Aromatic beef curry

Recipe by: Azmina Govindji | Photo by: soul_baby306

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Serves: 4
Yield: 4 servings
Ready in: 30 mins (10 mins Prep - 20 mins Cook)

This will satisfy even the most demanding curry addict. Lean and tender sirloin steak is quickly cooked with lots of spices, tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach, with yogurt added to give a luxurious feel. Served with cardamom-spiced rice, it makes a really healthy and nutritious meal.

Recipe provided by:

Reader's Digest | DIABETES Cookbook

Ingredients

1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
150 g (5½ oz) button mushrooms, sliced
400 g (14 oz) sirloin steak, trimmed of fat and cut into thin strips
1½ tsp bottled chopped root ginger in oil, drained
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tsp crushed dried chillies
2 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground cardamom
½ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
1 can chopped tomatoes, about 400 g
1 tsp cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp water
300 g (10½ oz) plain low-fat yogurt
1 tbsp clear honey
125 g (4½ oz) young spinach leaves
juice of ½ lime
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, plus extra leaves to garnish
Cardamom rice:
340 g (12 oz) basmati rice, well rinsed
1 cinnamon stick
8 whole green cardamom pods, cracked
juice of ½ lemon
salt

Preparation method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion and mushrooms. Cook over a high heat for 2 minutes or until the onion slices begin to colour.
Add the beef together with the ginger, garlic, chillies, ground coriander, cardamom, turmeric and nutmeg. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring well, then add the tomatoes with their juice and the cornflour mixture. Bring to the boil, stirring. Stir in the yogurt and honey. Bring back to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the cardamom rice. Put 450 ml (15 fl oz) cold water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the rice, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Bring back to the boil, then cover tightly and cook for 10 minutes or until the rice is tender. Drain and return the rice to the saucepan. Stir in the lemon juice and keep covered until the curry is ready to serve.
Stir the spinach, lime juice and chopped coriander into the curry and allow the leaves to wilt down into the sauce. To serve, spoon the curry over the rice and garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Each serving provides

Excellent source of iron, zinc. Good source of calcium, copper, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin C. Useful source of folate, selenium, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin E.

Another idea

If you like a hot curry, add a halved fresh red chilli to the sauce towards the end of the cooking time. The chilli can be left in the sauce or discarded before serving. Make a Thai-style pork and potato curry. Soften the onion and garlic in the oil with 200 g (7 oz) new potatoes, scrubbed and cut into small cubes, for 5 minutes. Stir in 300 g (10½ oz) pork fillet (tenderloin), thinly sliced, and 2 tbsp Thai red curry paste. Cook for 2 minutes or until browned. Add the canned chopped tomatoes, 150 ml (5 fl oz) vegetable stock and 100 g (3½ oz) ready-to-eat dried apricots, chopped. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until the pork is tender. Mix ½ tsp cornflour with 1 tbsp cold water and stir into the curry with 150 g (5½ oz) plain whole-milk yogurt, 1 tsp caster sugar and the spinach. Cook until the leaves wilt down into the sauce, then serve on plain rice.

Plus points

Cardamom is believed to be helpful for digestive problems, such as indigestion, flatulence and stomach cramps. * Mushrooms are low in fat and calories and provide useful amounts of the B vitamins niacin, B6 and folate. They are also a good source of copper. * Along with its many other nutritional benefits, beef provides vitamins from the B group and is a useful source of vitamin D, which is found in relatively few foods.