Beef or lamb ularthiyathu

Method

1. Ahead (the night before): move the meat from the freezer to the fridge to thaw.
2. On the raw-meat board, cut 520 g meat into 2 to 3 cm cubes. Crush 20 g ginger and 8 cloves garlic.
3. In the pressure cooker, mix the meat with the ginger, garlic, half the 1 tbsp meat masala, half the 1½ tbsp coriander powder, 1½ tsp chilli powder, ¼ tsp turmeric, 1¼ tsp salt and 160 ml (about ¾ cup) water.
4. Close the lid. Cook on medium-high until the first whistle, then medium for 4 more (3 more for lamb). Turn off and let the pressure drop by itself (about 15 minutes). The meat should be tender.
5. While it cooks, thinly slice 160 g (~13½) shallots.
6. Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil in the kadai on medium. Add the shallots, 60 g coconut and 1½ sprigs curry leaves and fry 6 to 8 minutes until golden brown.
7. Add the meat with its liquid and the rest of the meat masala and coriander powder. Cook on medium-high for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring, until the liquid has gone.
8. Turn to medium. Keep stirring every 2 minutes for 15 minutes, until the meat is dark brown, dry and glossy.
9. For a toddler, take out a few pieces now and chop them small. Add 3¼ tsp pepper to the rest and stir 2 minutes.

Tips

• Do the pressure cooking on the weekend and refrigerate. On the night it is a 20 minute roast.
• Keeps 4 days in the fridge and tastes better each day. Great in lunchboxes; reheat until steaming hot.

Keeping and freezing

• Fridge: keeps 4 days in a lidded box. Cool it within an hour of cooking.
• Freezer: freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat until steaming hot.

Good to know

• Asthma: buy frozen grated coconut without sulphites (220–228).
• Toddlers: take their portion out before adding chilli or pepper.