The name Chettinad Chicken conjures up a vision of intense flavours of spices and coconut. This recipe for this dish that hails from Tamil Nadu in India. Beef is enrobed in a wonderful combination of dried chillies and spices, curry leaves and grated coconut and is shallow fried in coconut oil. This version will yield a thicker gravy more suitable to eat with rotis or appams but you can easily make this a more gravy type consistency by adding more water to the ground spice paste.

In this recipe Beef is cooked in a pressure cooker to get an incredible soft texture. I used my Ninja foodie, but you could use your Instant Pot or any other electric pressure cooker, a regular stove top pressure cooker OR you could just cook this longer in a pot on the stove top.

Beef Chettinad

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Ingredients
  

Beef & marinade

  • 2.2 lbs – 1 Kg bone Beef
  • Juice of 1/2 Lime
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric
  • Salt to taste

Spice Paste

  • 8 Kashmiri Chillies
  • 1 tbsp Cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
  • 1 tbsp Fennel seeds
  • 2 tbsps black Peppercorns
  • 2 inch stick Cinnamon
  • 2 Star Anise
  • 1/2 cup grated Coconut
  • Water as required

Curry

  • 1-2 tbsps Coconut Oil
  • 2 cups diced Onion
  • 1 tsp Mustard seeds
  • Spice paste
  • 1 cup of Curry leaves
  • 1 tsp each Garlic and Ginger paste
  • Marinated Beef
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 cups Water

Instructions
 

  • Marinate the Beef with the lime juice, turmeric and salt
  • To make the spice paste, roast all the dry ingredients and grind
  • Roast the coconut, add to the spices, add water as required and grind
  • Set the cooker to saute mode and add the coconut oil
  • Add the onion and allow this to sweat for a few minutes before adding the mustard seeds
  • Add the curry leaves, followed by the ginger and garlic paste
  • Add the marinated beef and sear
  • Add the prepared spice paste
  • Add 1 cup of the water, add the lid and set the vent to sealing
  • Select Pressure Cook and set the timer for 20 mins
  • After 20 mins, allow the pressure to naturally escape
  • Set this back to saute mode and add the Tomato paste