isithalal.food · Recipes

Chukandar gosht with Halal beef

Sumayya Usmani's chukandar gosht, a Pakistani beetroot and beef curry: Halal stewing beef cooked with whole spices, red onion, garlic, ginger, tomato and grated raw beetroot until thick, deep purple and tender.

Pakistani · Main · Easy · 4 portions · 115 min

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.

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Why Halal checks matter here

The curry is made with 450 g of stewing beef, which is Halal only from a Halal-slaughtered animal.

Halal-critical ingredients

• Stewing beef: 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.
• Naan: Plain naan is Halal, but supermarket naan may contain emulsifiers such as E471. Read the pack, or serve with basmati rice instead. See Naan.

Ingredients

Whole spices

• 3–4 tbsp corn or sunflower oil
• 1 black cardamom pod (or 3 green cardamom pods)
• 2.5 cm piece cinnamon
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds

Curry

• 2 medium red onions, sliced
• 1 tsp grated garlic
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 450 g Halal stewing beef, in 2.5 cm chunks
• 350 g raw beetroot, grated

To finish

• small pack coriander leaves
• 1 green chilli, chopped
• squeeze of ½ lime
• to serve naan or cooked basmati rice

Method

1. Fry the spices and onion. Heat the oil in a large lidded non-stick wok or saucepan over a medium flame and add the cardamom, cinnamon, cumin and coriander seeds. When they sizzle, add the onions and stir-fry until light golden brown.
2. Add the aromatics. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute until they no longer smell raw, adding a splash of water if they stick. Add the tomatoes and cook until soft.
3. Seal the beef. Add the salt, chilli powder and beef, turn up the heat and stir-fry until the meat is sealed on all sides. Turn the heat down to medium-low, cover loosely and cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Cook with the beetroot. Turn up the heat, add the grated beetroot and stir-fry for a few minutes. Cover, turn the heat down and cook for 1 hour 15 minutes, until the beef is tender, stirring now and then and adding a little water if it gets dry.
5. Finish and serve. The curry should be thick and soft, with chunky, tender beef and softened beetroot. Scatter over the coriander and green chilli, add a squeeze of lime and serve with naan or basmati rice.

Allergens

none

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Slow-cooked beetroot & beef curry (Chukandar Gosht)' by Sumayya Usmani, which calls it a Pakistani curry (serves 4: 3 to 4 tbsp corn or sunflower oil heated in a large lidded non-stick wok or pan with 1 black cardamom pod (or 3 green), 2.5 cm cinnamon, 1 tsp each cumin and coriander seeds; 2 sliced medium red onions stir-fried until light golden; 1 tsp each grated garlic and ginger 1 minute, with a splash of water if they stick; 2 chopped medium tomatoes cooked until soft; 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp red chilli powder and 450 g stewing beef in 2.5 cm chunks stir-fried over a high heat until sealed, then covered loosely about 10 minutes on medium-low; 350 g grated raw beetroot stir-fried a few minutes, then covered and cooked 1 hour 15 minutes on low until tender, with a little water if dry; finished with a small pack of coriander, a chopped green chilli and a squeeze of ½ lime; served with naan or basmati rice). We specified Halal stewing beef; nothing else needed changing. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Photograph of nihari from Wikimedia Commons, not the finished dish from this recipe.