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goan beef and chili stir fry

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Nik Sharma

Hey Friends, I’m a multi-award-winning and best-selling cookbook author and photographer.

I apologize for being terrible at posting nothing last week mostly because my final semester of school has finally begun and I took a quick trip to Delaware. The pressure seems to be slowly growing like an invasive vine but I feel ready to be done with classes and completing my thesis. Excuses aside, I can now get back into the swing of things. I did have some exciting news from last week when I super thrilled to find one of my photographs of Lafayette Park on the cover of the DCist. Among other significant events of last week, were the couple of inches of snow that covered up the capital. I think this is probably the first time I may have ever seen daffodils blooming in the snow. The streets of Georgetown always look pretty in the snow even with this year’s winter resembling more of a spring. I wonder if we will have a terribly hot summer this year ? 
This is perhaps one of my many cherished childhood meals, spicy meat and potatoes. There are so many wonderful Indian recipes out there but this is by far my favorite. My grandmother cooked this dish every other week and I couldn’t wait to eat lunch when I’d go over for on Thursdays at lunchtime. To me this dish represents the Goan version of an Asian stir fry, the beef and the potatoes are stir-fried separately and then mixed together with the garam masala and seasonings. The warm notes of the ground cloves and cinnamon from the garam masala along with the Indian green chilies give this dish its characteristic heat and spicy flavors. Indian green chilies are available in so many different varieties and many of them are way hotter than the habanero. Thai green chilies can also be substituted in this recipe. The more the chili, the greater the heat. Served with steamed rice this dish makes a wonderful complete meal.
goan beef and chili stir fry

ingredients 


2 cloves of garlic
2 large red onions
4 medium sized potatoes
4 medium sized green chilies 

4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon grated ginger root
2 lbs cubed beef (stew beef pieces preferably) 
2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 teaspoon garam masala

salt and pepper to taste

1. Peel the garlic, onions, and potatoes. Halve the onions and slice them length wise and keep aside. Chop the garlic and keep aside. Dice the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Slice the chilies length wise (you can leave the seeds in if you want more heat). 
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet on a medium flame. When the oil gets hot, add the potatoes and toss them around to coat them in the oil. Cover with a lid and cook till tender. Add the onions and cook till translucent. Add the garlic, ginger, and the chilies and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the skillet and keep aside. 
3. Now, add the rest of the oil to the same skillet and continue heating on a medium flame. Add the beef cubes to the pan and cook till browned on both sides and tender. This should take about 20 minutes. Add the vegetables back into the pot along with the lemon juice, garam masala and season with salt and pepper. Gently fold all the ingredients together. Cover the skillet with a tight lid and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for another 5 minutes so all the flavors are combined evenly. Serve hot with rice.

6 Responses

  1. Congratulations on your photo feature…it is a stunning pic! This is such a beautifully spiced stir fry, the flavor and aroma must be amazing!

  2. It looks like a very delicious and hearty dish. I was wondering if it would work well with either goat or lamb.

  3. This looks delicious, Nik. Congrats on the photo of Lafayette Park. It is lovely, as are the photos here. Daffodils in the snow! Wow. Good luck with your studies. I know there is a lot of pressure, just take things one day at a time.

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