Beef Stroganoff

Beef Stroganoff is a dish of Russian Origin and one of the popular international dishes in India. It is basically fried beef strips with mushroom which is cooked in sauce made using sour cream. The sour cream gives the dish its unique flavour. Serve the Beef Stroganoff with some rice.

Serves: A Family of Four

Prep. Time: 30 Mins

Cooking Time: 35 to 40 Mins

Ingredients:

• Beef (undercut) – 500 gms
• Button Mushrooms (cleaned, cut into quarters) – 200 gms
• Onions (finely chopped) – 2 medium
• Black Pepper Powder – 1 ½ tsp.
• Bancal or Wooster Sauce – 1 tbsp.
• Ketchup – 2 tbsp.
• Sour Cream – 200 ml (check notes)
• Beef Broth – 750 ml
• Meat Tenderizer – ½ tbsp. (optional)
• Maida [APF] – 4 tbsp.
• Butter – 2 tbsp.
• Oil – 2 tbsp.
• Salt – ¾ tsp. or to taste

Step 1:     Wash and drain the meat. Then cut into thin strips. Apply the tenderizer and leave aside for ½ to ¾ hour.

Step 2:     Later, marinate the meat strips with ¾ tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper powder and 2 tbsp. maida. Keep aside for 30 minutes.

Step 3:     Heat a tbsp. of oil in a heavy bottomed pan and spread half the quantity of meat on it. Cook on high heat for 4 minutes till the meat is cooked and browned. Repeat for the remaining meat. Then add all the fried meat to the pan, cover it with a lid and switch off the heat.

Step 4:     In another pan, melt the butter and sauté the onions for a minute on medium heat. Then add the mushrooms and cook till done.

Step 5:     Add the remaining 2 tbsp. of maida and sauté for a minute. Then add 250 ml of warm beef broth and cook whilst stirring continuously till it thickens.

Step 6:     Add the remaining 500 ml of broth, mix and bring to a boil.

Step 7:     Add the Bancal sauce, ketchup, ½ tsp. pepper powder and the sour cream and simmer till the sauce thickens.

Step 8:     Check for salt and pepper and add if required. Add the cooked meat and cook for another 2 minutes. Serve hot with long grained rice.

Notes:

• To prepare the sour cream, take 200 ml fresh cream and squeeze in the juice of ½ lime. Mix and leave aside for 15 minutes.
• To prepare the beef broth, you can use the silver skin / white fibers that you remove from the beef while chopping or you can use beef bones.
• If you do not have tenderizer or a good cut of meat, pressure cook the meat with a little water after Step 2. But in this case do not apply the maida. Apply it after the meat is cooked.