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Chilli beef with black pepper
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 2tbsp vegetable oil
- 2tsp black mustard seeds
- 1/2tsp black peppercorns, finely crushed with a pestle and mortar
- 2 cinnamon sticks, halved
- 15-20 fresh curry leaves (optional)
- 1tbsp peeled and julienned fresh root ginger
- 2tsp garlic paste, or 3 garlic cloves pounded with a pestle and mortar
- 3 green chillies, 1 sliced and 2 slit open lengthways down the middle but left whole
- 1/2tsp ground turmeric
- 1tbsp tomato purée, mixed with 2tbsp water
- 600g beef fillet, cut into strips around 1cm thick
- good pinch salt, or to taste
- good pinch sugar, or to taste
- finely sliced spring onions, to garnish
Method
I’m using the delicious, tender cut of beef fillet, but you can use any cut you like; just make sure it’s lean, otherwise it will be chewy. It’s pretty quick, like a stir-fry, so try and use a wok if you have one but if not a large, heavy-based frying pan will do.
Gently heat the oil in a wok, or large heavy-based frying pan, and add the mustard seeds, crushed peppercorns and cinnamon sticks. After a minute or so the mustard seeds will be jumping out of the pan, so add the curry leaves, ginger, garlic, chillies and turmeric. Allow to soften for a minute before pouring in the tomato purée mix.
Stir well, then turn up the heat and add the beef. keep moving it around the pan so that it colours and then turns golden brown. It will have more flavour if you allow it to caramelise, but be careful not to burn the other ingredients. The beef won’t take long to cook – around a minute if you like it pink in the middle.
Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and sugar. Sprinkle over some sliced spring onions. Serve with pilaff rice and well-needed cooling cucumber raita.
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