Beef and Potato Curry

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Comforting beef and potato curry with yogurt and spinach, this easy dish is one of my favorite curries.

Rich yet rather light beef and potato curry, a mild and flavorsome recipe bound to please anybody. If curry is something new for you, you might just well start with this recipe, you will love it! This is the first curry I’ve ever cooked myself. And if would like a vegan potato curry, try this Cauliflower and Potato Curry.

I found the original recipe in Good Food Magazine about 13 years ago, but over the years I changed the recipe here and there, really made it my own or our own, we all love this beef yogurt curry, even the children.

Ingredients

The ingredients you need for this recipe are all pretty straightforward, simple ingredients, nothing fancy. Even the spice list, which can be so extensive in the case of other curries, is pretty short.

Spices:

• Fresh ginger and garlic. I made the curry with ginger and garlic paste from a jar and it was fine, so feel free to use that if you happen to have it. However, I rarely have that, so I always use fresh ginger and garlic, which I grate on the fine grater.
• Fresh red chili, the quantity you use is really according to your taste. If you don’t have fresh chili, you can replace that with a small dry chili or some dried chili flakes. Again, adjust the quantity according to your heat tolerance. I usually don’t make this dish hot.
• Curry paste: I always use what I happen to have in the fridge, and what I happen to have most of the time is the green curry paste.
• To these spices, you will add a generous amount of ground cumin and ground coriander, and there you have it: the base for a spicy, flavorful, comforting, and delicious beef potato curry.

Stock or broth:

• Either vegetable broth, chicken, or beef stock. I often use homemade chicken stock, because I almost always have in the fridge or freezer, but if I have forgotten to thaw it, then I use vegetable broth made from an organic vegetable stock cube or vegetable broth powder.

Ground beef:

• You can use regular ground beef or lean ground beef, the choice is yours.
• I have even used a mixture of ground beef and ground pork and it was delicious.

Potatoes:

• The original recipe calls for new potatoes, unpeeled and halved, but usually, I just take regular potatoes, which I peel and cut into rather large chunks.

Spinach:

• Fresh or frozen spinach. For convenience, I use frozen spinach most of the time.
• If using frozen spinach, let the spinach thaw. squeeze it well, and add it to the pot during the last five minutes of the cooking time. If you forgot to thaw the spinach, then add it to the pot when the potatoes are about half cooked and let the spinach thaw and get warm directly in the pot.
• However, this will mean that the beef curry will be a bit more watery at the end and you might have to adjust the taste again with more spices. So, it is preferable to remember to thaw and drain the frozen spinach.
• If you use fresh spinach, two large handfuls of it should be enough. Add the spinach to the curry and let wilt in the pot.

Yogurt:

• I use regular fat yogurt most of the time, but full-fat Greek yogurt (10% fat content) is indeed the best option. More fat, but also more creaminess. The choice is yours.

How to make beef curry?

• Brown the ground meat in a larger stew pot or Dutch oven and remove it from the pot.
• Cook the finely chopped onion for about 5 minutes, then add the grated ginger and garlic, finely chopped chili, and all the spices. Stir fry for about 1 minute or until fragrant.
• Return the meat to the pot and add the chunky potatoes and the vegetable, chicken or beef stock. Cover, leaving a crack open, and simmer the beef potato curry for about 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

• If using fresh spinach, add it to the pot during the last minute, it will need a very short time to wilt.
• If using defrosted and squeezed spinach add it to the pot about 5 minutes before the cooking time is over, so it will have enough time to warm through.

• Thicken the sauce with some cornstarch. Place the cornstarch into a small bowl, add a few tablespoons cold water to obtain a thick yet pourable paste, and whisk this paste into the simmering sauce. Let bubble once or twice.
• I usually have to thicken the sauce with some cornstarch, especially if I let the frozen spinach defrost directly in the pot. It is recommendable (I like a creamier, thicker sauce), but not mandatory. We like crushing the potatoes on the plate with a fork and that also helps to get a thicker sauce when you are eating.
• Remove the pot from the heat and swirl in the yogurt.

How to serve?

The best side dish is naan bread. I love mopping the sauce with the fresh bread. However, if I didn’t have naan bread, I also served the beef potato curry with sourdough or crusty white bread.

You can also make a salad on the side, a cucumber or carrot raita would be great as well.

The beef curry with potatoes keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days and it can be easily reheated.

More curries:

Paneer Tikka Masala

Easy Zucchini Curry

Chicken Balti

Chicken Spinach Curry

Moong Dal Tadka