Beef bhuna is a delicious Bangladeshi curry which is very popular in Bengali homes. Beef bhuna, easy and spicy and you can make it in a pressure cooker to save time. Delicious with rice or roti’s and a perfect dish to enjoy with friends and family. In Bangladesh we call it gorur mangsho bhuna. Soft and tender pieces of beef cooked in Indian spices with onions, ginger and garlic. The beef is cooked and simmered until nice and tender. The taste is phenomenal, there is so much flavor in this curry, everything is perfectly balanced. Gorur mangsho bhuna always taste great with a mix of boneless and bone-in meat. The bone-in meat just brings out all that extra good flavor and having the mix of meat gives everyone a chance to take their pick.

Like many dishes, beef bhuna is one of my favorites. I make this every time I have friends and family over just because most of them also love my beef bhuna. So it’s always nice to make something my guest look forward to having. Also not to forget my daughter who also loves beef bhuna so there’s days when she makes special requests too.

More about Beef Bhuna

My first memory of having beef bhuna which I still remember is when I was probably in primary/elementary school. That day the beef bhuna was just that extra special. Mom cooked it of course and it was so beautiful in color, with a reddish hue and I remember it being pretty spicy but it tasted sooooo good. I loved it and I think that’s when I actually started to say that beef bhuna was one of my favorites. So every time I cook up a beef bhuna I think of that curry that Mom made. I still remember the taste too. I mean it was that good, mouthwatering…..

The interesting thing about cooking up a beef bhuna is how easy it really is to cook. When you look at a beef curry and if you are new to cooking then you might wonder ‘how is this curry cooked’ and ‘the meat is so tender’. Well truth is you can cook this curry up in just a few simple steps with just a few ingredients too. And even better if you are trying to save some time then you can cook this beef bhuna, easy and spicy in a pressure cooker. Your cooking time will be shortened incredibly.

Ingredients you will need to cook beef bhuna, easy and spicy

Mix of boneless and bone-in meat. A mix of meat gives everyone a choice, also taste better overall as you get a good flavor from the bone-in meat. Cut the meat into bite size pieces inch and a half size. Bone in pieces can be left to a bigger size as they will have some meat on with a reasonable bone size too. Usually your butcher will cut according to your preference for curry.

Onions, roughly chopped. Onions help to make the masala base. Also give the beef that thick gravy.

Ginger and garlic, fresh or even store bought paste. Ginger and garlic always add that extra flavor to a curry.

Some whole spices, like bay leaf, cardamom, whole black peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon stick. All these whole spices help to flavor the meat. These whole spices have strong flavors and go perfectly when cooking beef.

Ground spices, these include turmeric, chili, coriander, cumin, curry, and garam masala. A mix of these spices to bring out the Indian flavors. The spices are cooked well with the meat, onions, ginger and garlic.

Tomatoes, these are optional but they do taste great, giving the curry a sweet and tangy taste.

Beef curry can be served with rice, naan or roti’s.

You can also make this curry ahead of time. Beef bhuna will stay good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Beef Bhuna, Easy And Spicy, In A Pressure Cooker

Recipe by Shema Course: MainsCuisine: BangladeshiDifficulty: Easy

Servings

5-6

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

45

minutes

Beef Bhuna, Easy and Spicy

Ingredients

• 2 lbs or 1 KG of mixed beef, boneless and bone-in

• 1/2 cup of cooking oil

• 2 large onions roughly chopped

• 1 and a half tablespoons of salt

• 1 tablespoon of minced ginger

• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

• Whole spices (1 bay leaf, 1 stick of cinnamon, 2 pieces of cardamom, 2 cloves, 5-6 whole black peppercorns)

• 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder

• 2-3 teaspoons of chili powder (adjust to preference)

• 2 teaspoons of coriander powder

• 1 teaspoon of cumin powder

• 1 teaspoon of curry powder

• 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala

• 1 tomato chopped

• 1/2 cup of hot water

• Handful of fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Directions

• Add in all the ingredients into a pressure cooker (apart from the water, tomato and cilantro) mix everything in really well and then put the pressure cooker on the stove, high flame
  
• Cook for 8-10 minutes stirring once or twice and add in the hot water
• Put the lid on, locking in the pressure (use your pressure cooker guide).
  
• Once the pressure cooker reaches the optimal pressure, turn flame/heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes. (use your pressure cooker guide).
  
• Take off the lid, release the pressure and turn the flame to high, stir well
• Add in the tomatoes, stir and cook on high flame for an additional 15 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally
• By this time the beef bhuna should be cooked and you will start to see some of the oil floating on the surface of the curry
• Add in the chopped cilantro, stir and take the pressure cooker off the heat
• Enjoy hot with rice, naan bread or roti’s.

Notes

• This beef bhuna will stay good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.