Basted Beef and Onion Kebabs

Basted Beef and Onion Kebabs is a traditional Anglo-Indian recipe from the 1860s for a classic dish of beef and onion kebabs cooked in a curd or yoghurt curry gravy. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Anglo-Indian version of: Basted Beef and Onion Kebabs.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

130 minutes

Total Time:

150 minutes

Serves:

Rating:

Tags : Curry Spice Recipes Beef Recipes Fusion Recipes British Recipes

This is a traditional Anglo-Indian recipe redacted from the volume: THE INDIAN COOKERY BOOK: A Practical Handbook to The Kitchen in India (author unknown), published by: WYMAN & CO., HARE STREET CALCUTTA circa 1869.
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Original Recipe

General:
The ingredients and condiments necessary for the curries on stick are as follow:—One chittack and a
half of ghee, one tspful and a half of salt, four tspfuls of ground onions, one tspful
of turmeric, half a tspful of ginger, half a cupful of water, a quarter of a tspful of ground
garlic, one tspful of chilies, half a cupful of tyre or dhye, some finely-sliced ginger, and as
many small curry onions cut into half as may be required. Six silver pins five inches long, or, in the
absence of these, six bamboo pins, are required.

47.—Hussanee Beef Curry
Cut up two pounds of beef into small squares not exceeding one inch, and pass them on the silver or
bamboo pins alternately with half an onion and a slice of ginger. Half a dozen sticks with be ample
for four hearty consumers.

Warm the ghee and brown the ground condiments; then put in the sticks of meat, and brown, stirring
the whole; after this add the tyre and a little water, and allow to simmer over a slow fire for nearly
two hours, when the curry will be ready. Serve up on a curry-dish without removing the sticks

Modern Redaction

We would know these today as Kebabs, a Turkish term. This is a fairly straightforward version but the interesting feature is that instead of being cooked over hot coals, the skewers are simmered in a curry sauce.

Ingredients:

For the Curry Sauce:
45g ghee
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp onions, pounded to a paste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
125ml (1/2 cup) water
1/4 tsp garlic, pounded to a paste
1 tsp chillies, chopped
125ml tyre or dhye (curds) [or use thick yoghurt]

For the Kebabs:
1kg beef, cut into 3cm (1 in) cubes
12 small onions, halved
20 thin slices of ginger

Method:

Take 6 skewers (metal or bamboo) and alternate threading the beef, onion and ginger on them. Set aside until required.

Heat the ghee in a wide pan (it must be wide enough to hold the kebabs flat). Once hot add the salt, gound onions, turmeric, ginger, garlic and chillies. Fry for about 6 minutes, until the onions are browned.

At this point add the water and the curds, bring to a simmer then layer in the kebabs. Cover and simmer gently over low heat for 2 hours, until the gravy is very thick and the meat is tender.

Serve accompanied by rice. If you would like to serve this more like a tikka, put a cast iron griddle pan over high heat, remove the kebabs from the curry gravy then add to the griddle pan and sear to mark on both sides. Serve the kebabs with the curry gravy on the side.

Find more Victorian Recipes Here and more Curry Recipes Here. For the original version of The Indian Cookery book see my The Indian Cookery Book main page.