Ingredients

Curried Beef

• 3 tbsp oil
• 800g stewing beef, diced
• 2 onions, peeled and finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 5cm ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/2-1 tsp ground chilli (dependent on taste)
• 2 small curry leaves (optional)
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 200ml canned diced plum tomatoes
• 250g new potatoes, diced

To Cook

• 750g puff pastry
• 1 egg beaten

Banana and Coconut Salad

• 4 bananas, sliced into 1.5cm pieces width wise
• 1 small cucumber or 1/2 a cucumber, halved and finely sliced
• 100g desiccated coconut
• 2 tsp mint shredded
• pinch maldon salt
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp honey

Method

1. Curried Beef: Heat the oil in a large pan over a moderate high heat. When the oil is hot add the onions and cook them for 3-5 minutes until they are transparent and tender. Stir in the garlic, ginger and spices and continue to cook for 1 minute. Add the beef to the pan and brown it on all sides. Add the water or stock to the pan along with the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, salt and curry leaves. Bring the curry to a strong simmer then reduce to a gentle simmer. Leave the meat to cook very slowly for 1 1/2 hours, stir it regularly and be careful that the liquid doesn't totally evaporate (add more water if you need to). Stir the potatoes into the curry and continue to cook for a further 30 minutes. Remove the curry from the heat and set aside until ready to finish.
2. Pie: Preheat an oven to 200°C. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and line 6 small pie dishes or tins with 1/2 the pastry. Place the lined pie containers in the fridge for 30 minutes or until ready to cook. Blind bake the pastry lined with a little foil or baking paper and weighted down with rice of dried bean. Cook the pastry for 10-15 minutes. Remove the pastry from the oven and fill the pie containers with the curried beef. Cover each pie with the remaining pastry sealing around the edges. Make two small slits in the centre of each pie and brush them with the beaten egg. Return the pies to the oven and cook them for 15-20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown. Remove the pies from the oven and serve them from the pie dish or allow them to cool slightly and remove them from the pie tins.
3. Banana and Coconut Salad: Prepare this salad just before serving it, it isn't good prepared in advance. Place the bananas, cucumber, coconut, mint and salt in a bowl. Mix the honey and lemon together until well combined and pour it over the salad. Toss the salad gently so that it is coated in the lemon and honey. Serve