Asma Khan's Railway Curry
A dish once cooked by chefs working on the Indian railways in the 1900s, Asma's First Class Railway Curry can made with stew meat, lamb, or mutton and will be equally as delicious.
Ingredients
Method
- In a heavy-based pan that has a lid, heat the oil over a medium to high heat. Add the cassia bark, cloves, cardamom pods, bay leaf and dried red chilli. Stir until the spices and the chilli have darkened in colour, then use a slotted spoon to remove the spices to a plate and set aside.
- In the same chilli-infused oil, brown the meat pieces on all sides. Remove the meat from the pan and set aside, leaving as much of the oil in the pan as possible.
- Add the onions, and garlic and ginger pastes to the pan. Take care as the pastes will splutter in the hot oil. Next, add the ground spices followed by the diced tomato and cook for 2 minutes, before returning the whole fried spices and browned meat to the pan. Add the salt, vinegar, and measured water, and bring to the boil. After 1 minute, cover the pan with the lid and reduce to a simmer. After about 1 hour, when the meat is three-quarters cooked (it should be soft, but not falling apart, and the edges should be curled), add the potatoes and stir to coat with the gravy.
- Stir at regular intervals to ensure the potatoes are cooking evenly - do not shake them too much as they may break.
- Once the meat and potatoes are cooked, remove the lid, and reduce any remaining liquid until the oil seeps to the edges of the pan. Usually, Asma adds some vinegar at this stage too - it depends on whether the vinegar aroma was lost in the cooking process. Add the coconut milk and taste for seasoning before serving.
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Overall Rating:
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