Ingredients:
Serves 4-6
For the curry:
1 Onion, peeled and diced
75g Peanuts
6 Small red chillis, sliced (seeds in or out depending on how hot you want your curry)
1 tblsp Ground coriander
2 tblsp Ground cumin
6 cardamon pods
0.25 tsp Ground cloves
4 Peeled cloves garlic
2 tblsp Palm sugar (or soft brown sugar)
1.5 inch Ginger root, peeled and grated
1.5 tblsp Thai fish sauce
1kg Beef cheeks, any outer sinews removed and cut into 1 inch pieces.
500g waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
2 x 400ml Tins coconut milk
2 Cinnamon sticks
50g of Seedless tamarind, soaked for 10 minute in 100ml boiling water
6 Kaffir lime leaves
0.5 tsp Ground white pepper
1 tsp Salt
For the salad:
Half a cucumber, cut lengthways into 4, seeds removed and sliced thin at an angle.
8 Radishes, thinly sliced
3 Spring onions, sliced
1 tblsp Cooking rice wine
2 tblsp White wine vinegar
2 tblsp caster sugar
A handful of peanuts, toasted and broken
A handful of chopped coriander
To serve:
Jasmine rice
Crushed, toasted peanuts
Thinly sliced chillis
Chopped coriander and Thai basil
Method:
For the curry:
- Pre heat an oven 140 degrees C (275 degrees F) Gas mark 1
- In a blender put the chillis, garlic, onion, peanuts, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cloves, cardamon pods, ginger and fish sauce. Blend into a smooth a paste as possible.
- Heat a heavy bottomed casserole dish on the stove, add a little oil and fry the beef in batches to brown the outside.
- Place all the seared meat back in the pan along with the blended ingredients, fry on a low heat for a few minutes, stirring continuous.
- Add the tamarind along with the water it has been soaking in and stir.
- Add the coconut milk, cinnamon sticks, lime leaves and salt and pepper and stir to bring everything together.
- Bring gently to the boil, place the lid on and place in the oven for three hours.
- After 3 hours remove from the oven, carefully stir in the chopped potatoes, replace the lid and put back in the oven for a further hour.
- Remove from the oven, check the meat is as tender as can be and that the potatoes are soft, if not return to the oven.
- When you’re happy everything is cooked, allow to stand with the lid on before serving.
- Finish by topping with toasted peanuts, coriander and freshly sliced chillis.
For the salad:
- Make the dressing by adding the rice wine, white wine vinegar and caster sugar to a small pan, gently bring to the boil stirring then remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Mix the cucumber, radish, spring onion and coriander along with the cooled dressing.
- Top with the toasted peanuts.
Needarecipe.co.uk 