Sweet Beef Cashew Korma

Sweet Beef Cashew Korma
Home Cooking



Another lunch party. Another curry. I think I'm falling into a rut here. Hey, is it a crime to be curry-obsessed? In all fairness, I was tossing up between several other dishes including satay chicken or a meatball pasta. My curry fetish prevailed.

I had a few goals. Firstly, I modeled this dish after the korma I had (and loved) at Mint. Another objective was to get my slow-cooker out and running. I decided on a beef korma that was started the night before with flavors adjusted just prior to serving.

Slow cooker propped up on my study desk

This is my own creation but I did use a supermarket bought curry to form the base of the sauce. I suggest you try whatever label appeals to you but I used Patak's Cashew Masala. The korma from Mint was very sweet but in a distinct way (i.e. not just 'sugary') so I tried to duplicate that with a combination of condensed milk, honey, cream and coconut.

Sweet Beef Cashew Korma
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• ~ 1kg beef chuck steak, cut into 3-4cm cubes
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp each of tumeric, cayenne pepper, ground coriander, ground cumin and curry powder
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4-5 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 x 540g jar of Pataks 'Cashew Masala' simmer sauce
• 100ml beef stock or water
• handful of macadamia nuts, crushed (optional; can also use almond meal or crushed cashew)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/3 cup coconut cream
• 1/3 cup cream
• 1/4-1/3 cup condensed milk
• chopped coriander and steamed basmati rice to serve

Procedure:

1. Season the beef with some salt and pepper. Seal off the meat on high heat in a large pan. Add the spices and stir around.2. Toss in the onion and potatoes.3. Cover with the simmer sauce and water. Stir in the macadamia nuts and honey.4. Remove from heat and place in slow cooker. Cook for at least 5-6 hours.
5. Before serving, stir in the coconut cream, cream and condensed milk.6. Taste and adjust flavors and seasoning as required.
7. Served with a garnishing of coriander and a side of steamed rice.


My curry was but one part of a lot of food that was prepared for this lunch party. I had a sneaky taste before everyone got there and thought it was pretty awesome. It had a nice resemblance to the sweet curry from Mint and I was even pleased with my rice-cooking (normally when I try to make rice, it ends in tears).

When I offered some to Byron, he added in a whole heap of condensed milk before even tasting. He said that he couldn't comment on my original version but his version with the addition of more condensed milk was great and a lot like the Mint curry.

Close-up

As we've emphasized many times before, curries are very personal and every component is adjustable. I just wanted to encourage you to try making curry with a nut-based sauce and condensed milk. It's a great combination, especially for those who like mild curry flavors.

The other point is that the slow-cooked beef was to die for. The beef shrunk a lot after being in the slow cooker so I'm glad I bought as much as I did. Each piece was so tender and melty. It's nice to be able to transform such a cheap cut of meat into something so delicious.