Red Beef Curry

Inspired by my friend Frances' beautiful food blog and my general love for food, I decided to try a new type of blog entry: Cooking with Christopher! Last night's menu was a new personal favourite: Madhur Jaffrey's Red Beef (or Lamb) Curry.

What you'll need (in this order):

• olive oil
• 2lbs beef (or lamb), cubed
• 10 cardamom pods
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cloves
• 10 peppercorns
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 inches of ginger, minced
• 1 tsp coriander
• 2 tsp cumin
• 4 tsp paprika
• dash of cayenne (based on preference)
• 1 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp natural yogurt
• 1/4 tsp garam masala (optional)

Tip: Get all this stuff ready in advance, because you'll need it in quick succession as you cook.

Heat olive oil in a large pot at medium-high heat.

Sear your beef cubes in batches (Julia Child-style!), making sure to brown each side and lock in the beefy goodness.

Set your browned beef cubes aside for now.

While the oil and natural meat juices are still hot, add the cardamom, bay leaves, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon stick.

Coat in the oil and stir until the bay leaves turn green (about a minute).

Then put in your chopped onions.

Once they have turned brown (after about 5 minutes), add the minced garlic and ginger and stir for about 30 seconds. (Add a little extra oil if it is sticking to your pot.)

Add the coriander, cumin, paprika, cayenne and salt.

Stir and fry for another 30 seconds. It will begin to form a beautiful red paste.

Re-add the browned beef cubes (and their juices). Stir stir stir.

This wasn't in the original recipe, but I found a delicious, hearty addition is new potatoes...

and fresh carrots. Nothing says "stew" like potatoes and carrots.

Toss them in at this point and coat them in the red paste.

Now, add yogurt - stir in one tablespoon at a time (about 30 seconds each) until all the yogurt is well blended.

Once the yogurt is blended, add 1 to 1 1/2 cups of water (enough so that the ingredients are submersed in liquid). Cover, reduce to medium-low heat, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Stir every 15 minutes, until the sauce reduces.

And voila! Sprinkle with garam masala, and serve on a bed of basmati rice with your favourite chutney. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!