Beef And Lentil Curry

I found this recipe in an old magazine and decided to give it a go.  The magazine did not specify the country of origin but I suspect it is from the India, Myanmar or northern Thailand region.

This curry has a sauce added at the end which gives it a real tangy punch.

The recipe calls for Chuck steak which comes from the shoulder and is ideal for curry's as it contains lots of connective tissues and collagen which partially melt during cooking and make the meat tender and succulent.  You can use any cut of stewing steak for this recipe.

Beef and Lentil Curry

Dressing

5 Long Red Chillies
1/2 Cup White Vinegar
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
1/4 Cup Fish Sauce

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside until serving.

Curry

1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
2 Onions
8 cm Piece of Ginger peeled and grated
8 cm Piece of Galangal peeled and grated
2 Cloves of Garlic crushed
2 Birdseye Chillies deseeded and finely chopped
3 Lemongrass Stems, Bruised *See Note
10 Kaffir Lime Leaves
1/2 Cup Grated Palm Sugar
2 Tbs Ground Turmeric
2 Tbs Ground Coriander
2 Tbs Ground Cumin
2 Tbs Sweet Paprika
1 Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
1 kg of Chuck Steak
1/2 Cup Fish Sauce
2 Cups Red Lentils
1 Cup of Toasted Desicated Coconut 
2 Cups of Coconut Milk
Fresh Coriander and Basil to serve

Get the curry on the go and then when it is cooking you can make the sauce.

Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat and cook the diced onion until lightly browned.  Add the ginger, galangal, garlic birds eye chilli, lemongrass and lime leaves and stir for 2 minutes then add the dried spices and cook for another 2 minutes stirring the whole time before adding 4 cups of water, the beef, fish sauce.  Bring the sauce to a boil and  the reduce to a simmer and cook for 2 hours stirring occasionally.
After 2 hours add the lentils and coconut and cook for 30 minutes or until the lentils are soft.  Once the lentils are cooked stir in the coconut milk bring it bake to the boil then remove from the heat.

Spoon into serving bowls or over rice and top with fresh herbs and chilli dressing.

Note: Using Lemon Grass

If you have not used lemongrass before you need to trim off the base and the green tops so you have about a 15 cm stalk.  You then need to discard a number of the outer layers until you are left with the fresh pale inner stalk.  In this recipe you just bruise the stalks (I whacked mine with the pestle from my mortar and pestle on the chopping board) and add them whole to the pan but other recipes will call for you to slice the lemon grass finely.  You can watch a demo here.