Leftover Roast Beef Curry with a touch of coconut milk, a delicious curry recipe that is ready in about 30 minutes. It's easy to make, it's full of flavour, and it goes down well with the whole family. As good as a classic beef recipe, but a lot quicker.
After a great roast beef, leftovers are the next best thing. No need to throw away perfectly good food, when there are so many ways to use up some nice beef. And this curry is absolutely amazing.
I do love some good old beef curry that is slowly cooked from scratch to perfection, but this leftover beef curry takes only 30 minutes to make with a few simple ingredients you most probably have around already.
I was planning to use yogurt for this recipe, but realised at the very last minute that I had none, so decided to use some coconut cream that I had left from another dish I had prepared the other day. What a winner that was! The coconut touch made the curry sauce so much more flavourful, and it balanced nicely the earthy spices.
I used canned chopped tomatoes, but if you have some fresh tomatoes that are fully ripe and delicious, they will be perfect for this recipe. In winter time I prefer the canned ones though, as the fresh ones are not as great when out of season.
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Ingredients needed to make leftover roast beef curry
- leftover roast beef - diced
- onion & garlic - the perfect base for any dish
- ginger - fresh, finely copped, ginger paste also ok
- mild curry powder - or spicy if you like
- turmeric - for colour and flavour
- ground ginger - adds so much richness to the dish
- ground cumin - or cumin seeds
- chopped tomatoes - or fresh tomatoes if you have
- coconut cream - or coconut milk
- vegetable oil - or any other oil
- salt & Â ground black pepper - to taste
- fresh coriander or parsley - to garnish
Variations
The amount of sauce needed depends entirely on how much roast beef you have left. I had 2 cups of diced leftover beef, for which I used a tin of chopped tomatoes and half a cup of coconut cream. If you have more beef, you can increase the amount of tomatoes and coconut.
Now, it also depends how much curry sauce you usually like, I like my curries with quite a bit of sauce, I love dipping some nice flatbread in it.
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- peel and chop the onion, garlic and ginger
- fry the onion until soft, add the ginger, garlic and spices, and cook for 30 seconds to release their fragrance
- add the chopped tomatoes and coconut cream (or milk) together with the beef and half a cup of water
- place the lid on and cook for 15-20 minutes until the sauce thickens
- season with salt and pepper, and garnish with fresh parsley or coriander
Expert tips
If you do want to use yogurt though, this can be added towards the end once the sauce has thickened. Make sure the yogurt is at room temperature, otherwise it will curdle. If it's still cold, add a few tablespoons of the hot sauce to it, mix it well, then add it to the pan.
Any leftover veggies can be added too, root vegetables would be particularly nice to up the nutritional value and add even more goodness. Otherwise fresh ones can be used as well just after the spices have been added. Peppers of any colours, carrots or squash are a few veggies that work well here.
Any other leftover meat can be used instead of beef, chicken, pork or lamb are some great options here. Do give it a try, it' quick, it's very easy to make, and so delicious too!
Other leftover roast beef recipes
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Leftover Roast Beef Curry
Ingredients
- 2 cups leftover roast beef, diced
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 cm ginger
- 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- ½ cup coconut cream (or coconut milk)
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh coriander or parsley to garnish
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Instructions
- Peel and chop the onion, garlic and ginger.
- Heat up the oil in a large pan, add the onion and fry on a medium heat until it softens.
- Add the garlic and ginger together with the spices.
- Stir for 30 seconds until the spices release their fragrance, then add the chopped tomatoes and cream, followed by the cooked beef and half a cup of water.
- Place the lid on and cook for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens.
- Check if it needs any more seasoning, then garnish with fresh parsley or coriander.
Notes
- If you do want to use yogurt though, this can be added towards the end once the sauce has thickened. Make sure the yogurt is at room temperature, otherwise it will curdle. If it's still cold, add a few tablespoons of the hot sauce to it, mix it well, then add it to the pan.
- Any leftover veggies can be added too, root vegetables would be particularly nice to up the nutritional value and add even more goodness. Otherwise fresh ones can be used as well just after the spices have been added. Peppers of any colours, carrots or squash are a few veggies that work well here.
- Any other leftover meat can be used instead of beef, chicken, pork or lamb are some great options here. Do give it a try, it' quick, it's very easy to make, and so delicious too!
Lois says
Lovely recipe, very well presented and explained. I considered using Patak's curry paste instead of the powder curry, but did not want to spoil the recipe. My problem is that the curry powder available here is called simply 'curry powder', and I am never sure how that might work out. Love the use of the coconut milk. Perfect. Thanks.
Daniela Apostol says
I am glad that you enjoyed the recipe. Regular curry powder always works well. However, if it’s not hot enough, you can always add extra chilli powder.
Beck and Bulow says
Excellent recipe. I doubled it since it would not worth to cook 3 hours for half kilo. I also skipped chilli paper for kids. Very rich and tasty.
lee says
i uesd coconut yogurt and it was delightful, thank you so much
Daniela Apostol says
Amazing, l am glad you liked it!
Denise in Torrington Wyoming says
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe….it was fabulous as written and so easy to prepare, and the heavenly flavor also filled the air when it was simmering. I had worked a tough day and was great full for the inspiration. Recommend as 5 stars!
Daniela Apostol says
Thank you for your lovely comment, it made my day 😊
Lisa says
I tried thei tonight after having leftover beef from a roast dinner and didn't want to waste it and I have to be honest this was one of the nicest curries I have made! The kids also liked it too, even my son, who never eats curries!! I will be doing this again with leftover beef and will even make a vegetable curry the same way! Thank you x
Daniela Apostol says
I am glad you enjoyed it!
Mike says
If I double the recipe should I also double the spices?
Daniela Apostol says
Yes, definitely, otherwise the dish would be too mild.
Susan says
That was really easy and really tasty
Daniela Apostol says
Thank you!