Written by Natalie Farah Persaud


Mom has always been the cook of the family, from making my father’s lunches to catering for my sister’s school events. Whenever guests come over, no matter who they are, they will always be fed. For me and my sisters, this home has always been the main hangout spot for friends, though Mom can never remember their names. To my sister’s friends, who visited more frequently than even some family, she became “Mama Naz”, everybody’s mom and favourite chef.

As a child, I often struggled with eating well, as I was (and still am) a hugely picky eater. To solve this problem, Mom would be watching the clock for when I come home from school, trying to time a freshly cooked pot of beef curry to me walking in the front door. Curry has such a strong and luring scent that I couldn’t help myself from grabbing a plate with roti (a flaky tortilla-like bread). Like my father, I am very loyal to eating my curry with roti rather than rice. I remember walking home from the bus stop a few times, smelling mom’s kitchen from all the way down the street. One Christmas, we bought her an apron with a picture of a dog floating in the air, following the lines of scent in front of it, leading it to a kitchen with the text “What’s my neighbour cooking?”. 

I felt the need to share this meal with more people who hadn't yet experienced what is likely the best indo-caribbean curry in Ottawa, so for my 14th birthday party, the beef curry was the star of the kitchen. Mom and Dad were both surprised that “white people know curry”, in fact most of these white people were big fans of curry. A few even brought some containers home. A week later, I was chatting with a classmate who attended the party. She stated that she wasn’t a huge fan of Indian food, so of course I responded with “didn’t you bring home a container of my mom’s beef curry”.  She was still not a fan of Indian food, though now with the exception of beef curry.
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For Mom, cooking provides a sense of relaxation, a unity between people, a way to keep her family fed, and, most importantly, a home. Her beef curry has never stayed the same, nor will it be the same later. She makes sure to taste all curries she is able to, compare, and change hers to make sure it is the best. To me, no matter how it changes, it will always be the best, because it was made by her.


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The Beef Curry Recipe!
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Ingredients:

About 5 pounds of beef, beef with the bone is best, as it is generally juicier
2 medium onions
3 whole garlics
⅛ cup roasted and ground mix masala
¼ cup turmeric
¼ cup roasted and ground cumin
¼ cup curry powder
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
½ cup of oil 
Water, as needed
Potatoes (optional) Mom suggests 2 pounds, but this is based on your preferences.
Scotch bonnet or wiri wiri peppers (optional: if you can handle it!), however much you can handle. Wiri wiri isn’t usually very spicy, so you can generally add more. We grow our own peppers, then freeze them over the winter, so we are using frozen peppers.
Process:
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Mom has changed this recipe a lot based on what she and others like more or less, don’t worry about following the recipe exactly every time you make it, make this curry yours!

1.We usually like to close all of the doors in the house before cooking since curry is a food that smells very strongly. This keeps the smell from sticking to clothes and sheets. DO NOT WEAR CLOTHES THAT CAN’T GET DIRTY, CURRY STAINS A LOT!
2.Cut the beef into 1 inch cubes, cut against the grain for a less chewy texture. It is important that all of the beef is around the same size.
3.Peel the onion and garlic, grind them in a food processor until it becomes a chunky paste. Add the turmeric, cumin, curry powder, and masala into this paste. Add ½ cups of water and mix well
4.Put a large pot on the stove at medium to high heat with the oil. Add in the paste and fry it for about 10-15 minutes or until darker in colour. The darker it is the stronger it is, so this part may differ depending on personal preferences. By the end of this step, there should be significantly less liquid. 
5. Add in the beef and mix it well, coating it in the paste. Add the tomato paste and salt, more salt will be needed if you are using potatoes, mix.
6.Let it cook for about 30-45 minutes on high heat, stirring regularly, so the liquid from the beef can evaporate and the spices can be incorporated into the beef. This step is called bunjal (boon-jay or boon-jahl), the process of coating and partially cooking the meat in the spices.
7.(optional) Cut up the pepper into very thin slices, we use scissors for this part, and add it to the pot.
8.(optional) Peel and cut the potatoes into cubes/wedges and add it to the pot. Fold it in. 
9.Reduce the heat to medium and let simmer down until the beef is tender, more water may need to be added to help soften the beef. 
                  -(If using potatoes) if the potatoes are soft before the beef is tender, the potatoes can be removed then added back once the beef is finished.
​10. EAT!

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The ultimate playlist for cooking our beef curry and roti!

(Marginally appropriate)
Murder She Wrote - Chaka Demus & Pliers
Roll It Gal - Allison Hinds
Like Glue - Sean Paul
Who Am I - Beenie Man
Ting-A-Ling - Shabba Ranks
Sweat (A La La La La Long) - Inner Circle
​Dancehall Queen - Beenie Man & Chevelle Franklyn
It Wasn't Me - Shaggy & Rik Rok
Bam Bam - Chaka Demus & Pliers
​Action - Nadine Sutherland & Terror Fabulous
Tiney Winey - Byron Lee  & The Dragonaires
Mr Boombastic - Shaggy
This is a pot of only some of the curry, the rest we plan to freeze and save for later.
My dad muching
A pile of freshly cooked roti
Some pictures from my 14th birthday party, at which we served the beef curry. It was tropical themed.

The Roti Recipe!


Ingredients:

5 cups of flour + about a cup for dusting
Heaping half tablespoon of baking powder
Half tablespoon of salt.
2 cups of warm water
About one cup of oil

Process:
1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder, add salt
​2. Add the water.
3. Mix by hand until well combined, it should look like a webbed bread dough.
4. Cover with a damp cloth and let sit for 15 mins.
​5. Divide the dough into 9-10 equal pieces
6.In 2 small bowls, keep the extra flour and oil.
7.Take one dough and roll it to about 3 mm thick, or as thin as you can make it without breaking the dough
8.Brush a small amount of the oil on the dough and sprinkle light dusting of flour.
​9.Cut the radius of the dough and roll it into a small cone.  You may need to add a small amount of flour to the bottom to prevent sticking as you place it aside. (see video below)
10.Repeat steps 7-9 for the rest of the dough.
11.Let sit for 1 hour for best results. 
12.On a large flat pan or a tawa pan, brush a thin layer of oil and place on a stove with medium to high heat. Wait for it to heat up, there should be smoke coming of the surface of the pan.
​13.Take one dough, and roll it out to about 2 mm thick. Place on the pan and begin rolling the next.
14. After a minute, flip the roti and brush the surface with oil. Continue to flip it until there are small brown spots on each side. It may swell up in the pan due to the heat, this is normal.
15. Remove it from the heat and clap it between your hands until some of the over cooked parts come off. Make sure to do this quickly as the roti is very hot. Some people like to put it in a large container and shake it. This will make it extra flaky. (see video below)