Culturally we are raised with varieties of curries and masalas and introduced to spices at very early age. The beef stew I’m familiar with is the one my mom made as “Aloo Ghost” literally translates as “potatoes and meat”. It was a staple in our house. My mom would make it twice a week and even on the weekend for guests as well. She is known as “Aloo Ghost and pilaf host “and till this date, I'm struggling to develop the taste she used to establish. It was finger licking delicious. I somewhat replicate the idea but with beef and added root vegetables. The stew method remains the same with slight changes here and there....
She mainly used goat meat for the stew part without the root vegetables. I make it with both, I also like the heartiness and flavor of vegetables in my stew. You can certainly omit the veggies and try it with just beef or goat. It can be served either with rice or roti. (Chapattis or Naan Bread) This recipe is simple enough for a hearty weeknight meal or a weekend brunch with puris (Puffy Tacos)
Another variant would be beef Nihari, a slow-braised meat stew, cooked until falls apart and thickened with flour paste (mixture of water and flour)
(I would have to upload the recipe of "Nihari" with my homemade Nihari masala, but that’s another blog post ☺ )
Beef Stew With Vegetables
Yield: 6 servings
Prep: 15 min
Total Time: 3 hr. 15 min
Ingredients ¼ cup canola or olive oil 1 pounds beef stew meat diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp. ginger paste 2 medium onions diced 3 cups beef broth or water (more if needed) 2 tbsp. tomato paste 1 tsp. red-hot chili pepper 1 tsp. paprika ½ tsp. turmeric powder 1 tsp. kosher salt ½ tsp. Freshly ground black pepper 2 carrots, diced 1 parsnip, diced 1 potato diced Fresh chopped cilantro for garnish
Directions: Heat the oil in a pan and slightly brown the beef. Remove from the pan. Let sit. Add the onions to the same pot and cook until transparent. Add ginger, garlic and tomato paste. Let cook for few more minutes. Add salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika and turmeric powder. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add the beef broth or water. Then return the beef to the pan cover and simmer over low heat until the meat is very tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. If the liquid level gets too low heat, add more broth/water as needed.
Add the carrots to the pan, parsnips and potato and continue to simmer until the vegetables are tender about 30 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.