Burmese Beef Curry

Burmese Beef Curry

• 800g cubed stewing steak
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 onion finely diced
• 2 tbsp chopped ginger
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp Garamond masala
• 2 lemon grass stalks (outer tough leaves removed) thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp galangal paste
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 3 chillies finely chopped
• 500ml beef stock
• Tablespoon of vegetable oil

Method:

Heat the oil in a large casserole dish and brown the beef.  Place the remaining ingredients (excluding the tinned tomatoes) into a food processor and blitz until you have a fine paste. Add the paste to the beef and mix thoroughly to ensure the meat gets a good coating, add the beef stock and the chopped tomatoes, stir through and bring to a simmer.  Once done cover and place the dish into the oven at 170 degrees and cook for around 3 hours, stirring on the hour.  You should have plenty of sauce but if you notice it starting to dry out add a splash or two of water.

Following a recent holiday to Myanmar I had this dish 3 times in two days, it was delicious.  We stayed at the Inle Princess for the last portion of our holiday and they kindly provided me with their recipe for this dish which I have incorporated with another recipe that I found.  The traditional dish does not have chillies and is very mild but as you all know I do like a kick of heat hence the addition of chillies but obviously you can leave them out.

We had this with boiled rice and the usual popadoms and dips and it was a resounding hit and tasted as good as those we tried on holiday.  This recipe makes enough for 4 portions, we've had two portions already so have a guess what we are having for dinner tonight!

Mango Chicken Burger

Mango Chicken Burger

• Salt & pepper
• 2 chicken breasts, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 2 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped (remove the seeds if you don't want it too hot)
• 3 tbsp chopped coriander
• 2 tbsp chopped mint
• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• 2 slices of white bread, crumbed

To serve

• 2 tbsp zero fat Greek style yoghurt
• 2 large brioche buns, split in half and toasted
• 4 gem lettuce leaves, roughly torn
• 4 slices of tomato
• 4 cucumber ribbons, sliced with a vegetable peeler
• 2 tbsp mango chutney

Method:

Place the chicken, ginger, garlic, chilli, coriander, zest and juice of the lime and breadcrumbs into a food processor.  Season with salt and pepper and blitz until everything is well blended.

Shape the mixture into two large patty's and place under the grill for 6-10 minutes each side or until cooked through and lightly golden.

To serve, spread the yoghurt onto the base of each of the buns, top with lettuce, tomato and the cucumber ribbons.  Place the burger on top, spread over the mango chutney and top with the bun lid.

I served this with my Halloumi fries and boy did this dish go down a treat.  The herbs, lime and chilli really made for a fresh zingy tasting burger.  The recipe is taken from Joe Wicks, The fat-loss plan which contains plenty of great recipes to eat in conjunction with his workouts which I will be giving a try over the coming months so watch this space for more of his tasty yet healthy recipes.