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Finding feasts in your freezer

Nancy Leson

Of course there will be no feast to find unless you put one in.  The feast my Food for Thought pard Nancy Leson likes to store is her Sri Lankan Beef Curry.  The picture above shows the results, and it looks pretty good to me.  Why don't we all give it a try?  Here's  the recipe.

Recipe: Vijay Niles' Sri Lankan Beef Curry Makes 4 servings - 3 pounds chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat and cut into small chunks - 7 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed - Fresh gingerroot (a quarter-sized slice) - ¾ teaspoon turmeric, divided - 5 green cardamom pods, lightly smashed - 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half - 1 teaspoon salt, divided - 1 tablespoon vegetable oil - 1/8 teaspoon black mustard seed - ¼ teaspoon fennel seed - ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seed - 6 fresh curry leaves - 2 fresh Thai (bird) chilies - 1 medium onion, diced - 1 tablespoon ground coriander - 1 tablespoon chili powder - 1 tablespoon curry powder - 1 large tomato, diced - ½ fresh lime, juiced - 2 tablespoons milk - Hot cooked rice 1. Prepare beef and set aside. Using a blender or food processor, pulse garlic and ginger until you have a rough paste. In a large bowl, mix the paste with ½ teaspoon turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon and ½ teaspoon salt. Add beef, mixing until thoroughly coated. 2. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil over medium-low heat then add mustard, fennel and fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and chilies. When leaves begin to puff, add onion and sauté until golden brown, about 10 minutes. 3. Add beef to onion mixture, stirring well. Then add enough water to just cover and cook over high heat for five minutes. Lower heat to medium-low and cook 30 minutes more. Strain water from the meat, reserving the broth. 4. Add coriander, chili powder, curry powder, ¼ teaspoon turmeric and ½ teaspoon salt to cooked beef and mix thoroughly. Add tomato and cook over low heat, covered, for 10 minutes. 5. Add reserved meat broth to the pot and cook, covered, for about 40 minutes or until the curry sauce has reduced and thickened substantially. Uncover the pot toward the end of the cooking time. Stir in lime juice, then milk. Serve over rice. Note: Spices used in this recipe are readily available at local Indian markets. The whole spices can be removed before serving if desired. From Vijay Niles.

So what do you like to make ahead and freeze for a lazy or rushed day?  Tell us all down below there in the comments section.

"If it weren't for Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of television, we'd still be eating frozen radio dinners."

–Johnny Carson

Dick Stein joined KNKX in January 1992. He retired in 2020 after three decades on air. During his storied radio career, he hosted the morning jazz show, co-hosted and produced "Food for Thought" with Nancy Leson and wrote and directed the Jimmy Jazzoid live radio musical comedies and 100 episodes of Jazz Kitchen.