Beef curry roast from Sri Lanka is a coco brown roasted aromatic concoction of curry spices, coconut, and cinnamon. It is a version of beef curry made by slow cooking beef and roasting it until all the spices caramelize around meat. Making beef curry roast really intensifies the flavors and yields a delicious dish.
What will you say if I tell you the best beef curries out there are the ones that are slow cooked over fire for long? Kerala beef curry roast, Panang beef curry, red curry beef roast, Jerk beef curry, beef rendang all use this cooking method. My beef curry roast is inspired by those recipes and undoubtedly one of the most flavorful curries I have ever made.
Flavoring beef curry roast right
The beef curry roast is neither too mild nor overpoweringly spicy. In my beef curry recipe, I use some boiled peanuts to intensify the roasted nutty aroma from the coconut and scent from the aromatics.
It’s important to use an excellent quality stew cut of organic grassfed beef in this recipe. Most of the flavor of the beef curry roast will come from the beef itself and it must really be comparable to the rustic Asian curry spices. A good beef curry roast really needs firm fresh beef that comes from the free grazing cattle, authentic seasoning blends handmade with love, time given on the stove to develop the flavors. There is no fast track to making these types of curries authentic rustic curries. You make them with love for your family and love for the food you make.
Inspiration behind my cooking
My inspiration for cooking came from my own grandmother. She was an amazing intuitive cook. She could with her eyes closed whip up the flavorful thick curry seasoning pastes to go with any vegetable or meat. In this case fresh grass-fed beef. She would then cook her beef curry in clay curry pot over open fire, until beef is well cooked and roasted on its own fat, infused with all those wonderful spices and wood infusion.
My humble gas range is a far cry for the rustic Sri Lankan cooking but with trial and error I have managed to achieve very satisfactory results. I make my curry pastes ahead of time too. It cuts down the work of making a complex curry like beef curry roast in half.
I am using my own home blended turmeric, lemongrass based yellow curry seasoning paste and red curry powder for the marinade and cooking.
Once you have seasonings ready to go, curry comes together very easily. To make the process faster you could also precook beef with spice blend until they become tender and roast it in a skillet / chatti. I highly recommend making this curry in a clay curry pot.
I wouldn’t recommend using a slow cooker because it doesn’t roast the pieces of beef at the end of the cooking process very well. Being a dry fry type of curry beef curry roast freezes well so it’s a great recipe for rice and curry banana leaf wrapped Sri Lankan style rice and curry meals.
Beef Curry Roast
Equipment
- 1 Clay Curry Pot
Ingredients
- 2 lb Stew Beef
- 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1 cup thick coconut milk
- 1 Cup boiled Peanuts Optional
- 1 inch Stick of Cinnamon
Marinade
- 2 tablespoon Red Curry Powder
- 2 Tablespoon Yellow Curry Seasoning
- 1 Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 1 tablespoon Coconut Vinegar / Toddy vinegar
- ½ teaspoon toasted fennel seeds
Instructions
- Cube the beef in to small chunks. Prepare marinade separately and add it to airtight container with beef. rub to coat evenly and Let it beef pieces marinate hour to overnight in refrigerator.
- Boil peanuts beforehand with 1 tsp each turmeric and salt in water. Drain and set aside. Using peanuts in this recipe is optional. If you don't like to add them or have allergies you can totally skip this step. However, I do like the little crunch it gives to the curry at the end.
- heat coconut oil in clay curry pot
- Add beef and fry for 10 minutes until water is released. Add one cup of coconut milk and continue to cook covered until beef is just cooked through.
- Turn the heat on medium high and cook covered until all the liquid evaporate and sauce becomes thick. this step is about 35 minutes long.
- Add cinnamon stick and peanuts ( optional) , keep cooking on medium low flame until beef is really roasted in curry spices and lightly fried in its own oil. Keep turning and scraping the bottom every few minutes to prevent spices from burning at the bottom.
- Beef curry roast is done when the beef pieces firm up and turn golden around the edges. It took another 45 minutes for me.
- Remove from flame and serve over flat bread or rice and curry.
