Curry on a Sunday Afternoon

I love Sundays because I'm not at work, everything in France in closed so you have no option but to potter about the house, one of my favourite passetimes! Because I have so much time to myself Sundays are the days I spend the most time in the kitchen.

Today I decided to make a curry. Curries are best when they've been cooking for a long time, so this afternoon I make a beef curry. Now you won't see that on an Indian menu as cows are sacred animals to the Indians, but I only had beef in the freezer so apologises if this causes any offense.

Ingredients

1 large onion
500g chunk steak, chopped into chunks
1 red bell pepper, chopped into chunks
8 carrots, chopped into chunks
6 large red potatoes, chopped into 8ths
1 ½ pints of beef stock
500ml crème fraiche
2 tblsp olive oil
1 tsp chilli purée
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp five spices
5 tsp mixed curry spices

Method

1. In a bowl mix 3 tsps of mixed curry spice with the beef, set aside.
2. In a large bowl soak the chopped potatoes in cold water for 10-15 mins
3. In a large stew/soup pan heat the olive oil.
4. Add the onion and chilli purée, stir constantly for 2-3mins
5. Add the carrots and pepper, stir again for 1-2mins
6. Add the beef stock and potatoes
7. Mix together until the potatoes completely immersed in the sauce.
8. Add the rest of the spices, mix again throughly
9. Add the crème fraiche, stir until the cream and liquid completely mixed
10. Leave over a low flame for 1-2 hours, stirring often.

Serve with rice and naan bread.

P.S. Don't be afraid at the amount of spice I've put into this recipe, it's got a lot of liquid in it plus the crème fraiche to tone down the heat, it's actually quite a mild curry.

Serves : 4
Preparation : 15 mins
Cooking time : 1-2 hours