Simple Beef Curry With Rice

Beef Curry
David Marsden / Getty Images
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 2 hrs 30 mins
Total: 2 hrs 45 mins
Servings: 4 servings

A beef curry that uses individual spices for the curry sauce can be time-consuming. This beef curry is an easy one to make for a weeknight dinner because it only requires curry powder, a ready-to-use Asian spice blend so you don’t have to gather all the ingredients. There are lots of different curry blends and depending on the type of curry powder you use, you can make this a mild or spicy curry.

The curry is made with chuck, a lean beef cut for stewing. It is often sold already cut into big cubes; for this recipe, however, the cubes should be only ½ inch in size so you might have to cut the meat again. Coating the meat with flour is a little trick to improve the browning when you sear the meat before cooking. Other than checking if there is enough liquid, there is not much you need to do while the meat slowly simmers for about 2 hours until it is very tender. 

You can make this a one-pot dish by adding the cooked rice to the meat, or you can serve the beef curry and the rice separately. 

There is room for variations, too. Cooking thinly sliced onions with the beef adds a lot of flavor. Feel free to substitute roasted red peppers or sweet red bell pepper strips for the pimiento. Another vegetable that you goes well with beef curry is frozen and thawed garden peas. For a richer, smoother sauce, stir in a few tablespoons of heavy cream at the end. 

If you want to skip the rice, serve the curry with naan to mop up the delicious sauce. 

Store leftover curry in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds beef chuck, stewing beef, lean

  • Salt, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 3/4 cup very hot water

  • 2 cups hot cooked rice

  • 1 tablespoon curry powder, or more, to taste

  • 1 tablespoon chopped pimiento

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Cut the stew beef into small 1/2-inch cubes. Sprinkle the beef with salt and freshly ground black pepper and then toss with the flour.

  3. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, brown the beef, turning to brown all sides.

  4. Add the hot water to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours. Check occasionally and add more water if necessary.

  5. Cook the rice following package directions.

  6. Add the curry powder and pimientos to the beef and mix well.

  7. Taste and adjust seasonings.

  8. Add the rice to the beef or serve the beef on a bed of rice.

  9. Enjoy!

 

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
236 Calories
5g Fat
35g Carbs
11g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 236
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 5g 7%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 21mg 7%
Sodium 164mg 7%
Total Carbohydrate 35g 13%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 11g
Vitamin C 3mg 13%
Calcium 24mg 2%
Iron 3mg 15%
Potassium 137mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)