This is a favorite Indian-style curry with boneless beef. If you’d prefer, you could substitute chicken, pork, lamb, shrimp, fish, or even tofu for the protein. If you do, just adjust your cooking time accordingly. Obviously, you wouldn’t want to cook fish or shrimp for an hour and a half. 

Ingredients:

• 5 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 Tbsp ginger, peeled (about a 1-inch chunk)
• 1 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil 
• 1 onion, peeled and sliced thinly
• 1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, sliced thinly
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. garam masala
• 4-5 dried hot red chiles
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 star anise pods
• 1/2 tsp. Turmeric
• salt, to taste
• 1 lb. boneless beef chuck or short ribs, cut into 1-inch pieces
• Cilantro or parsley, for garnish

Method

1. Using a mini food processor or blender, grind the garlic and ginger into a pulp or paste.
2. Dissolve the tomato paste in 1/2 cup of water. 
3. Over medium heat, heat the cooking oil in a medium-size saucepan.
4. Add the onion slices and bay leaves and saute until lightly browned, 5-7 minutes.
5. Add the garlic-ginger paste and sliced chiles to the pot and cook, stirring for a minute or two.
6. Add the coriander, garam masala, cinnamon, star anise, dried chiles, turmeric and cayenne. Stir and cook for a minute or two, until fragrant.
7. Stir in the tomato paste dissolved in water and give the curry a good stir.
8. Add the beef to the pot, season with salt to taste, and stir well to coat the beef with the spices.
9. Cover the pot and cook the beef curry over low heat – just barely a simmer – until the meat is tender, about an hour and a half.
10. Serve garnished with cilantro or parsley. 

Serving suggestion: Serve with basmati rice and naan.