat 2 tbsp of the oil and fry the onion over a medium heat for 8-10 minutes. Put the onion and the spice mixture into a food processor or blender and process to a coarse paste.

Heat the remaining oil in the pan and fry the meat cubes over a medium heat for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove the beef cubes with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Add the shredded ginger and crushed garlic to the pan and fry for 2 minutes. Stir in the coriander and turmeric and fry for 2 minutes more.

Add the spice and onion paste and fry for about 5 minutes.

Return the meat to the pan, together with 1 1/4 cups water. Cover and simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours or until the meal is tender. Serve with plain and yellow rice, and a raita, if you like.