I think I’m on some kind of curry marathon at the moment. I can’t get enough of the stuff. And beef curry is something I adore, especially when combined with my all time favourite carbohydrate, sweet potato. Together we have a delicious beef and sweet potato curry that’s perfect for a week night supper or for a special having friends over kind of occasion.
Now recently I have lost a fair amount of weight, and the eagle-eyed amongst my instagram followers have been hot on the trail, asking how and why and if everything is okay. To reassure you, I am not ill. I have had a very stressful couple of months which I will tell you all about soon. The weight loss is I think a combination of stress, not sleeping and then, if I am honest, a bit of a loss of appetite. Now this is not something that has ever happened to me before. I have always found it very hard to lose weight I’ve tried everything over the years. This time I have gone from a good (read: large) size 14 over Christmas to a regular size 12. In fact two of my size 12 jeans are loose. I am under no illusions. I know that my love of eating vast quantities will return, but for now I am trying to see the bright side of a few bad months – that my jeans are looser and I can rediscover some of my old pre baby wardrobe. And the thing is, once you lose weight and get smaller, your appetite reduces. (This was news to me, obvious as it sounds). So much so that I was out last week and found myself leaving the brioche bun that encased my burger. I used to sneer at women who did this. A bit like my feelings for women who order a Happy Meal at McDonalds. Now I get it. Being full to the point of wanting to vomit is not actually that enjoyable. Who knew.
Back to the recipe – here she is. I hope you enjoy it. Freezes well of course and also perfect for making in the pressure cooker or slow cooker. If you want to explore more beef and sweet potato curry recipe then Annabel Karmel has a Thai inspired version here and BBC Good Food website has a reader recipe too which looks ace. I use a Le Creuset casserole dish which you can buy here. It is a HUGE amount of money for a casserole dish. Needless to say it was a wedding gift. However I use it so often that I think cost per use is actually very good. I also use my Pressure King Pro to make this curry which is less money and is available here.
Lots of great recipes like this in my books, Recipes from a Normal Mum, (available on Amazon, at The Works, Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets) and The Power of Frozen (available through Amazon).
Last year: Finger licking spiced ribs and Baked Bramley apple cheesecakes and Easter biscuit baking kit and My never fail Victoria sponge and Double Decker brownies and Easy pea and ham soup and Coconut and lemon tart.
Two years ago: Weaning flapjack and White chocolate mousse eggs and Easter chocolate nests with biscuit chicks and Lamb, pea and mint pie with rough puff pastry and Homemade Snickers and Spinach, ricotta and sweet potato lasagne and Mother’s Day afternoon tea and Chocolate chip cookies and Lemon and raspberry trifle
Three years ago: Florentine quiche and Flourless chocolate cake and Cadbury Creme Mini Egg chocolate flapjack and School fair rocky road
Four year ago: White chocolate & cranberry hot cross buns and Cadbury creme egg mess and Banoffee pecan mini pavs
Five years ago: Easter Apostles scone loaf and Carrot cake in a cup for Mother’s Day and Cranberry oaty biscuits
Six years ago: Mini chocolate birds nests and Puff pastry and Walnut bread
Yield: 4
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 small onions, peeled and chopped
- 710g stewing beef
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- Seeds of 4 cardamom pods, ground
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- 20g fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced/grated
- 50g creamed coconut (the block stuff)
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 3cm chunks
Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a hob proof casserole dish (with a lid - this is for later), add the salt and onions and fry on a low heat for 15 minutes until they soften and start to brown lightly then remove from the dish and set aside. Toss the beef in the flour and black pepper then brown in thirds in the dish. Once each batch is browned remove and set aside. Finally when all the beef is browned pour the rest of the oil into the dish and add the garam masala, turmeric, cumin, coriander, chilli and cardamom. Fry for 3 minutes on a low heat to release the flavours then add the beef and onions back in. Lastly add the rest of the ingredients apart from the sweet potato and bake in a preheated oven at 180c/fan 160/gas mark 4 with the lid on for 1 hour before adding 400mls water. Place back in the oven for a further hour before adding the sweet potatoes. Give a little stir and replace the lid. Bake for a further 45 minutes before serving with rice, fresh coriander and maybe some peshwari naan. (To make in the pressure cooker simply use the 'fry' function on the Pressure King Pro for the first stage, then cook on 'stew' for 45 minutes with all the ingredients including the water but without the potatoes. Release the pressure, open and add the sweet potato. Cook on 'stew' again for a further 6 minutes before releasing the pressure. If you prefer a thicker curry simply use the 'fry' function to reduce the curry with the lid open).
Get the monthly newsletter...
and subscribe to get all recipes straight to your inbox!