Kerala Black Pepper Beef Short Ribs

 

Melbourne's CBD features some amazing laneways that are famous for iconic artwork, cozy bars, tempting dessert lounges and an array of restaurants that feature food from all over the world. One of them is called the Daughter-in-Law and they call themselves the "unauthentic Australian Indian cuisine." When our friend visited from India, we decided to check this place out.  I was pleasantly surprised to see all the "ghenda phool" garlands - and it immediately reminded us of the time when we had been to Delhi with this same friend to purchase these garlands for our daughter's wedding. How fitting that we selected a restaurant that reminded us of those days!  

We ordered the food and one of the items in the menu was the Kerala pepper beef short ribs. This dish was easily my favorite on the night - may be because I am biased towards Kerala cuisine, but that aside, I was determined to try it out at home.

It is surprisingly easy to make and I came very close to what was served that night, so I am very pleased with myself. It can be an easy dinner when you plan to study or work in the garden. It doesn't require constant monitoring and it can be served with store bought pita bread, naans or rice.  I served it with Kerala parotta.

Ingredients:

1 kilo beef short ribs

10 -12 shallots (or 2 small red onions) - roughly chopped

1 medium size red onion - roughly chopped

15 cloves of garlic (1 head) - peeled and roughly chopped

2 inch piece of ginger, cleaned and roughly chopped

4 green chillies - roughly chopped

2 springs curry leaves, stalk removed

1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper (increase/decrease if you like the curry to be hotter/milder)

2 teaspoons Kashmiri chilli powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoons coriander powder

2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin

2 teaspoons freshly ground fennel

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 cup water

1 sprig curry leaf for garnish

2 teaspoons rock salt

Method:

Wash beef and dry it.  Place in a saucepan and melt the fat. Brown meat on all sides.

Reserve the melted fat and set aside the browned meat in a thick and heavy pan.  I used a Dutch oven.

Blitz the ingredients with 1/2 a cup of water (except the salt and the garnish) to a smooth paste.

Heat the fat from the meat and add the paste to it.

Cook this paste in the oil on a low fire till it is evenly browned and clumps up in one lump.

Add the cooked masala paste to the beef ribs, add salt and 2 to 3 cups of water.

Cook, covered, on low heat for 21/2 to 3 hours, checking on it every 30 minutes initially, to make sure the water levels are good and the meat is not burning. Once the meat starts to cook and the water reduces, make sure you start checking on it every 15 minutes to 10 minutes, adding 1/2 cup water if needed and moving the meat around so it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Keep scraping the bottom of the pan in case there is any masala stuck to the bottom.

You will end up with juicy meat falling off the bone, and cooked in its own fat.

Serve hot with parathas or rice. 

At the Daughter in Law, Melbourne CBD with the ghenda phool in the background.