Ka’ree (Tomato, Beef and Potato Curry)

I woke up this morning to hear rain viciously beating against my window. As I laid in bed, thinking about my list of things to do, I realized what I wanted to cook for dinner:  maraqa. There is nothing more comforting on a cold, rainy day than a bowl of rice and maraka. While it was by no means cold (it was 101° yesterday! 88° today), it was definitely rainy. And, it’s been a while since I’ve cooked maraka.

The best way I can describe Maraka is a tomato stew to which various spices, veggies, and meats are added. When I was younger, we had some sort of maraqa at least once a week. One of my absolute favorites has always been Ka’ree. I love the spiciness of the curry, the thickness that the potato adds to the tomato sauce, and the tender beef  (or chicken) that shreds into the simmered stew.

Luckily, we had all of the ingredients on hand. We often buy meat in advance, chop it, portion it, and freeze it for meals just like this. Potatoes. Check. Beef. Check. Cooking time!

I made this recipe for the first time a long time ago, back when I was a freshmen in high school or maybe even still in middle school. My  mom was at work, but I called her, and had her walk me through the steps. My mom always cooks without measuring ingredients. She does everything from memory, just adding a pinch of this and a couple of spoons of that, and oh, maybe a handful of this too. Unable to comprehend this style of cooking at the time, I had begged her to write down, in quantifiable measurements, what I needed to add. I only needed that little piece of white paper once. Now, I can happily say that I cook this recipe my mother’s style: no guidelines.

Ingredients

1lb chuck roast

6-8 small potatoes (or 4-5 larger potatoes)

1 small onion (or half a medium onion)

6oz tomato paste

15oz tomato sauce

3-4 cups water for sauce

4 cups water for beef (cook with 2 cups at a time)

2-3 tbsp of curry

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tsp citric acid powder (or 2 tbs lemon juice)

1 tsp dried lime (Noomi Basra)

1 tbsp oil

salt

pepper

garlic

Directions

1. Cut the meat into cubes, about 1 inch in size. Place the chopped meat into a pot and set heat to high.

2. Add salt, pepper, and garlic to the meat. Stir. Allow the meat to cook until all of its juices have  cooked away. Then, add two cups of water, and reduce heat to medium. Allow meat to cook until all the water has cooked away. Repeat at least once or until meat is tender.

3. Once the meat is cooked and tender, remove it from the pot and set aside.  Add oil and finely chopped onion and let it cook until slightly browned.

4. Once the onions have slightly browned, add curry and dried lime. Stir.

5. Add the tomato paste to the onion and spices and allow to cook or brown. It’s okay  if it burns a little, it adds a nice depth to the sauce!

6. Add vinegar to the browned tomato paste.

7. Reduce heat to low (you don’t want to get splashed with hot tomato sauce!) and add the tomato sauce. Then add 3-4 cups of water, one cup at a time, stirring in between each addition. Add the chopped potatoes and cooked beef.

8. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are tender. Add salt, pepper, and lemon to taste. If the sauce becomes too thick, add water as needed. Serve with Basmati rice.

ka'ree

 

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15 Comments

  1. Lauren Dayton
    September 10, 2012
    Reply

    Hey Candice, your blog looks great! I’m definitely going to try this Ka’ree recipe, it looks delicious. I miss you and hope all is well!

    • September 12, 2012
      Reply

      Thanks Lauren! How is everything with you?!

  2. November 21, 2014
    Reply

    Hi can you clarify what type of vinegar? apple cider, white, or white wine?

    • November 22, 2014
      Reply

      Hi Sarah! I would suggest using white vinegar.

  3. venus
    January 25, 2015
    Reply

    Im so glad to find this recipe. Making it right now. I am wondering however, how long does it take to cook out the 2 cups of water and how do you know if you need to repeat? My mom never used tomato sauce only paste, any suggestions?

    • February 2, 2015
      Reply

      Hi Venus! My apologies for the delayed reply!! For the recipe, you can use either tomato paste or tomato sauce. Tomato paste is a bit easier to brown, which gives the sauce that nicely roasted flavor. For the beef, the two cups of water might take about 20 – 30 minutes to cook. You want to cook the beef on medium heat (makes it more tender). Once the beef has finished cooking, see how easily you can cut the piece of beef in half. I like to cook the beef until it’s really tender – almost shredding with a fork. So, I generally add more water. Please let me know if you have any other questions!! :_

    • February 2, 2015
      Reply

      Hi Venus! My apologies for the delayed reply!! For the recipe, you can use either tomato paste or tomato sauce. Tomato paste is a bit easier to brown, which gives the sauce that nicely roasted flavor. For the beef, the two cups of water might take about 20 – 30 minutes to cook. You want to cook the beef on medium heat (makes it more tender). Once the beef has finished cooking, see how easily you can cut the piece of beef in half. I like to cook the beef until it’s really tender – almost shredding with a fork. So, I generally add more water. Please let me know if you have any other questions!! 🙂

  4. Alex
    August 2, 2016
    Reply

    Hello and thank you! I would love to know how I could cook this meal using boneless chicken breast instead?

    • Candice
      December 7, 2016
      Reply

      Hi Alex!

      My sincerest apologies for not responding sooner. For some reason, I haven’t been getting notifications about comments. You can definitely use boneless chicken breast instead of meat. I would cut the chicken into small cubes, and then season it with salt, pepper, and garlic. You’ll want to cook the chicken before adding it to the sauce, but I would be careful not to over cook the chicken – it will continue to cook as the sauce and potatoes cook.

  5. Katherine
    December 31, 2019
    Reply

    What do u make the curry with what spices

  6. Christina Carlos
    February 15, 2020
    Reply

    My Chaldean ex used a curry powder that his mother blended. They have both passed away and so my son cannot get the curry blend his Nano used. I know the Curry Powder sold in American markets is very generic. So what recipe would you recommend for creating a Telkaif-style curry powder?

    • Candice
      February 16, 2020
      Reply

      Hi Christina! The curry powder I use is a spice blend I get from my Mom, who has the recipe from her parents. It’s definitely one that I need to learn. Katherine, the blogger at Cardamom and Tea, has a good curry powder recipe, which you can find here: https://www.cardamomandtea.com/blog/yellow-curry. The cookbook, Ma Baseema, lists the following spices that make up a Middle Eastern/Chaldean curry powder: cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, mace, nutmeg, black pepper, red pepper, and turmeric. I hope this information helps 🙂

  7. Brittany Loussia
    July 23, 2021
    Reply

    Candace, thank you for this recipe! I feel like Nana channeled into me and made it just the way she does. I didnt have dried lime so I just used 2-3 silces and juiced them and it was still SO good. This one is getting saved. So much better than any other ones i’ve tried.

    • Candice
      September 26, 2021
      Reply

      Hi Brittany! I am so glad that you liked this ka’ree recipe! I’m planning a list of more recipes to add, so let me know if there is something that you would like to see!

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