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Ox cheek masala, pickled shallots and coriander sauce vierge
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 5tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large white onions, chopped then blended to a purée
- 1tsp black cumin seeds
- 6 fresh curry leaves
- 3tsp ginger paste
- 3tsp green chilli paste
- 4tsp garlic paste
- 2 ox cheeks, fat and sinew trimmed, cut into 2 or 4 pieces depending on size
- 250ml passata
- 1tsp ground turmeric
- 1tsp ground cumin
- 1tsp ground coriander
- 1tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 2 black cardamom pods
- 3 green cardamom pods
- 1 cassia bark or cinnamon stick
- 2tbsp tamarind sauce
- ½tsp ground black pepper
- 1 medium red onion, finely sliced
- 3tbsp white wine vinegar
- coriander leaves, to garnish
For the sauce vierge
- deseeded and diced
- 4 spring onions, roughly chopped
- small handful coriander
- zest 1 lemon and juice of ½
- ¼tsp green chilli paste
To serve (optional)
- cooked rice
- crispy shallots/onions
Method
Heat the oil in a large, heavybased or cast-iron pan that is ovenproof, add the onions and cook over a medium heat for 20–30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 170C/ 150C F/Gas 3. Turn up the heat and add the cumin seeds, curry leaves and the ginger, chilli and garlic pastes. Add the ox cheeks and cook, stirring vigorously to ensure the ginger and garlic pastes don’t burn, before adding the passata and the remaining spices and salt.
Pour in 250ml water and reduce the heat to a slow blip. Put the lid on and cook in the oven for 4–5 hours.
Meanwhile, put the red onion in a small bowl, pour over the vinegar and set aside until ready to serve.
To make the sauce vierge, put the tomatoes in a bowl. Put the spring onions, coriander, lemon zest and juice and the green chilli paste in a small chopper and pulse to finely chop the onions, then stir through the
diced tomato.
Check the seasoning of the ox cheeks and add a little more salt if needed. After a long time cooking, the sauce should be rich, dark and full of flavour, with the meat soft and yielding.
Pile the ox cheeks on a bed rice, if using, on a serving platter. Scatter the pickled red onion slices over the meat, along with a drizzle of vierge, some crispy shallots or onions, if using. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with a bowl of the remaining sauce vierge.
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