Gluten freeBeef wet fry
Nyama ya kukaanga: Nairobi beef fried brown, then cooked down with tomato, onion and dhania
Order 'beef wet fry' at any Nairobi hoteli, from a River Road lunch counter to a Westlands nyama joint, and a sizzling dish of browned beef cubes arrives in a thick, tomato-red sauce glossy with fat. It sits halfway between a dry fry and a stew: the meat is chewy-tender and well seared, and the sauce is reduced so far it clings rather than pools. Ugali is the classic partner, with kachumbari and a tangle of sukuma wiki, though chapati or rice are just as common. The mistake most home cooks make is crowding the pan, so the beef steams grey in its own juices instead of browning. Chef's tip: give the beef a short covered simmer in a splash of water before frying; it tenderises the cheaper cuts Kenyan butchers sell and the water cooks off in time for the browning.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Serves
- 4
- Per serving
- 380 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb beef chuck or topsidecut into 2 cm cubes
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 red onionssliced
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 green pepperdiced
- 4 ripe tomatoesgrated, skins discarded
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ¾ cup beef stockcheck the label if you need it gluten free
- 1 handful fresh coriander (dhania)chopped
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Put 1 ½ lb beef chuck or topside in a wide, heavy pan with 1 tsp salt and 150 ml water. Cover and simmer over a medium-low heat until the meat has lost its pink and a fork goes in with some resistance.
20 minStep 2: Uncover, turn the heat to high and let the remaining liquid boil away completely, stirring now and then. Listen for the bubbling to turn into a sizzle.
5 minStep 3: Add 3 tbsp vegetable oil and fry the beef, turning only every minute or so, until the cubes are deep brown on several sides. If your pan is small, do this in two lots so the beef browns rather than steams.
6 minStep 4: Push the beef to one side, add 2 red onions and 3 cloves garlic and fry over a medium heat until the onions are soft and starting to colour at the edges.
4 minStep 5: Stir in 1 green pepper, 4 ripe tomatoes, 1 tbsp tomato paste and ½ tsp ground black pepper. Cook, stirring and scraping up the browned bits, until the tomato has broken down into a thick paste and the oil glistens at the edges.
5 minStep 6: Pour in ¾ cup beef stock and simmer uncovered over a medium heat until the sauce coats the beef thickly, with just a little loose gravy in the bottom of the pan. Taste for salt.
4 minStep 7: Scatter over 1 handful fresh coriander (dhania), stir once and serve straight away with ugali or chapati and kachumbari.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 38 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does beef wet fry take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of red onions?
- White onion or shallots, same amount (soak raw onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften it).
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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