Le Beuf Retournes

Pardon my French. It's been far too long since I attempted to do more than just jot down the common interjection.

Yes, beef made a return to Chez Boeckman-Walker Monday night, this time in the form of a curry. Well, I think it was supposed to be a curry. The recipe, from the Stonyfield Farm Yogurt Cookbook, is called Beef and Potato Curry, and the FSM knows it had enough turmeric in it to make it a curry. But it was a bit different from curries I've had.

Turmerific!
Turmeric is a funny spice. It's part of the ginger family, but if you're ever exposed to mass quantities of it many times over (as I was last summer while on the job--don't ask), you'd swear you were being gassed with onion stench. I also don't find the flavor to be too close to ginger, but perhaps that's because my turmeric is a dozen or so years old.

Anywho, if I attempt to make this recipe again, I'll probably halve the turmeric amount. It's a great spice, but it doesn't do much for me except turn my fingertips, countertops, utensils and pots a temporary but nasty shade of yellow-orange that really isn't appetizing to look at for long.

Beef and Potato Curry3 medium onions, chopped
3 T vegetable oil
6 whole black peppercorns
4 cardamom seedpods
4 cloves
1 t coriander seeds
1 1/2 lb. stew beef, cubed
3 t turmeric
3 t ground cumin
2 t chili powder
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 t grated fresh ginger
2 C beef broth
1 C plain yogurt
1 tomato, wedged
4 medium potatoes of any variety, peeled and quartered

1. In a large, heavy skillet or casserole, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
   
   
2. Fry the onions along with the peppercorns, cardamom pods, cloves an coriander seeds until the coriander seeds pop (about 5 minutes).
   
3. Add the beef and brown it on all sides (3 to 5 minutes).
   
4. Add the turmeric, cumin, chili powder, garlic and ginger. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for 2 more minutes.
   
5. Add the broth.
   
6. Stir in the yogurt and tomato.
   
7. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2 hours. Do not allow the mixture to boil.
   
8. Add the potatoes and cook 20 to 30 minutes longer until the potatoes are tender.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutritional Information
These numbers are based on full-fat and full-sodium products.
Calories: 620
Fat: 26 g
Saturated fat: 4 g
Protein: 45 g
Fiber: 6 g
Carbs: 51 g
Cholesterol: 100 mg
Na: 860 mg

The Faudie, of course, doesn't use full-fat and full-sodium products if she can help it. Here are my mods and hacks to this recipe:

• Two tablespoons of canola oil in lieu of five tablespoons. Sheesh, this sucker must be swimming in grease if you follow the recipe!
  
• Continuing on my "Cooking to Clean Out the Refrigerator" theme from last week, I made this recipe in part to get rid of some plain fat-free yogurt and that wretched Wally World beef broth. Unfortunately, I didn't have as much yogurt as I thought, so I wound up using about 3/4 cup of fat-free sour cream and 1/4 c fat-free yogurt. Did it affect the flavor? I couldn't tell. If you've ever had Greek-style yogurt, you might agree with me that its taste and texture is just like sour cream, so I think my substitution was appropriate here.
  
• I used a bag of presliced red potatoes from HEB. I'd sent the husband out after these while I was at the gym Saturday, and he picked up the wrong thing (or the HEB didn't have the brand in the green bag--I didn't ask him). These potatoes weren't wedged very well, so even after half an hour in the pot, they were still pretty hard. Oh well. Perhaps on reheating for leftovers they'll get tender...
  
• Rather than trusting the Lo setting on my stove, I threw the curry into my crockpot on high. It simmered nicely while I was in the study/Star Wars room editing monographs.
  
  
• Since I had canned diced tomatoes leftover from Sunday morning's ridiculously simple chicken curry, I tossed in what looked to my eye to be about one tomato's worth of diced bits.

Unfortunately, I still have a little bit of beef broth left, which I might just chuck, as well as some diced tomatoes, which I can probably find a use for. And I now have a two- or three-cup storage bowl of leftover beef and potato curry in the 'fridge. The Faudie plans, the FSM laughs.

Speaking of planning, I did manage to have enough foresight and wherewithal to remember to towel off the beef before browning it.
Dear 'ol Bridget at America's Test Kitchen would be so proud of me!

Not Quite Beef Aloo
I made this recipe in hopes of replicating the beef aloo that Indian Palace serves on its buffet--which I have to admit is basically just roast beef and potatoes prepared with a few spices in a pressure cooker then set to float in a gravy, much like the stuff Mum made when I was a kid. This recipe got close, but not not close enough. I blame the turmeric.



I quickly made up (screwed up is more like it) some Golden Temple frozen chapati to go along with the curry and jasmine rice. The husband's been wanting chapati for several meals now, not because he wants chapti, mind you. No, he just wants a honey and cinnamon-sugar blend delivery device. Yes, Gentle Reader, my husband has turned chapati into would-be sopapillas. Le sigh.... But, hey, I got to get out the chili roaster, and that's always fun.