I made the best beef curry of MY LIFE this week and today I am sharing the recipe with you all. The clincher – baking it in the oven, causing the beef to become incredibly soft and tender, with a rich and fragrant sauce. It was absolutely killer.
In terms of flavour profile, it edges towards a Sri Lankan or South Indian type curry. Gently spiced with fresh red chilli, fragrant with garam masala, cumin and cinnamon, and a rich and creamy coconut and tomato base.
Perfect with homemade gluten free naan bread or rice and a golden stack of poppadums.
Can I Make This Baked Beef Curry in Advance?
Absolutely. It’s one of those dishes that you can happily make a day or two in advance, if you need to. The flavours will actually develop even more and it’ll be extra delicious when you come to reheat and serve it.
Simply store in the fridge, then you can either microwave to reheat or warm on the stove top for 30 minutes.
What About Freezing It?
Yes it is also freezer friendly. I tend to freeze half of this when I make it, if it’s just me and Dave tucking into the curry for dinner. It’s perfect freezer food.
Can I Use a Different Meat?
Lamb would be a good alternative, if you do not eat beef. You could try use chunks of lamb shoulder or neck.
What About a Veggie Version?
Big chunks of sweet potato would be nice in this curry, although you’ll need to play around with the cooking time. 3 hours in the oven would cause them to break down too much. Try 1-1.5 hours.
Can I Make a Dairy Free Baked Beef Curry?
Yes very easily, as most of the curry is naturally gluten free. The one small switch is that instead of the knob of butter at the start, use 1 tbsp vegetable oil instead.
Banging Baked Beef Curry Recipe (GF)
This baked beef curry recipe serves 4 people, with a side of rice (basmati is our rice of choice), poppaodoms and veg, or with gluten free naan. I’ve a few authentic naan recipes on this website – classic naan, peshwari naan and garlic naan. All would pair nicely with this curry.
You can simply double the quantities if you are cooking for a bigger family or group. The method will be unchanged, but you may need to add 30 minutes onto the cooking time. Test the meat and return to the oven if it’s not as soft as you would like.
You will find a few pictures underneath the recipe, to reference while you are working through it. For any help along the way or if you have questions, please do message me on social media (@myglutenfreeguide) or email me at laura@mygfguide.com.
If you do enjoy this baked beef curry recipe, please leave a review on the recipe card below. It makes a world of difference to me :). And you can also share photos of your home creations in my Cooking Club on Facebook.
Enjoy! Laura xxx
Banging Baked Beef Curry (GF)
An incredible, flavoursome baked beef curry with fragrant spices, coconut milk, tomato and fresh chilli. Enjoy with gluten free naan or rice and poppadoms.
Ingredients
- 1 kg braising/chuck steak, cut into chunks
- Knob of butter and a little vegetable oil
- 2 brown onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp ginger paste/a thumbsized piece of ginger, finely minced
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced (or keep the seeds if you like spice)
- 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
- 200ml water
- 250ml coconut cream
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place a large, oven safe lidded casserole dish on your stove top, over a medium-high heat. Add a knob of butter and 1 tbsp vegetable oil to the dish, along with the chunks of meat. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until an excess liquid had evaporated and the chunks of meat are lightly browned on the outside. Then remove the meat from the pan, and set aside on a plate.
- Finely dice the onion and add to the casserole dish, along with a tbsp vegetable oil, turning the heat down to low. Cook for 10 minutes to soften. While they are softening, preheat your oven to 160C (fan).
- Finely mince the garlic and add to the pan along with the ginger. Cook for a minute or two, then add the spices - 1 tbsp ground coriander, 1 tbsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp garam masala, 1 tsp ground cinnamon - and the red chilli. Cook for a couple of minutes until they smell fragrant.
- Now add the beef back into the pan, stirring well to coat the beef with those tasty spices. Tip the chopped tomatoes into the pan, along with 200ml water (an easy way to measure it is to fill one of the tomato cans half way with water, then pour in).
- Bring the contents of the dish to the boil, then place the lid onto the casserole dish and pop it into the oven. It will now bake for 3 hours - you should check it after 1.5/2 hours of cooking, give it a stir and add an extra 100ml of water if it is looking dry (you may not need to add, you do want this curry to be quite thick).
- After baking, the meat will be incredibly soft and yielding and the sauce will be rich and fragrant. Pop it back on the hob and stir through 250ml coconut cream. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-10 minutes, then you are ready to serve. Enjoy!
Serve with rice and poppadoms or gluten free naan. You may wish to add a vegetable side dish too - choose anything you like! Or add a second vegetable curry, such as saag paneer.
For more dinner ideas, why not try some of my other gluten free recipes:
- Prosciutto Pesto Chicken Tray Bake
- Thai Spiced Pork Rice Bowl
- Celeriac Rosti with Pea Puree & Crispy Spring Onions
Enjoy! Laura xxx
