For Ella...Curried Beef & Potatoes with Bakes

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.....

Not really. Several years ago, before your little friend, Angel Bear, was born, we had a very nice lady (Michele) and her two sons living with us. She was originally from Trinidad & Tobago (the Trinidad side), and on occasion made this dish for us. She was gracious enough to show me how it's done. And, my little love bug, it contains NO dairy :)

Bakes with Curried Beef & Potatoes...green beans on the side.

For the curried beef:

cubed beef
curry
salt
water

Boil the cubed beef in enough water and long enough to...well...cook it until it's soft. Add enough curry to make it taste...well...like curried beef. Salt as needed. Beef should be just about falling apart by the time you serve it...a couple of hours, at least.


For the curried potatoes:

one potato per person, cubed (skins on)
curry
salt
water

Starting to see a pattern, here? Boil the cubed potatoes until just under-done. Add curry and salt and cook until...well...done.

Note for those cooking for kids: I add a dash of brown sugar to cut the "bite" of the curry, making it a bit more palatable for those with less-than-adventerous palates.

Big ol' pile o bakes...aka carb fest extravaganza.

For the bakes:

4 cups flour (white)

1.5 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

water

Mix dry ingredients. Add enough water to form a ball (don't ask me how much that is). Knead for 10 minutes (yes, a full 10 minutes, and no, your breadmaker does not count...it has to be by hand!). Let rest for 1/2 hour (really...this part is essential!). Cut and roll about 5" by 1/4 thick. Fry in hot (hot!!! almost smoking!!!) vegetable oil until breathtakingling golden brown. Bakes should "bubble" beautifully.

For the green beans

If you can't cook green beans on your own, I'm afraid I can't help you.

No forks or spoons are allowed on the dining table! This is a Finger Food Fest! The messier, the better! Rip off a bit-o-bake, use as a implement to pick up whatever else is in your plate, and shove it in your mouth. Napkins optional. Just pretend you're in Morocco.

Also, this is one of those recipes you might need to "watch and learn" as I did before you can perfect it....or even make it turn out as something most reasonable humans would consume. I'm still working on that part, though I LOVE this dish. Drop me a line if it's time for a bakes-and-curried-whatever-at-Huey's experience :)