We have an Indian restaurant just north of where we live in BWV called North of Bombay. It’s a lovely place, nicely decorated in a contemporary style, close enough to walk (about 20 minutes) and the food is very good and it’s never crowded and the service has been very good. But for some reason, we ALWAYS order takeout or delivery. Indian is like that for us. And they have a crappy wine list. But they have the most delicious Beef Bhuna that we’ve ever had so that is the recipe I was trying to replicate for our Indian themed dinner party. Their menu describes it as Eye of round cubes cooked with fresh onions,green pepper, ginger, coriander, tomatoes, herbs & spices. So when I was searching the net, those were the key ingredients I was looking for. The recipe below is loosely based on this recipe but I changed it to replicate the flavours of North of Bombay’s Beef Bhuna. I also changed up the technique because I wanted to cook it slow and low as per Bœuff Bourguignon.
Beef Bhuna
Serves 4-6 as part of a bigger menu
Ingredients:
- 400 g eye of round beef, cut into 2.5 cm or 1 inch cubes
- 1 Green Pepper, cut into similar size squares as the beef
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- 2 tsp of mild curry powder
- 1 tsp of Chilli Powder
- 1 tsp Garam Masala
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (omit if you find this too hot)
- a pinch of ground cardamon
- 1/2 tsp coriander
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely minced
- 1+ cup water
- 1/2 cup beef stock
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions
Directions:
- Pre-heat oven to 300° F.
- In an oven-proof pan (like Le Creuset’s dutch oven) sear the beef in about 1-2 tbsp high flash point oil (like peanut or canola). Remove from pan. De-glaze with a 1/2 cup of beef stock, pour over the meat.
- Add finely chopped onions and cook well (I saw Madhur Jaffrey on Martha Stewart once and she said that Indian cooking doesn’t sweat the onions, but they cook the onions dark, but not burned).
- Add the curry, chilli, cayenne, cardamon and coriander and cook JUST until you can smell it. Add the garlic, fresh ginger and garam masala give a quick stir. Now add the water and combine well. Return the beef to the pan and give it a good stir. Cover and bake in the 300° F oven for 2-3 hours or until beef is fork tender. Check frequently and add water as required; you don’t want it soupy, just a nice light gravy. About 30 minutes to serving, add the green pepper — you don’t want the green pepper soft and mushy.
- Serve hot garnished with cilantro leaves and green onions with Basmati rice and Naan.
[…] Beef Buhna […]
LikeLike
[…] Bhuna (please click here for the […]
LikeLike
What a fantastic curry! How did it compare to the curry at your favourite restaurant? I find it very difficult to replicate curry recipes. I tried butter chicken last year for a NYE dish (it was good, but not the same).
We live close to a Bangladesh restaurant and usually get our curry there. There are always a lot of take-out orders, but it always seems we are one of two or three tables seated at the restaurant. Guess curry isn’t a typical sit-down meal.
LikeLike
Thanks Amber, the recipe I used was spot on for taste and braising the meat over a few hours rendered a very tender dish. I will be making this one again, it’s probably healthier than the restaurant version.
LikeLike
Love the sound of this Eva – and the serving dish you have is wonderful… they have similar ones at my local Indian place and I think they’re so cool. I don’t normally eat many meat curries, preferring to opt for shrimp or vegetarian ones instead. Maybe I’ve just had bad luck but I always have bad luck with the meat in restaurants – this looks great though… if I made it myself I’d have no such qualms about the meat!
LikeLike
Thank you kindly Charles, we have questionable places too, but for the most part, they serve safe food. This one is a simple recipe with the exception of the braising time, so I hope you try it, I’m pretty sure you would enjoy it. If you like back to the original recipe, she cooks it for far less time, but you’d have to use a more expensive piece of meat.
LikeLike
Omit the cayenne??? Never!! Sounds like a lovely dish Eva and isn’t it the MO of every Indian restaurant to have a crappy wine list? 🙂 Back in the day I tried doing a few Indian wine dinners and they were the worst for pairing.
LikeLike
I know what you mean, plus they always only ever have a Riesling or Gewurztraminer, which tend to be on the sweet side and not my fav’s. Would love to get your pairing for these dishes, Jed.
LikeLike
Another amazing Indian dish, Eva, and one I haven’t tried or even seen at our local restaurants. What lucky dinner guests to have been able to partake of all these wonderful dishes you served. 🙂 This looks like it would be a great dish to try this winter.
