Prue's Beef Curry

I love this cookbook.  Leith's Cookery Bible, by Prue Leith and Caroline Waldegrave, published in 1991 and bought by me for three pounds at a car boot sale in London on the day Princess Diana died.  I was just learning to cook - out of necessity, as we were poor backpackers and needed to make a roast chicken last all week.  It has all sorts of useful tips, including catering for large parties, a dictionary of cooking terms and kitchen French, and how long to cook your pheasant or hang your grouse.  Each recipe is accompanied by a wine recommendation.  When I'm looking for a traditional recipe, it's the first place I go.  This simple recipe is the one I use most often as I always have the ingredients on hand and I can increase or decrease the heat depending on who I am cooking for (i.e. if I want the kids to eat it for Sunday dinner).  I have adapted it ever so slightly by leaving out Prue's recommended one teaspoon of flour as thickening.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of lite olive oil
900g of chuck steak, cut into 5cm cubes
2 onions, sliced
2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (I often leave these out)
1/2 teaspoon ground chili
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3 teaspoons of ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper

Heat the oil and fry the steak pieces, a few at a time, until well browned all over, removing them to a plate as they are done (don't rush this bit - you can chop up the veges and measure out the spices while they cook).

Fry the onion in the same oil (add some more if you need to), add the ginger and garlic and cook for two minutes.

Add all the ground spices and cook slowly for a further minute, taking care not to let them burn.

Add the tomatoes and bring slowly to the boil, stirring all the time.

Put back the meat, cover with a lid and simmer very slowly until meat is tender - about two hours.  Add a little water if it begins to dry out.  It can also be cooked in a very slow oven for about three hours.

I serve with sour cream or unsweetened yoghurt, fruit chutney and basmati rice.  You could also sprinkle with chopped coriander, but I'm not a fan.

Serves four but can easily be doubled.  I quite often cook up a big batch and freeze half.  Or you can stretch it to six by adding some side dishes - store-bought poppadums, naan bread, pickles and vegetables.  The other night I served it with a side dish of tinned chickpeas, spring onions, red capsicum, corn and cherry tomatoes, stir-fried with fresh chilli and garlic.

Prue's wine tip: a very full red.