Authentic Bangladeshi Beef Curry

I really enjoyed this recipe...I didn't have green chilies so I used some jalapenos...didn't have cardamom pods but I used a good size pinch of cardamom powder. Cut back on the cayenne peper (was scared it would be to hot) it was a mild medium heat. Perfect for me...Super yummy..my family loved it! Will make again for sure! :)

This is a very good dish. I didn't alter it that much and it is definitely a keeper. I like lots of flavor, so I tend to interpret teaspoons as largely heaping teaspoons for spices. I used a little over a pound of beef, heaping teaspoons of cumin, corriander, and turmeric, as well as minced fresh garlic (no powder required)I used the cardamom and cloves as listed, about 1 tbsp of minced ginger, and a 2 inch piece of cinnamon. I used two extra large jalapenos, which were plenty. Cayenne/red chili powder is only needed to taste depending on how spicy the peppers are and how much you can handle. Beef dishes tend to need to be cooked for 3-4 hours to be cooked properly until tender. Potatoes can also be added to this dish towards the end of cooking. I served with basmati rice and homemade naan.

I really lovd this, although the meat wasn't as tender as I would have liked. Next time I'll simmer at least 2 hours. I halfed the cayenne and it was still pretty spicy for us and we like heat! I added an extra cup of water and about two cups of cubed potatoes the last 30 minutes. :) Thanks!

This was terrific. I used about half a jalapeño instead of the Thai chiles; the dish has a really nice mix of warm heat from the cayenne, and a more biting heat from the fresh chile. I omitted the garlic powder and added a few good healthy pinches of salt at the end of the cooking time. Oh, and I only used two tablespoons of oil to caramelize the onions—I used half mustard oil and half canola. We had this with basmati rice and garnished it with chopped cilantro. Next time, I'd also serve it with some sort of cooling raita.

Very tasty. I'd recommend quickly searing the beef over a high heat before starting on the onions and setting it to one side until ready to add again. Seared beef adds even more depth to the flavour. If done quickly and evenly, there's no need to clean the skillet before starting on the onions. I couldn't get any chuck from my supermarket, so I had to settle for the leaner braising steak - and thus bumped up the cooking time to 2.5hrs. I had to keep adding a little water, even during the recommended cooking time, to prevent the dish from drying out. The only other change I made was to add a bay leaf, as it's clear the spices in this recipe are cleverly balanced, ending up with a wonderfully deep and rich curry flavour. Edit: I've cooked this curry 4 times since, slightly varying the method. Every time it turns out great. My latest addition is to add chopped potatoes. I've also experimented with even slower cooking - 5 hours, low heat. The trick is obviously in correct spicing, but as important, the length of time the onions cook for. They really do need to be quite a dark brown to get a full flavour. Beware, however, if you burn them don't even bother going any further. Chuck them out and start again. The same applies to the spices - any hint of burning before adding the meat, start again.

Great recipe. Very authentic. The only thing I added was some salt.

Excellent! I threw the meat, potatos and some winter squash in the crock pot with onion and 3 cloves of garlic, added about 1/2 c of water, as well as cloves, cardamom and cinnimon sticks. About 2 hours before serving, I grated 5 more cloves of garlic heated it in the oil with the other spices, which was increased to 1/2 Tbs each. Added salt to taste. Served with Roti Bread and it was wonderful!! Thank you!

I used 2 Serrano chilies instead of the others and I omitted the cayenne. It was spicy enough that way. I used about 1/2 c. more water as I made it in a Dutch oven and the first cup of water evaporated quickly.

Super Yum! Just added a little extra chili powder b/c we like it hot-will make again!

I placed cut all ingredients in a large baggie the night before and the next morning I put it in the crockpot with 1/2 cup of beef broth on low setting for 6 hrs and it came out excellent! I did not use any oil.

Pefect Bangladeshi Beef Curry!!

Made with canned chilis and a ribeye steak cut up into chunks. Needed an additional half cup of water and an additional half hour of cooking time to make meat tender. The result was delicious and richly flavored. This is a keeper for us! Thank you for the recipe!