LikeLike
Thanks Betsy, it’s a bit cumbersome to make, but I have to tell you it came in very close to what I remembered at the restaurant.
LikeLike
I am amazed at your creativity and how you put together all these theme parties so effortlessly. .
LikeLike
I am very flattered by your lovely words Norma, thank you so much.
LikeLike
i have never been to an Indian dinner party but after seeing all these fabulous dishes you keep making for it I am hooked and I want an InviteL:) Love this beef buhna
LikeLike
Eva, every single part of your Indian party sounds fantastic. I have never heard of Beef Bhuna. Indian cuisine is neverending… You should try one day beef cheeks here. I find them absolutely the best in slowly cooked dishes like Indian for example.
LikeLike
Thanks Sissi, I did see you glowing recommendations for the Beef Cheeks and I suspect they wouldn’t be expensive here either. JT has them when we go out, mainly at French Bistros so I know how tender and lovely they can be. I really adore slow and low cooking, it really infuses the flavours throughout the meat. I have never really been a stew lover, but I must say that Indian and Moroccan cuisine have transformed me.
LikeLike
Isn’t it funny which places you always tend to get take away from and which ones you eat in in? This looks wonderfully warming-we’re having a chilly snap at the moment!
LikeLike
Hmmm, I suspect your chilly spell is not quite our chilly spell, but thanks for trying to make me feel better about winter!
LikeLike
Those chunks of beef look so juicy and I bet all the lovely spices have flavoured them amazingly well. But I have to freeze away the Indian food leftovers and bake some pork ribs today. 😦
On a total tangent, do you have problems with staining on the bottom of your Le Creuset at high temps when you sear your beef cubes? What do you use to clean it? I’m having issues. 😦 Also, in your recipe you preheated your oven to 250 deg F and then baked the bhuna t 300 deg F. Typo?
LikeLike
I find a scotch brite pad works well to remove the stains from the Le Creuset pan. But I usually sear meat in my French cast iron dutch oven…it’s such a work horse.
LikeLike
That looks delicious! So full of flavour!
LikeLike
Thank Ali, it was one of my best, or so says JT.
LikeLike
This curry looks fantastic 🙂
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
LikeLike
It was, thank you.
LikeLike
Eva, you are a theme party queen! I wish I could be half as creative and talented as you!
LikeLike
You are so sweet Angie, thank you so much.
LikeLike
That was one fantastic dinner party your hosted, Eva. This dish here sounds delicious and that gravy, given the ingredients, must be really tasty.I bet your guests enjoyed both this dish and the dinner very much.
“Little India” is just about a half-mile North of me. Although I love Indian food, I don’t often try new things on the menus. I don’t order from the take-out/delivery menu because there’s no waiter to query. Well, not anymore. Your dinner party has given me some new dishes to seek out and try. This is definitely going to be one of them. Thanks, Eva!
LikeLike
Thank you kindly John so very nice of you to say. I hope you try the beef buhna it is absolutely one of our favourites, and now that I have a good recipe, I doubt we’ll be ordering it take out any time soon.
LikeLike
Eva, this looks brilliant, appetizing, elegant, and delicious. I bet your house smelled absolutely warm and flavorful! Sounds so great with rice 🙂
LikeLike
Yes, that is so true, the house smelled absolutely wonderful.
LikeLike
It looks like you did a fabulous job recreating this meal. Did it live up to your expectations? We do the same thing with our favorite sushi place – always get take out. Not sure why. We just prefer to eat it at home…and they too have a crappy wine list. 😉 Hope you’re having a fabulous weekend Eva!
LikeLike
Thank you kindly Kristy. Yes, the dinner was delicious. JT said that the beef dish exceeded all his expectations and was likely the best Indian dish I have ever made. Even thinking about it is making my mouth water.
LikeLike
Perfect looking curry Eva, I assume the recipe works the same with chicken but changing the stocks.
LikeLike
We’ve only had this particular recipe with lamb and beef, the flavours are rather bold and would need a bold tasting protein. If you give it a try with chicken, do let me know how it works out.
LikeLike
I’d love your Indian dinners!! I must try this soon – it’s such a good idea. Maybe I’ll start doing a country a quarter. My friends will love it and I’ll say it all comes from you!
LikeLike
Now that’s a very cool idea Maureen, thank you!
LikeLike