Frithath Beef Curry

Name: Frithath Beef Curry
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 45 min
Total time: 2 h
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 6 dried whole red chillies; 10 black peppercorns; 4 cloves; 5 green cardamom pods; 2-inch piece of cinnamon or cassia bark; 2-inch piece of cinnamon or cassia bark; 2 large onions, sliced; 1 tsp fine salt; 30 g tamarind pulp or 2 tsp tamarind paste or 1 tsp tamarind concentrate; 30 g tamarind pulp or 2 tsp tamarind paste or 1 tsp tamarind concentrate; 2 heaped tsp finely grated fresh ginger; 10 garlic cloves, kept whole; 1 kg chuck or braising beef, cut into bite-size cubes; 1 kg chuck or braising beef, cut into bite-size cubes; 1 tsp cumin seeds; 1 tbsp white or cider vinegar; 1 tbsp white or cider vinegar; 1 tbsp ghee or 2 tbsp vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil; 1 tbsp ghee or 2 tbsp vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil; 1 tbsp ghee or 2 tbsp vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil; 1 tbsp ghee or 2 tbsp vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil; 4 fresh green chillies, split lengthways; 400 ml water; 1 tsp ground turmeric

Preparation info

Serves
4–6

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
2 hr

Appears in

Seven Kitchens

By Torie True

Published 2025

About

‘This is a very hot curry, too hot for most people’ was the verdict of Navroji Framji in Indian Cookery for Young Housekeepers, published in 1887. That piqued my interest in this recipe and the version here is loosely based on the original in that book. Frithath, also known as fritthad, originates from Eastern India and is a ground, wet masala that is dry roasted to begin with.

Ingredients

Asia
India
Main course
Gluten-free

Ingredients

Method