This curry did not work for my family, did not like the overall taste at all, all I could taste was Turmeric. I really think this needs to be reduced by at least 1/2 to allow the other flavors to come through. Glad I tried this recipe, but I will not be making again.

this was delicious! We are big fans of curries, and this was simple to prepare, used ingredients I had on hand, and tasted great. I used sirloin (the result of sending the hubby out for chuck roast), and omitted the fresh chilis: I substituted a good pinch of cayenne. Next time, I'll use at least one chili and chuck roast. Served with plain broccoli and basmati rice---thank you!!!

I was BLOWN AWAY with this dish-SLOW COOKER VERSION! I cracked the cardamon husks to expose the seeds, and placed them with the cinnamon and cloves into a garlic package for easy removal at the end. I couldn't find ginger paste, so I added about a tbsp of freshly minced ginger root with a few drops of Olive oil. I also couldn't find chile peppers so I used 2 green Serrano peppers. I think I have a decent tolerance for spice, and this was just about the right amount of heat for me. Served with basmati and sweet-cornbread. It was DELICIOUS!!!!

Very flavourful, and tastes almost as good as the curry my Bengali friend makes. That's why it's only a 4. But it's better than i can come up with on my own. Definitely will make again.

The only thing I did differently was to let the gravy cook down little bit and added some coconut milk. The creamy sweetness of the coconut milk really added to the dish. HOWEVER, do not add the coconut milk at the beginning of the cooking, but at the end or it will curdle. Yes coconut milk can curdle.....I learned that the hard way.

I cooked this yesterday and ate it today, it was bang on, I dry roasted the coriander and cumin seeds, 2 cloves about 8 black peppercorns and blitzed to a powder thats all I changed next time though I will add some potato but this was lovely I would say the best Beef curry I have cooked as I dont like coconut milk, yoghurt and tomatoes in my indian curry this was perfect very simple and easy

Absolutely amazing flavours and melt in the mouth goodness

loved the recipe! Mixed the spices together the night before just to save time. Didn't have ginger pasted used 1tsp powdered ginger instead,and 1/2 tsp ground corriander instead of cardimum. My family loves curry-this is a HUGE hit in our house. We added fresh cilantro on top, and ate with Naan. Can also mix everything in a baggie and freeze for the slow-cooker. Going to give it to a girl friend like that when she has her baby so all she has to do is dump it in the crock pot on high for an extra hour. Love the way my house smells while its cooking.

I made this with extra garlic, minced fresh ginger, and coconut milk instead of water. The spice mixture I kept the same. Delicious blend of spices!

I was looking for a non-traditional crock-pot recipe for stew beef and this fit the bill. With the crock-pot I added everything but the oil and powdered spices right away. I didn't have hot peppers or garlic on hand so instead used green chili paste and used beef broth instead of water. Another reviewer added the powdered spices (cooked in the oil) about 1-2 hours before it was done and I did the same. I'm really pleased with how this came out and it was super easy to prepare. The only thing I would do differently next time would be to add some veggies.

I liked the flavours, but it definitely needed salt. The beef didn't take the flavour on very well either so I may try marinating it for a few hours before cooking next time. Thank you for the recipe. I will try it again with modifications.

Did this in the slow cooker using the instructions here. If you do, watch it carefully and add water or stock when necessary. Mine dried out. Also...it needed salt. I rarely cook adding salt but this really needed it. Not sure I'll make it again.

My husband is Bengali and loved this! He is an excellent cook and said my beef curry is better than his! I did use the pressure cooker for 50 minutes. The meat was SO tender!

Interesting recipe ~ I made this when running short on time for making family dinner. I used my pressure cooker and had it on the table in 35 minutes. I made it with all the ingredients listed and then put my own spin. I added on rib of celery, 1/2 red bell pepper. Then slightly thicken the juices at the end to give it body. The family absolutely love it.

Spicy stuff! I used serrano chiles and did not de-seed them. This is different from the tomato-based curries and the coconut-based curries for sure. Tasty but I think I am more used to the other kinds of curries...

Good Hotness and Basmati makes a great dish!

DH is from new Zealand and fancied some curry like his mum used to make. First time making and hubby said it was delicious. Not Mum's, but very good curry. I only added 3 peppers and did not include the seeds. Next time I"ll use as written with seeds. Followed directions and then cooked it in an electric pressure cooker on hi for 55 minutes. Excellent texture and flavor! Thanks for the great recipe and instructions! P.S. taking time to slowly brown the onions is key! Beautiful color and flavor!

great dinner! made this on the weekend and it was a hit! I used a more tender cut of beef so I didn't have to cook as long. I also added a half can of coconut milk as I like more sauce with my curries. Didn't have the chilis so I used some jalapenos (not a lot), and I used 1/3 tsp of cayenne. I found it flavourful but not too too spicy (I have one child who doesn't like super hot food).

