Goan Curry on the Braai/BigGreenEgg

Well, I hope that you have all been braaiing since my last blog, I know I have! Sorry for the long break but I had a bit of a rest and unfortunately my mother passed away during this time so my not blogging was not all due to me enjoying myself, many thanks to those who sent there condolences it was greatly appreciated.

It looks like the fantastic summer we have had, has come to an abrupt end but that doesn’t mean that you have to stop braaiing just because the sun’s not shining. What’s needed is a change of what you cook going forward for the next few months and I’m going to start with a curry that I’ve never cooked before. Goan Beef Curry, which is a dryish curry with strong flavours and I’m going to add some potatoes while it cooks so that I don’t have to make two separate dishes today. You can use any cut of beef but why spend a lot of money on rump or sirloin when you are going to cook this slowly for some time and braising or stewing steak will be even better, when it’s cooked this way. Let jump right in…

SERVES 6: PREP: 15MINS: COOK TIME: 1½HRS

Ingredients:

1kg braising or stewing steak cut into 2.5 cm cubes
4 x Large potatoes chopped into largish pieces
2 x Brown onions finely chopped
6 x Cardamom pods deseeded
1tsp Fennel seeds
½ tsp Fenugreek seeds
½ tsp Ground black pepper
3tsp Coriander seeds
3tsp Cumin seeds
½tsp Ground turmeric
2tsp Chilli powder
8 x Cloves
10cm Cinnamon stick
6 x Garlic cloves finely chopped
10cm Piece of ginger, grated
125ml Olive oil
100g Creamed coconut dissolved in 310ml water, or 310ml coconut milk

Method how to prepare:

Preheat the Braai to 200°C (400°F) Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods and grind them in a spice grinder or with a pestle & mortar, along with the fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick, fenugreek seeds, black pepper and the coriander and cumin seeds, until they form a fine powder.
Heat the oil in a tagine, potjie pot, heavy-based frying pan or casserole dish over medium heat and fry the onion, garlic and ginger until lightly browned.
Add the meat and fry until brown all over.
Add all the spices and fry for 1 minute. Add the creamed coconut and bring slowly to the boil.
Cover, reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until the meat is tender.
Remove the lid and add the potatoes into the curry, push them down below the surface so that they are totally covered.
Replace the lid and cook for a further 45 minutes.
If the liquid evaporates during cooking, add about 185 ml (3/4 cup) boiling water and stir to make a thick sauce.
If the sauce is still too liquid at the end of the cooking time, simmer with the lid off until it evaporates. Season with salt, to taste.

This Goan curry had such a fantastic aroma it just brought a smile to my face to think that I had created this from scratch, no packets or bottles of sauce anywhere. I served it with some plain steamed basmati rice, sambals and a large dollop of Mrs Ball chutney. Give this a go even if you don’t cook it on the braai, it’s really worth the little time it takes and I’m sure it wont be the last time you cook this either.

Until next time keep on braaiing!

P.S. don’t forget that next week is National Braai Day back in SA and now all over the world. So if you decide to have some friends around for a braai take some pics and share them with me and I will post them up on the blog for all to see. Keep well Larry

Texan Steak Braaied to perfection

Well, what a week we've had in the UK, force 6-8 winds, floods, thunder and lightning how exciting! Anyway I managed to braai this week and what I decided to do was braai a massive pieces of rump steak or what some people call "Blue Bulls Steaks" depending on where you're from. Or as one of my Facebook fans suggested "Heineke Steek" LOL. However we will be selling these on our web site and call them "Texan Steaks" just to keep the peace.

It's a very simple thing to cook a great steak but its just as easy to murder a great piece of meat. If you follow the following simple instructions you shouldn't go to far wrong.

Serves 2 - Prep: 2 minutes (1hr marinating if you must) - Cook Time: 6-8 mins

Ingredients:

1 x 800g Black Gold Rump Steak (300-400g per person) if you are a South African carnivore or less if your from anywhere else, lol.
Sea Salt or a marinade of your choice if you must but these steaks just don't need anything added
2 x potatoes to bake on the Braai
Salads of your choice

Method

Preheat the braai to about 300°C (550°F)
Get the Braai as hot as you can
Idealy you need a lid to cook this way as this stops the flames from rising to high and just burning the meat
Season the meat to your choice (see image below)
If you are using a marinade, always give it at least an hour to absorb the spices
Make sure that the meat is rested and not to cold, don't cook straight from the fridge always let it come up to room temp
The trick when cooking a steak is not to turn it to often, once on each side and the just a quick turn again to put those great diagonal burns in the meat.
For a steak of this size 850g I cooked it only for 4 minutes on each side to get a medium rare steak. Add or subtract a minute on each side depending on if you want to go up or down the cooking scale. This usually works a treat for me, resulting in a steak landing on my plate just the way I want it.
BIG TIP, always let the meat rest for at least 5 minutes after it comes off the braai so that it relaxes and reabsorbs the juices. Be patient and you will be rewarded.

Get a 800g Texan Steak for free!

To launch these steaks on our web site they will be discounted by 15% for the first two weeks that they are on sale, so make the most of this offer if you are a meat lover. Also tell me why (in the comments area below) you think you should be the first to try one of these steaks for FREE and we will send you a 800g steak to try. Sorry but this is only available to people on the UK mainland due to delivery restrictions, entries close on the 4th October 12.

Goan Curry on the Braai