Madras Curry Paste

* 2 tablespoons ground coriander (6 tablespoons fresh finely chopped)
* 1 tablespoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon turmeric
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
* 2 garlic cloves, crushed
* 2 teaspoons grated ginger (3/4 teaspoon of ground ginger)
* 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice or lime juice
* 1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix it all together and set aside.

This is enough for 1kg of meat. It is not overly hot in flavour but has a nice depth to it.

I use the rule of thumb of 1 teaspoon of dried herbs is roughly 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs. I mix and match depending on what I have available.

For 1kg of Beef I made the paste a few hours before and set aside so the flavours could combine. Then diced the meat, browned it in a hot pan sprayed with olive oil. I did half at a time as I find this easier. I then cooked the spice paste in the same pan for 1 minute, adding a little water if it is too dry. Once the aroma of curry filled the kitchen I added the beef back in and stirred until coated in paste. I then added a stock cube, 1 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. Then I put the whole lot in a caserole dish and into the oven on 180C for 2 hours.

Beautiful!