Beef Kala Bhuna

This is a delicious Bangladeshi dish that one of my colleagues recommended, once he heard that I have a food blog.

The ingredient list is long, but there’s nothing too out of the ordinary, except—from my point of view—the mace, which I did not have, and didn’t want to run to Penzey’s for.

Making it is fairly easy, but there are a couple of different methods. My colleague told me that my version looked more “wet” than what he’s seen, so I may try a different recipe and see if I get different results. The recipe that I used was from here.

Either way, it was quite good, and I’ll surely make it again.

What you’ll need for the kala bhuna masala blend:

• 1t cumin seed
• 0.25 of a whole nutmeg
• 2 pieces mace
• 6 cloves
• 1t black pepper
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 3 pieces cinnamon
• 1t yellow mustard seeds

What you’ll need for the beef:

• 2T neutral oil
• 2 lbs good-quality stew beef
• Salt, to taste
• 1t red chilli powder
• 0.5t turmeric powder
• 1t coriander
• 1T garlic-ginger paste
• 0.5 cup sliced onion
• Green chilies—number depends on type of Chile used—maybe 3-5
• 3T mustard oil, divided
• 2T dark soy sauce
• 1 piece mace
• 2 pieces cinnamon
• 4 cardamoms
• 6 black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 0.5 cups plain yoghurt
• 0.5 cups fried onions
• 1T ghee
• *0.25 cups onion cubes
• 1T kala bhuna masala mix
  

*Check YouTube for the many tutorials on cutting onion cubes.

What to do for the kala bhuna masala mix:

Dry-fry all of the spices in a non-stick pan over medium-high until they’re fragrant. This should take just a few minutes. Be careful: they can go from fragrant to burned very quickly.

Take them off the heat and let them cool.

Once cooled, put them in a spice grinder and grind ‘em up. This batch makes a little more than 2 tablespoons, if I remember correctly.

What to do to make the beef:

Add this stuff to a large fry pan and sauté for 5-10 minutes:

• oil
• meat
• salt
• red chilli powder
• turmeric powder
• coriander
• garlic-ginger paste
• sliced onion
• half of your green chilies
• 2T mustard oil
• dark soy sauce
• mace
• cinnamon
• cardamom
• cloves
• black pepper
• bay leaves
• plain yogurt
  

Now, add the fried onion and cover it. Cook it for 3 hours over very low heat, or you could put it in a pressure cooker for 20-30 minutes. I cooked this batch on the stove. Once the meat is cooked, keep stirring until all water has evaporated.

In another fry pan, heat the remaining 1T of mustard oil and ghee, then add the onion cubes, and green chilis. Now add the cooked beef, stirring continuously.

Next add the masala mix and mix well.

You’re done! Garnish with fried onion, and serve with steamed rice or paratha or roti.