Kerala Style Beef Curry is a bold, spicy, and deeply flavorful dish rooted in Kerala’s rich culinary tradition. Also known as Nadan Beef Curry, it’s popular at family gatherings and festive tables across Central Kerala and Malabar. It pairs beautifully with porotta and rice-based dishes.
Scroll down for the recipe, variations, serving tips, and expert kitchen hacks to master this classic at home.
Jump to:
- What is Kerala Style Beef Curry?
- Why You'll Love This Recipe?
- Recipe Ingredients
- Variations to Try
- How To Make Kerala Style Beef Curry? (Step-by-Step Guide)
- Tips And Tricks
- Serving Suggestions
- Storage Instructions
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- More Kerala Style Curry Recipes To Try
- Beef curry (Kerala style)
What is Kerala Style Beef Curry?
Kerala Style Beef Curry is a spicy dish made with soft, tender beef cooked with special spices from Kerala. It’s full of bold, rich flavors. You can cook it in two ways: a quick method using a pressure cooker or a slow method that takes a few hours. Both ways taste great.
The pressure cooker method uses an Instant Pot to cook the beef faster. It’s perfect for busy days. It’s an easy way to make a tasty, flavorful meal quickly.
The slow-cooking method takes more time and is often done over a firewood flame. This lets the beef soak up all the spices and adds a light, smoky flavor. It’s served at big events like weddings because it’s rich in flavor and easy to prepare in large quantities.
If you like a less spicy version, you can try Kerala Style Beef Curry with Potatoes. It’s made with coconut milk, giving it a creamy, mild flavor that balances the spices.
Why You'll Love This Recipe?
Easy to Make: This simple one-pot dish uses readily available ingredients.
Great Pairing: This dish pairs well with rice-based accompaniments like puttu (steamed rice cake), nool puttu (string hoppers), pathiri (thin rice flatbread), idiyappam (rice noodles), appam (fermented rice pancakes), ghee rice, matta rice, and dosha (crispy rice crepe). It also goes perfectly with Indian breads like porotta, chapati, and naan.
Authentic Kerala Taste: The traditional spices give the curry a deep and rich flavor, reminiscent of the vibrant recipes in our Kerala Non-Veg Recipe collection.
Recipe Ingredients
- Beef : Preferred Indian beef, with bone-in chunks for maximum flavor. The bones add depth to the curry by infusing marrow and collagen.
- Spices: Pepper powder, chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, and fennel powder bring the signature spicy flavor, rich color, and enticing aroma of Nadan Beef Curry.
Check out the Recipe Card below for the complete ingredient list.
Variations to Try
A dish similar to Nadan Beef Curry is Kerala Style Mutton Curry, which follows almost the same one-pot method and ingredients. The only difference is that mutton is used instead of beef.
If you prefer a milder version, you can add coconut milk and boiled potatoes after pressure cooking. This creates a creamy variant of the beef curry recipe, balancing the spice level while adding richness to the dish.
Another great variation is Kerala Style Chicken Curry, where chicken replaces beef, offering a lighter yet flavorful alternative.
How To Make Kerala Style Beef Curry? (Step-by-Step Guide)
- Heat oil in a pan/pressure cooker. Add finely sliced onion, green chillies, curry leaves, and salt.
- Saute until it becomes light brown.
- Grind together ginger, garlic, pepper powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, ani seeds powder, and vinegar.
- Add this blended spice into the pan/pressure cooker.
- Mix the spice blend with the sautéed onions and other ingredients well.
- Add water and enough salt to the gravy. Mix well.
- Then add beef and mix it again.
- Cook it until the beef is done. It would normally take up to 2 whistles. Onion mashes into the gravy, by this time.
- Add coriander leaves and boil till gravy has the consistency you desire. If you want to make it spicier, add some more pepper powder now. ** Coriander leaves are optional.
