KALA BHUNA

Few weeks back, my hubby's supervising professor gave him a pretty hard time. Due to the current COVID-19 situation, there has been various problems with funding opportunities and his professor had to get substantial results before he could offer him research assistantship. I could see my hubby work all day long without a proper break. Normally, when I go through such an intense situation, the only way I relax is "eat good food and watch sitcoms". Hence I decided to treat him with some lavish food. Since he absolutely loves beef, I thought of giving Kala Bhuna a try. It is basically a traditional meat delicacy in Bangladesh, originated in Chittagong. I don't remember eating it before, so I had no idea how it should taste, let alone knowing how to prepare it. I opted to take the help of my buddy, YouTube. I went through various styles of cooking and took up the one which seemed the easiest for me.

First off, I had to cook the beef. So in a pot, I added the beef and seasoned it with salt, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, ginger paste, minced garlic, mixed spices, sugar and mustard oil. I also added about one cup water. I let the beef cook completely, starting with medium heat to bring it to a boil and then low heat to cook the meat. It took about 2 hours since I don't have a pressure cooker. Make sure to stir it at regular intervals since it could stick to the pan and burn. Once done, I took another pan and added in one cup of oil. Yes, one whole cup! I was utterly shocked since I limit my oil usage as much as possible. Well, the recipe called for it so I had to go for it too. I then added some dried red chili and roasted them. When roasted, I added in julienned onions and let it brown. After adding in the previously cooked beef to the onions, I let it cook in medium heat for about 5 minutes and then added half cup of water. Adding water seemed to be very crucial for even cooking throughout the meat. Once everything was done, I served it with steamed rice but it would have tasted delicious with parathas. As per to my hubby, it totally lifted his mood and the next few days he worked really well and managed to secure a funding opportunity. I am not taking credit but good food does enhance productivity, doesn't it?

Ingredients: (for 2 servings)

For first cooking

0.5 kg beef

0.5 tsp salt

1 tsp red chili powder

0.5 tsp cumin powder

0.5 tsp coriander powder

2 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp minced garlic

0.5 tsp mixed spices

0.5 tsp sugar

1 tbsp mustard oil

1 cup water

For second cooking:

1 cup oil

3 pcs dried red chili

1 cup julienned onions

0.5 cup water