Delish!! I used pork instead... Cooking time was not long at all... I don't cook beef, so that could take the recommended time. Next time I will add tomato, perhaps cauliflower, and cilantro! Thanks for the recipe!!

Loved it. Added Yukon gold and sweet potatoes, cubed, instead of serving it over rice. Definitely a repeater in our household.

Simple and delicious.

I made this and loved it! I added peas and potatoes to make a complete meal and omitted the rice. Excellent! And added 4 cloves of garlic as well.

Needs salt and more cooking time, mine took about 3 hours until it was tender. Overall it was very easy to make but I don't know if I will make this again. It wasn't bad but there are better curry recipes on this site that taste better in my opinion.

PRESSURE COOKER NOTES: The sauce was GREAT but the meat should have been cut into smaller chunks to absorb more flavor. (I used regular pre-cut stew meat, way too big) And, all my vegetables were totally vaporized by the pressure cooker. If I make this again I am going to ignore the step where you cook the garlic and pepper before you close the lid and cook for 40, and as well I am going to use much smaller chunks of meat. I suspect next time I make it it will be better.

I followed this recipe just as written, except that at the point when it says to simmer the beef with the spicy paste mixture, I put these elements into a slow cooker for 4 hours. The recipe turned out great -- fragrant and delicious. I served over Jasmati rice, with a light dusting of salt as a finish. Next time, I will up the spice level (perhaps by adding more cayenne pepper and minced hot peppers). Also, I may make the spicy paste mixture a day in advance, so that the beef can marinade in it overnight before going into the slow cooker (the lovely flavor of the spicy paste mixture did not quite penetrate each piece of beef, even after cooked slowly for a long time). Thanks to the author for sharing!

Quite tasty. Best as leftovers.

This really good, I doubled the sauce so we could have more, did steps one and two, and then put it all in the crockpot for about 7 hours on low. The meat was really tender (even for stew beef) and the sauce had great flavor, though it was really spicy, even for spicy food lovers. I also added some spinach and left over mashed potatoes at the end which made for a nice consistency, and served with peas and corn. My husband had his over rice, I ate quinoa, and both worked nicely. Thanks!

I did not enjoy this recipe at all. I felt it was bland. Not sure why.

This turned out really dry and practically flavorless except for pepper for me. I'm so bummed 'cause it smelled so good. Clearly I did something wrong, but I'm not exactly sure what, except that maybe 1 hour was too long for me. Also, I prefer more sauce in my curry, so I'd put more water and spice into it next time.

This was very good. Just needs a little bit of salt.

not the best curry recipe ive tried. Missing salt and too much cayenne. If i was to make again, i would use lamb and a 3rd of the cayenne, add half a tsp of salt and instead of water add a can of chopped tomatos

Great recipe, not to mention the absolutely wonderful fragrance that filled the house. Started out using the electric skillet which was perfect for caramelizing the onions. Intended to continue with the skillet method, but due to time constraints transferred everything to the pressure cooker. Since I used a more tender cut of meat (sirloin tip roast), cooked it on medium pressure for 25 minutes and used a full can of beef broth instead of the cup of water. The only other changes were substituting 2 small cans of chopped green chiles for the fresh peppers and a scant tsp ground cardamom for whole seeds. Talk about melt in your mouth tender – WOW! Next time, I'll use the fresh peppers and whole cardamom seeds and try just 15 minutes in the pressure cooker. Thanks so much for the recipe.

Ive made this a couple times now and it’s very good. However I couldn’t put my finger on why it seemed to be missing something, other than much needed salt. Then it dawn on me - Most south Asian curries are made with heavy cream or coconut milk. I added a can of coconut milk near the end of simmering and wowzers! It really pulled the depth of flavour out of the dish. Delicious. You could also add a tablespoon or so of brown sugar for a sweeter version too.