- Serve the Kerala-style Beef Curry with boiled rice, neychoru/ghee rice, appam, parotta, puttu, or chapathi.. Enjoy 🙂
If you’re a Kerala cuisine lover and a fan of beef, don’t miss out on trying our Kerala Beef Biryani Recipe!
Tips And Tricks
- Toast whole spices like pepper powder, chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric, garam masala, and fennel powder before grinding. This enhances the flavor and aroma.
- Using beef with bones is the best when making beef curry. The beef bones contribute a deeper flavor by infusing the marrow and collagen into the curry.
Serving Suggestions
The all-time best combination is Kerala porotta, no compromise on that! However, the dish also pairs wonderfully with various rice-based accompaniments such as Kerala Style Ghee Rice, pathiri, idiyappam, dosa, puttu, and boiled rice.
Indian bread varieties like naan and chapati also complement the flavors of this curry. This dish can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, or dinner in Kerala.
When the beef curry is served for lunch, it is often accompanied by sides like raitha, achar, and any type of thoran along with rice.
Storage Instructions
Kerala Style Beef Curry can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for about two to three days after preparation.
For longer storage, the curry can be frozen in a freezer-friendly, tightly sealed container for up to two to three months.
When ready to use, it should be defrosted at room temperature before reheating. If the curry thickens after refrigeration or freezing, adding a little water while reheating will bring it back to the right consistency.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Vinegar is used instead of tomatoes. However, you can add tomatoes, lemon juice, or vinegar, depending on the level of tanginess you prefer.
Indian beef with a mix of bone and meat is ideal for the best flavor.
More Kerala Style Curry Recipes To Try
I’d love to hear your thoughts if you have tried this! Please leave a ⭐️ rating and a comment below. Don’t forget to share your photos on Instagram and tag @a_little_bit_of_spice
Beef curry (Kerala style)
Ingredients
- 1 Kilogram beef
- 3 onion
- 3 Chilly Green
- salt
- curry leaves
- 1 Cup water
- coriander leaves (optional)
Grind
- 1 ½ Tablespoons ginger
- 1 ½ Tablespoons garlic
- ½ Teaspoon pepper powder
- 1 Tablespoon Chilly Powder
- 1 ½ Tablespoons coriander Powder
- ½ Teaspoon turmeric Powder
- 1 Teaspoon garam masala
- 1 Teaspoon fennel powder ( Perinjeerakam )
- 3 Teaspoons vinegar
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan/pressure cooker. Add finely sliced onion, green chillies, curry leaves and salt.
- Saute until it becomes light brown.
- Grind together ginger, garlic, pepper powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, ani seeds powder, vinegar.
- Add this blended spice into the pan/pressure cooker.
- Mix the spice blend with the sautéed onions and other ingredients well.
- Add water and add enough salt into the gravy.
- Mix well. Then add beef and mix it again.
- Cook it until beef is done. It would take up to 2 whistles normally. Onion gets mashed into the gravy, by this time.
- Add coriander leaves and boil till gravy has thick consistency as you desire. If you want to make it spicier, add some more pepper powder at this time. ** Coriander leaves is optional.
- Serve it with boiled rice, neychoru/ghee rice, appam, parotta, puttu or chappathi.. Enjoy 🙂
can i avoid using vinegar ? and no tomato too?
Vinegar adds a nice flavour. To an extent, vinegar can be replaced with fresh lemon juice. I haven't tried it in this recipe.
that makes sense... lime gives a sour lift !
Yet another nadan curry, liked it. Thanks Jane :)
Thanx for trying it out, Jay :)
Nice one :)
Thanks Joyce :)
I made this today.But I stirred the meat with the spice masala,added one chopped tomato,then added boiling water.pressure cooked.ohh!i made a thick gravy.it was too good.Thanks for the recipe.👌👍
Thanks for trying it out Renuka! Great to hear that you liked it.
It's really helpful chechi thanks for this help
Thanks Catherine!
Hi!! This looks delish! Is there a way I can make this without the pressure cooker? If so, how long does it need to be cooked for? How do I know when the meat is done?