Kerala Beef Chilly Fry

Hi,

Looking at the name you may think it's an Indo-Chinese preparation, but it's not. The only ingredient that's Chinese is the lemon grass and wouldn't make a huge difference in taste if you choose not to use it. Apart from that it's a very Kerala preparation with lots of chilly & spices and hence the name.... ;)
I made this dish a while back. I was left with a packet of beef stir fry and was not in the mood to make the usual beef dishes plus we had a friend at home visiting from Singapore. I wanted it to be quick & simple as I couldn't be bothered slumping away in the kitchen after work. What I had in mind was a dish that was bursting with flavor and had lots of green chilly, caramelized onion and a bit of tang.
So I went along measuring and mixing and this is what came out - chilly beef!.
It's very easy to put together and doesn't take much time and tastes great, so give it a try.... :)

Ingredients:

For pressure cooking:

Beef -500 g (stir fry pieces) washed & drained

Pepper pdr - 1 tsp
Fennel pdr - 3/4 tsp
Lemon grass - 2 tsp bruised and chopped or use paste - 1 tsp (optional)
Salt to taste
Oil - 1/2 tbsp  

For Masala:
Oil - 2 tbsp
Onion - 3 chopped
Garlic - 4 cloves chopped
Ginger - 2" piece bruised
Turmeric pdr - 1/4 tsp
Coriander pdr 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 3/4 tsp
Pepper pdr - 1/2 tsp
Kashmiri chilly pdr - 1 tsp

For garnish (just before taking off flame)

Dry chilly - 4 

Lemon juice - 1/2 lemon

Green chilly - 2 or 3 big finely chopped (adjust to your spice level)

Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp chopped

Method:

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the beef, fennel, salt & pepper.
Saute on low heat until the color changes and juices start flowing. 
Cover and put the weight on, cook till 3-4 whistles on low heat. 
Open lid when all the steam has escaped. 
If too much stock remains reduce it to 1/4 cup.

In a non-stick pan heat oil and fry onions, ginger and garlic till golden brown.

Add all the spice powders now and  mix well on low flame. 
Now add the beef and stock and cook on high flame till the stock is reduced completely.
Throw in the dry chilly and green chilly for garnishing and give it a good toss.
Add a dash of lemon juice and freshly chopped coriander leaves. 
Adjust salt and pepper, take off flame.
Serve hot with roti or rice.