Most definitely will make it again taste just like what I had when visiting Bangladesh

Great recipe. I find the recipe a little bit too "tumericy" if that's even a word. I added a little bit of generic "curry powder" into the mix which thickened it up. Also added extra ginger paste.

I hate ever giving a less than wonderful review but this is one. While it looked good on paper, the end result was dry because there was absolutely no sauce in it for the meat or rice (even a little would have been okay- maybe if you shrink the amount of meat or double the wet ingredients and spices it would work). The other issue I had was a lack of flavor. You could taste a hint of hot pepper after taking a few bites but the curry "flare" was gone. Actually, most of the flavor was gone- disappointing because I REALLY wanted to like this!

Made it as suggested, it was moderately spicy, but if you are looking for authentic, take it from an actual Asian, this is fairly bland.

I changed a lot of the recipe due to the length of prep. Most notably I used stew beef instead of regular beef. I didn't use cardamom and I used jalapeno slices instead of green chilies. I used beef stock instead of water and added more of it so that it would submerge the beef and the potatoes I added. I basically threw it all in the crock-pot and cooked it on low for about 9 hours, which unfortunately was too long for the stew beef. However, flavor wise, it seemed like something was missing. I don't know if I'd eat this again.

I did it in a pressure cooker and I would add another cup of water, otherwise amazing.

I've made this several times and it has always been a hit! Don't usually alter the recipe but might add potatoes occasionally to make a bit heartier.

Decent taste next time I will be sure to switch the cup of water out for coconut milk.

Fantastic! I used red chili flakes and Habanero peppers which did not alter the flavor but gave it the heat I was looking for. Thanks for this post.

the dish is very tasty we liked it a lot.

The family and I loved this beef curry! The spice combo was so fragrant , it made the house smell just like an Indian restaurant. I modified it a bit by adding 1 large diced tomato and about a half cup of milk for more simmering liquid it needed. when the meat was tender I finished the sauce with 2 Tbsp. tomato paste and 1/2 cup heavy cream to adjust thickness.

Great recipe! Will definitely make this again. We cut back on the hot peppers (by 50%) that was a good choice because it was still fairly spicy.

I used a pressure cooker. It just didn't work.

use mustard oil , that is more authentic for bangladeshi dishes , and use at least 4-5 onions if it medium sized and use 2-3 onions if it is large size .

Fantastic! I used red chili flakes and Habanero peppers which did not alter the flavor but gave it the heat I was looking for. Thanks for this post.

I used the slow-cooker version, so simple. I marinated spices in the brown beef cubes overnight and just dumped in the slow cooker for 7 hrs. Really good.

This is not modified for pressure cooker -- pressure cooker required much more liquid and was therefore burnt.

i added canned tomatoes, green peppers and mushrooms and doubled the spices

Very good! I didn't have quite all the ingredients. I substituted powders where I didn't have fresh, but everything still came out very very good. My wife was out of town. I'll definitely make it again for her. Thanks for the recipe!

not sure what went wrong. I did not like the flavour, found it bitter.

I made it with cubed beef brisket, but after an hour and a half was not tender enough, so transferred to a pressure cooker for 12 minutes. Excellent flavours and meat was quite tender with a nice thick sauce. Would definitely make again.

So Yummy! We left out the cloves (hubby doesn't like cloves) but otherwise kept to the original recipe.

Granted... I may qualify as a person who has changed this a bit much but this recipe is excellent and I’ve been cooking it for years now... only I serve it over riced cauliflower as part of my ketogenic diet. I go a little heavier on the olive oil, I triple the recipe and I use 12 seeded sliced jalapeños with 3-4 sliced white onions. All the spice combos are the same but I cut the cayenne in half. I use a big hunk of fresh ginger and a whole head of garlic. This works for any protein. When I use chicken I put a nice chunk of butter in there. The trick is turning the peppers, onions and spices into a thick gravy by cooking it down before adding the meat. Then simmer the meat 2 plus hours. In a giant wok, 2 sticks of butter for 3 giant heads of shredded cauliflower. Seriously delicious! I can handle the full cayenne but some of my family members cannot.

Didn't use the cardamom. Thought it would make it too smokey. I think we made the right choice, but man was it spot on for authentic curry.

I made it in pressure cooker, very easy, cannot believe how good it smelled. A wonderful spice combo. I will try with chicken too. I used not as much heat, but I did use all ingredients.