The spring time is generally a busier season for me. With spring cleaning, gardens to sow, 2 boys and a husband in baseball, we seem to fill our days quite easily. It’s in this season that I make a lot of slow cooker recipes, rice cooker recipes, and 1 recipe-2 meal creations. With our busy spring schedule, I’m all about saving time in the kitchen.
The good thing is that saving time in the kitchen doesn’t mean to sacrifice flavor… especially when it comes to Pakistani curry cooked two ways. I originally saw this meal over at Whole New Mom. It was definitely my style of food so I had to give it a try. As I usually do, I modified the recipe a bit and my family loved it. So much so, that I included it in my menu plan and my subscribers enjoyed it as well.
What I love about this recipe is that it makes a big batch which can be re-used in another meal during the week. The filling is rich and savory, made with ground beef and potatoes, and then simmered in a tomato sauce with Indian spices. What I love about this meal is that you can use any type of curry you may have on hand or make at home. It can be as spicy or as mild as you like it. I prefer it mild.
For my family, with 2 young boys and 1 toddler, I can make one batch and have enough filling to make another meal in the week. However, once my boys start becoming adolescents, I’ll most likely have to double the batch. The filling, in my opinion, tastes even better served the next day so it makes your second meal taste even better than your first.
Pakistani Curry Served Over White Basmati Rice
When I make Pakistani curry, I will usually serve it over rice for our first meal. I love this recipe specifically because all of my children love it as well!
Pakistani Curry – The filling is rich and savory, made with ground beef and potatoes, and then simmered in a tomato sauce with Indian spices.
Ingredients:
- 1lb ground beef
- 2tbls extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 3 potatoes, diced
- 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 tbls tomato paste
- 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tbls curry powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- dash of pepper
- cilantro to garnish
Method:
- 1. In a skillet or cast iron pan, gently heat 2tbls of extra virgin olive oil. Add the onion, and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- 2. Add the ground beef and brown with the onion.
- 3. Add the garlic, red pepper, potatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken broth; mix thoroughly.
- 4. Once mixed through, stir in the curry, cinnamon, ground ginger, turmeric, salt, and pepper.
- 5. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer on low for 25-30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
Notes
1.Since my family doesn’t eat a lot of curry, I bought mine at Trader Joes. It’s a mild curry. 2. If you’d like something a bit spicier, try for a bolder curry. Also, you can adjust the amount of curry powder in the recipe to suit your family's taste.
Cornbread Casserole Drizzled with Honey
After a good Pakistani curry, I usually make a cornbread casserole with the extra filling. It’s rich and savory and perfectly sweet when drizzled with raw honey.The kids love it and so do I.
It’s SO simple to make this! All I do is spread the extra filling into a 9″ x 13″ pan and top it with a cornbread batter. I then bake it at 375F for 35 minutes. I personally use Bob’s Red Mill organic medium grind cornmeal at home. I use the recipe on the back of the package except I add 1/4 cup of honey to the batter.
Simple and oh so good!
A cornbread casserole made with leftover Pakistani curry. Rich and savory and perfectly sweet when drizzled with raw honey.
Ingredients:
- Leftover Pakistani Curry
- 1 Recipe Cornbread Batter
- Raw Honey to Drizzle
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 375F.
- Layer the extra Pakistani curry filling into a 9" x 13" baking dish.
- Top the Pakistani curry with the cornbread batter.
- Bake at 375F for 35 minutes.
I’m not kidding when I say that this filling is versatile. During the summer it makes an exquisite eggplant lasagna!
Either way you’d have it, Pakistani curry is where it’s at!
Do you have a favorite recipe that makes 2 meals? I’d love to hear about! Please share it with us in the comments below.
Your curry looks delicious!
Thanks, Dena!
Oh, I cannot wait to make this, especially because I have leftover cornbread that I was wondering how I’d use up — of course I won’t be able to bake them together, but I can at least warm them up together! Great post!
Update: I made it (except without the fire-roasted tomatoes, because I had a brain cramp), and it was SO easy. I look forward to adding the tomatoes next time and experimenting a bit with extra spice/veggies … and enlisting some help with the chopping 🙂 Yum!
This curry looks delish and we love just about any type of curry. With the kids grown and gone, this could probably make 3-4 meals for us. I could even see using this filling for gyros or I could easily freeze it for a quick meal later. Thanks so much.
Aishah, that’s a great idea! I’ll have to try it in a gyro!
Can I come over for dinner? This looks amazing! 🙂
Of course, Kelly!!
Thanks for the mention, Diana, and I am so glad you and your readers enjoyed it!
No, thank you, Adrienne!!
My hubby has made multiple trips overseas to this region. He was so, so happy when I made him this recipe! He’s complimented me so many times on it. It really is super healthy and makes hubby happy! Thank you for sharing it! =}
So excited to try this–all three ways! My husband’s signature, and only dish is chicken tika masala. He makes it better than I’ve ever had it in a restaurant. He only makes it once in a while, so I beg him to make a huge batch. We have it over rice the first night, usually with nahn. Another night we’ll pull chicken out to make tacos, then another night we’ll thin the leftover sauce out a little and add veggies, like peas, carrots, etc., and gnocchi or potato dumplings for a great soup. I load my taco with greens, but he likes it just plain with the chicken and some sauce. The two year old loves when the peas get added, and we have to watch the heat level with the jalapeños.
Thanks for this recipe. I just made it tonight over rice, and my hubby and almost 3 year old loved it! Looking forward to trying the cornbread casserole with the leftovers for an easy meal!
That’s great to hear, Elissa! I’m so glad they liked it!