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Halal-conscious recipe

Bangladeshi beef shatkora

Dina Begum's Sylheti beef shatkora with Halal beef: beef on the bone simmered with whole and ground spices and panch phoron, lifted with shatkora, the bitter Bangladeshi citrus, or grapefruit or pomelo.

  • Cuisine Bangladeshi
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 6 servings
  • Time 1h 30m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
A bowl of nihari topped with ginger strips and coriander, with roti
Photograph of nihari from Wikimedia Commons, another slow-cooked beef curry, not the finished dish from this recipe.

Photo: 赤猫法師 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Why Halal checks matter here

The curry is 1 kg of beef chuck or shoulder on the bone, which is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal; everything else is spices, aromatics and citrus.

Pieces of beef on the bone are simmered with garlic, ginger, onion, green chillies, whole spices and panch phoron, then with ground spices, and finally with shatkora, a knobbly, bitter citrus from Sylhet in Bangladesh, added in stages with more water until the meat is tender. Only the beef needs a Halal source.

It follows Dina Begum's recipe for Great British Chefs, which serves six. She calls beef shatkora a staple of the Sylhet region, where she was born. Shatkora is sold fresh and frozen in Bangladeshi grocery shops, and the recipe says grapefruit or pomelo can replace it.

Serve with sticky white rice and a cucumber, red onion and tomato salad.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Beef on the bone Beef is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal, and beef without a Halal mark doesn't say how the animal was slaughtered. Buy the beef from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Beef.

Safe substitutes

  • Beef of unknown slaughter → 1 kg Halal beef chuck or shoulder on the bone

Allergens

none

Ingredients

Curry

  • ¼ fruit, about 175 g shatkora, fresh or frozen (or the same weight of grapefruit or pomelo)
  • 6 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 tbsp garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp ginger, minced
  • 1 kg Halal beef chuck or shoulder on the bone, in 2.5 cm pieces
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 green chillies (3 for more heat)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • ½ tsp black peppercorns
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 6 cardamom pods
  • 1 black cardamom pod
  • 1 tsp panch phoron (Bengali five-spice)
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  • 2 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • handful fresh coriander, chopped

Method

  1. Prepare the shatkora. Cut the shatkora into wedges, then cut each wedge into 4 pieces, removing any seeds. If using frozen shatkora, defrost it in cold water for 1 hour first, then cut each slice into 4.
  2. Soften the aromatics. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add the garlic, ginger and onions and sauté for a few minutes until the onions are translucent.
  3. Simmer the beef. Stir in the beef, salt, whole spices and green chillies with 250 ml cold water. Bring to a simmer, then cover and cook over a medium heat for 40 minutes, stirring now and then.
  4. Add the ground spices. Add the ground spices, stirring to coat the beef, then cover and cook for 5 minutes.
  5. Add the shatkora. Add the shatkora and 250 ml hot water, stir once, cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes.
  6. Top up and finish. Add 400 ml hot water and bring to the boil over a high heat without stirring, then simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chopped coriander, cover and cook over a low heat for 10 minutes more, until the meat is tender.
  7. Serve. Serve with sticky white rice and a salad of cucumber, red onion and tomato, with more coriander if you like.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from Great British Chefs' 'Bangladeshi beef shatkora' by Dina Begum, who calls it a staple of the Sylhet region of Bangladesh (serves 6; easy; 1 hour 30 minutes in total: ¼ shatkora, about 175 g, fresh or frozen (defrosted in cold water for 1 hour), cut into small seedless pieces; 2 chopped onions, 2 tbsp each minced garlic and ginger sautéed a few minutes in 6 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 kg beef chuck or shoulder on the bone in 1-inch pieces, 2 tsp salt, 2 or 3 green chillies, 2 bay leaves, ½ tsp black peppercorns, 4 cloves, a star anise, a cinnamon stick, 6 cardamom pods, a black cardamom and 1 tsp panch phoron with 250 ml cold water, covered and cooked 40 minutes; ½ tsp garam masala, 2 tsp chilli powder, 2 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 2 tsp turmeric and 2 tsp paprika cooked 5 minutes; the shatkora and 250 ml hot water 10 minutes on a low heat; 400 ml hot water boiled without stirring and simmered 5 minutes; a handful of chopped coriander, covered 10 minutes more until the meat is tender; served with sticky white rice and a cucumber, red onion and tomato salad. The introduction says grapefruit or pomelo can replace the shatkora). We specified Halal beef; the published steps are followed in order. Great British Chefs gives the total time only; we split it from the method into 15 minutes of preparation and 75 of cooking. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Bangladeshi beef shatkora — Great British Chefs Retrieved:

    By Dina Begum, who calls it a staple of the Sylhet region of Bangladesh. Serves 6, easy, 1 hour 30 minutes in total: beef on the bone simmered 40 minutes with whole spices, then ground spices, shatkora and water in stages; coriander to finish; rice and salad. Grapefruit or pomelo can replace the shatkora. We specified Halal beef.

  2. Beef analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    What makes beef Halal: the slaughter.

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