Beef Mandi

1. 1. Wash the beef and cut into large pieces. Season lightly with salt and turmeric.
2. 2. Heat ghee/oil in a large pot. Add sliced onions and sauté until light golden.
3. 3. Add garlic, green chilies, and tomato; cook until softened.
4. 4. Add the mandi spice mix: coriander, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and bay leaves.
5. 5. Add beef pieces and stir on medium heat until the meat is well coated with spices.
6. 6. Pour in water or beef stock. Cover and simmer until beef is tender (about 1.5–2 hours depending on cut).
   1.5–2 hours
7. 7. Remove beef carefully and set aside. Strain and measure the broth.
8. 8. Add washed, soaked basmati rice to the broth (usually 1 cup rice = 1.5–2 cups liquid). Adjust seasoning and bring to a boil.
9. 9. Lower heat, cover, and cook the rice until fluffy.
10. 10. Place the beef pieces over the rice and steam on low heat for 10 minutes so flavors combine.
    10 minutes
11. 11. Optional: For smoky flavor, place a small hot charcoal on foil in the pot, add 1 tsp butter/oil, immediately cover for 5 minutes. Remove coal before serving.
    5 minutes
12. 12. Fluff rice and serve beef mandi with salad or chutney.

Cooking notes

When scaling protein-led dishes, weigh the meat rather than counting pieces, and remember that the pan size limits how much you can sear at once.

For volume-to-weight conversions of any ingredient — flour, sugar, butter, salts — use the ingredient converter. To translate the recipe's oven temperature between °C, °F and gas mark, see the temperature converter.

When you scale this recipe up or down, remember that cooking time does not scale linearly. A doubled cake takes longer, but not twice as long; a doubled soup takes roughly twice as long. The cooking-time guide gives sensible starting estimates by dish geometry.