Claire's Devilled Beef

 When I think of Claire, a few qualities immediately come to mind: generosity, an infectious laugh, unwavering loyalty, and a friendship that has endured a lifetime.

These qualities are not reserved just for me. Claire extends the same warmth and kindness to all our classmates from Mount Carmel Convent. In fact, she is undoubtedly the glue that keeps us connected. Whenever a classmate visits from overseas, Claire always makes an effort to bring the local group together, giving everyone the chance to reminisce and relive cherished memories of our school days.

Claire has a remarkable gift for brightening the lives of those around her and is dearly loved by all who know her. The following recipe is one of Claire's own, shared at the request of several classmates, and dedicated to the carefree and happy days we spent together at Mount Carmel Convent.

This pulled beef can be your sandwich filling, or tucked into a pita bread or had as a side dish with roti or rice.

Ingredients:

For Boiling:

1.5 kilos of gravy beef

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder

1 teaspoon black pepper corns

3 Indian bay leaves

2x 1 inch pieces of cinnamon

6 cloves

1.5 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste 

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vinegar

For sauteing:

1/2 kilo of shallots, peeled and sliced

5 - 6 tablespoons of oil for sauteing

3 tablespoons chilli flakes (this can be reduced or increased depending on your tolerance for chilli)

2 sprigs curry leaves

Method:

Place beef and the whole spices along with the ingredients for boiling into a cast iron pot. Cook till well done. Make sure your meat doesn't burn by turning it over several times during cooking. Reserve the stock with the spices for adding to the meat later.

Cool the meat so that the fat can be skimmed off. Reserve the stock - you could get about 1/2 a cup or so. 

Reserved fat free stock with the whole spices.

Now shred the beef with your hands, making sure you preserve the length of the meat fibres. 

Set the shredded meat aside. Using a wide, cast iron saucepan, add oil and saute the shallots still they start to go brown. Now add the chilli flakes.

Next add the shredded meat and let the flavour of the shallots and the chillies coat and crisp up the meat. This step takes longer and there is a bit of sauteing - because you do not want the shredded meat to burn.

As the meat starts to dry , start adding your left over stock bit by bit along with the whole spices and continue sauteing. You can add the curry leaves at this stage and let it crisp up as well.

The final dish is meant to be a bit dry, crisp, and the texture chewy and the heat hitting you after a couple of spoonfuls. This is a delicious preparation and just perfect for picnics and journeys as it keeps well even if not refrigerated for a day.

My friend Claire helping me saute the shallots: