Spicy beef crush or beef jhal faraizi

This is a very quick and easy dish that just takes up a little time and is more like a stir-fry than a long cooked curry dish.  It calls for cooked beef so if you have a Sunday roast and you find that you have too much beef left then this makes a change from just cold beef sandwiches.  And I know it calls for beef but it works just as well with pork or lamb so I do not know if any one has a wash day dinner any more but if you do then give this a go.

340g/12oz potatoes (fluffy ones not waxy)

2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil

½ tsp whole cumin seeds

1 medium onion,

2-3 fresh, hot green chillies

A hand full of green beans

A green pepper

340g/12oz cooked roast beef, diced

Salt freshly ground black pepper to taste

Now the best potatoes for this are Old potatoes or ones that you use for jacket or mashed potatoes.  And you can leave the skin on them, just dice them in to big cubes.  Put them in a pan of boiling water and bring to the boil then before they are fully cooked drain the water off and set them to one side to cool a little.  You want as little water in the potato as possible as you are going to add them to hot oil and you do not want water and hot oil mixing together, you will only get burnt.

Now take your frying pan and add the oil let it heat up till fairly hot, on a medium to high heat. Once hot, add the cumin seeds and let them fry for a little so they impart all the flavour in to the oil.  Then add the onion roughly diced and the chilli.  Turn the heat down and let the onions cook so they start to become soft.

Wile it is cooking dice you pepper in to a big dice and cut your beans in to one inch or two centimetre lengths.  The whole look of this dish is very rustic so do not worry to much about fine dicing and slicing.

Now add your potatoes, green beans and green pepper and get them cooking with the onions.  Do not worry if every thing starts to break up.  Keep turning every thing until the onions are fully cooked then add the beef and keep string until that is hot.

Now season with plenty of salt and fresh ground black pepper and press every thing down with a spatula or egg slice.  You are looking to make a sort of potato and beef cake affect.  Now you want to let it brown like a bubble and squeak.  Once you have done this you are ready to serve.

Now if you have it just make a light salad and serve it with that.  It is a surprisingly tasty dish and it only takes a little time to make.