Name: Twice-cooked Masala Beef
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Syrian
Ingredients: 100 g green beans, finely sliced and blanched; 1 cup shredded fresh coconut; 2 tablespoons fresh curry leaves; 160 g fresh rice noodles, softened in boiling water; 2 cloves; 1 tablespoon ground coriander; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; 3 small green chillies, minced; 2 teaspoons ground chilli; ½ teaspoon fennel seeds; 4 golden shallots, finely diced; 3 teaspoons sea salt; 1 star anise; 50 ml coconut cream; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 500 g beef sirloin, cut into 2 cm strips; 6 cloves garlic, minced; 50 ml coconut oil; 2 spring onion bulbs, finely sliced lengthways; 1 tablespoon minced ginger

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Fire

By Christine Manfield

Published 2008

About

This is my adapted version of a Syrian Christian dish we tasted at a few places throughout Kerala. Ulathiya irachi translates to the dull-sounding name of ‘beef fry’ – tragic for a dish that is anything but. It gets even better after a couple of days and reheats quite easily. Rather than using a pressure cooker in the traditional manner, I steam the beef first with the spices so it remains more succulent. I know the coconut oil is an extravagance but it really adds to the depth of flavour,