Azu
Beef stew with pickles
Azu (азу по-татарски): Tatar beef strips stewed with tomato, onion, pickled cucumber and fried potatoes
RussianKazan's working canteens gave azu its fame: strips of beef braised in a peppery tomato gravy, sharpened with diced salty pickled cucumbers and finished with golden fried potatoes, all served steaming in a clay pot. It is hearty, sour-savoury and thick enough to mop up with rye bread, and Tatar families serve it on cold weekday evenings. Where most people go wrong is adding the potatoes raw to the stew; they turn floury and the gravy goes muddy, so fry them separately and fold them in at the end. Chef's tip: use proper brine-fermented cucumbers rather than sweet vinegar pickles; their sourness is what makes azu taste like azu.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ lb beef topside or chuckcut into 1 × 5 cm strips
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 onionssliced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tomatoesgrated, skins discarded
- 1 ¾ cups hot water or beef stock
- ¾ tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepperfreshly ground
- 3 garlic clovescrushed
- 1 ⅓ lb potatoescut into thick batons
- ⅓ oz fresh parsley (optional)chopped
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Heat the 3 tbsp sunflower oil in a heavy casserole over a high heat and brown the 1 ⅓ lb beef topside or chuck in two batches for 3–4 minutes each, until well coloured on all sides.
8 minStep 2: Lower the heat to medium, add the 2 onions and cook for 6 minutes, until soft and golden.
6 minStep 3: Stir in the 2 tbsp tomato paste and fry for 1 minute, until it darkens, then add the 2 tomatoes, 1 ¾ cups hot water or beef stock, 2 bay leaves, ¾ tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper.
3 minStep 4: Cover and simmer gently for 35 minutes, until the beef is tender when pressed with a spoon.
35 minStep 5: Meanwhile heat the 4 tbsp sunflower oil for frying potatoes in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the 1 ⅓ lb potatoes for 15–18 minutes, turning, until golden and cooked through.
18 minStep 6: Stir the 3 brine-fermented pickled cucumbers into the stew and simmer for 5 minutes more, until the gravy is thick and glossy.
5 minStep 7: Fold in the fried potatoes and 3 garlic cloves, cover and leave off the heat for 5 minutes so the flavours settle. Serve scattered with ⅓ oz fresh parsley.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 540 kcal
- Protein
- 38 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 27 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does azu take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 55 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of tomatoes?
- Tinned chopped tomatoes: a 400g tin for about 6 tomatoes (in cooked dishes, not salads).
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