Curried Beef Stew

Curried Beef Stew

2 lbs thick cut round steak cut into cubes
1 1/2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons curry powder (I used Ship)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon each black pepper, white pepper and paprika
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 bell peppers cut in large dice
2 large onions diced
*1/2 of a 12 oz package snake gourd*
3 15 oz cans whole peeled tomatoes
3 cups water
1/4 vindaloo curry paste (I used Patak's)

In a bowl or ziploc bag mix the flour, curry powder, salt, black pepper, white pepper and paprika together. Add the meat cubes and toss or shake to coat.

Heat some of the vegetable oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add the meat in a single non crowded and layer and brown on all sides. Do this in batches if necessary. Remove the browned meat and set aside. Add the peppers and onions to the pan and saute briefly in the drippings. Add 1/4 of flour to the vegetables and stir to incorporate. Add the tomatoes, water, *snake gourd* and the vindaloo curry paste. Gently add the meat and it's drippings back to the pan. Adjust salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 2-3 hours until meat is tender.

*snake gourd is apparently a semi common foodstuff in India but not so much in Indiana. We bought it because we've made a pact to try new things (I would not recommend salted dry gooseberries.) Check the freezer section of an asian or Indian market and you might find it. If not, I'm pretty sure zucchini or yellow squash would work or you can of course leave it out entirely.

Notes-This smells fantastic. We're gonna have homemade naan, the Bharji bread, brown rice pilaf, peas, hot mango chutney and yogurt with this.

More notes-The snake gourd didn't taste like zucchini or yellow squash but they really would make a good substitute. This was particularly good piled onto the Bharji Bread and dotted with yogurt and chutney.