My tale? Just that I’ve always loved karahi, whether it’s beef, chicken, shrimp, or mutton. In contrast to the majority of Pakistani curries, this recipe uses few spices. The trick is to get meat of high quality that is cooked to perfection and tender. This is a one-of-a-kind dish made with a lot of tomatoes and other fresh and fragrant ingredients.
My mouth watered just thinking about this Pakistani street food, served with hot, fresh Naan from the tandoor. Although it isn’t exactly the same as the real thing, I like to think my home-cooked version is close. I’ve come up with a few different recipes for Karahi because I love it so much and miss it so much. It often shows up at my table.
THE MEAT Getting high-quality meat is the first step in making a good karahi. Typically, bone-in meats like goat are preferred because they impart additional flavor. My kids, on the other hand, prefer boneless meat, so I use stew beef. All of my meat comes from a local vendor, and the quality is excellent—extra lean and very tender. In fact, it starts to shred if I cook it too long, so I have to cook it just right!
You can also cut a tenderloin, a good lean cut, into cubes at your local grocery store. Veal, which is very tender and doesn’t have any bones, is another good option.
The tomatoes are the second most significant component. You want something that is firm but not too ripe. Instead of my usual Roma tomatoes, I use large beef steak tomatoes.
Because they are simple to make into a paste, Roma tomatoes are good for sauces and curries. The final karahi will have more texture because beef steak tomatoes are firmer. When making a stir fry, you want the flavors of all the ingredients to come through, but you also want each one to stand out. Although the tomatoes are fully cooked, you can still see some pieces covering the meat.
THE THAI CHILIES Because the karahi’s presentation is just as important as its flavor, I like to use Thai chilies because of their vibrant red color and beautiful finish. You can eat the chilies whole if you want more heat, or you can pass them if you don’t. This is a very simple way to please a variety of tastes! This makes everyone happy, as my husband enjoys spice and my children prefer food that is not overly spicy.
The ginger must be cut into thin slivers for both presentation and flavor. THE GINGER They cook quickly and flavor well when thinly sliced. Succulent and fragrant beef karahi gosht is stir-fried with tomatoes, ginger, green chilies, and cilantro and flavored with a mild blend of spices. In recipes, ginger must be perfectly prepared and cooked due to its pungent nature.
THE CILANTRO The cilantro is the perfect finishing touch because it is so fragrant. It balances the tomatoes’ sharp, tangy flavor with the ginger’s sharp, pungent flavor, which is slightly bland.
Instructions: Wash thai chilies and leave them whole with stems attached (see notes) roughly chop tomatoes, peel ginger, and cut into thin slivers heat cooking oil saute garlic for 30 seconds saute beef till no longer red add 2 cups of water, tomatoes, salt, red chili powder, and turmeric powder cook for 30-45 minutes until meat is cooked through (see notes) uncover and dry all liquid add the thai red chilies and ginger and saute for 1-2 minutes till 1 gram Calories: Carbohydrates: 322 kcal Protein, 6 g: 35g
Fat: 17 grams of fat: 3 g of trans fat: 1 mg of cholesterol: 94 mg of sodium: 400 mg of potassium: 845 mg of fiber: 2g of sugar: Vitamin A, 3 g: Vitamin C, 1330 IU: 22mg
Calcium: 49mg of iron: 4mg
NOTES:
Here, I substituted a cast-iron skillet for a karahi. Similar to a karahi or wok, this also heats well and is ideal for this recipe because it has a lid, as I mentioned in my best karahi chicken recipe. A skillet with a lid works better than a wider, open karahi because beef is tougher than chicken and takes longer to cook in this recipe.
Here, beef steak tomatoes that are firmer are preferred, as previously mentioned. If you can’t find Roma tomatoes, use twice as many because this recipe calls for a lot of them. I would later add Roma tomatoes to the pot because they are softer. When you uncover the pot to dry the liquid, add the tomatoes. By the time the liquid evaporates, they will be cooked.
Thai chillies are pretty and typically come in a red color, which gives the meat a pretty finish. Since we leave them entire and add them just toward the end they don’t actually make the karahi too zesty except if you really eat one. As previously stated, this is excellent because it allows for the accommodating of various spice tolerance levels.
Using a knife, check the meat after about 30 minutes. You need it cooked through however a piece firm as it will keep on cooking while the fluid dries. When you sauté the meat with the chillies and ginger, if it is too soft, it will begin to shred. Whole, but tender, meat is what you want.
