A delicious meat curry, synonymous to the northern district of Kasargode in Kerala…
When September started, I had noted down that I will do one post every Monday. That was the deal. Somehow, after posting the Iced Hibiscus Tea, that didn’t happen. My whole plans went derailed. A few things came over which took over and the blog had to wait. Alhamdulillah, unfortunately, whatever took my time didn’t work out. I felt sad initially, and then I thought to myself, it wasn’t meant for me. If it was, the Almighty has absolutely no reason to block it from me. In the same time, during the Quran class, we were taught for the following verse:
And do not crave what Allah has given some of you over others. Men will be rewarded according to their deeds and women ˹equally˺ according to theirs. Rather, ask Allah for His bounties. Surely Allah has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of all things. (Surah An-Nisa:32)
SubhanAllah… He tells us to keep asking so that He can provide from His infinite bounties. What more is there to assure myself that things will turn out for good! In Sha Allah… 🙂
Meanwhile, trying to get back into posting with this delicious curry, which is synonymous to the north Kerala district of Kasargode. Kasargode is a very peculiar state. Though it belongs to Kerala, they don’t speak legit Malayalam. Their language is a mix of all languages that belong to the boundaries in proximity to them, like Tulu, Kannada, etc. It is actually nice to hear, if you ask me. D had a colleague from there and his wife’s language was always over the head for us. However, umma managed to understand and can still pull out a decent conversation with her, where both understand each other despite their different dialects. 😀
OK, so coming back to the curry, it is said to be a specialty of Kasargode and normally served in masjids during festivals, called “nercha” along with ghee rice, or during Ramadan and/or Eid. I adapted this recipe from an online source. The main difference in this curry from the way I usually make, is that the meat is marinated in a mix of aromatic spices for some time, before adding it to the onion-tomato masala to get cooked. It makes the dish more spiced and aromatic. I kept the curry a little thick because we had it with porottas, but surely this is amazing with any type of rice as well. When you crave for something different to make with your beef, then go ahead and try this amazing recipe, that doesn’t take much time, unlike the list of ingredients that go in, which seems quite long. 😀 Off to the recipe…
Beef Palli Curry | Kasargode Style Meat Curry
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef with bones, meduim peices
SPICES TO ROAST
- 3 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp fennel powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 1/8 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/8 tsp clove powder
- Salt to taste
FOR GRAVY
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 2 meduim onions chopped
- 3 green chillies slit
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
- Handful of chopped coriander leaves optional
FOR TEMPERING
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 5-6 dried red chillies
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
Instructions
- Wash and drain the beef well.
- On a hot saucepan, on low heat, roast all the ingredients under "spices to roast" for a few minutes or till aromatic.
- Add onto the beef, sprinkle in salt and toss well to coat all over. Marinate for 15 minutes or as long as possible.
- In a pressure cooker, heat coconut oil. Fry the ginger garlic paste for a couple of minutes.
- Add the onions and green chillies and saute till wilted.
- Add the tomatoes and cook till all mashed up.
- Now add the marinated beef along with a glass of water (ideally the water cleaning up any residue marination in the bowl), add more salt if needed.
- Cook for 5-6 whistles or till the beef is nicely cooked.
- Once done, sprinkle in the garam masala and add the coriander leaves if using.
- Heat oil for tempering. Splutter the mustard seeds and fry the dry chillies and curry leaves. Add in to the curry, allow it to rest for five minutes.
- Serve hot with neychor or flatbread of choice.