Salan (Indian spicy beef stew)

Copy/Pasting from my cooking blog ( http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/taunto )where I share authentic Indian/Pakistani/Arabic recipes. Most of the recipes are handed down to me by Late mother, my sister or my sister in law. Hope you enjoy it!

Dear MFP'ers, This is my first recipe that I share with you guys. The recipe is called Salan. This is also referred to as Aloo gosht (Aloo: Potato, gosht: meat). If you prefer (like I do sometimes) you can make this with okra instead of potatoes. Equally delicious and somewhat healthier! In which case the recipe is called Bhindi Gosht (Bhindi: Okra).

This delicious dish is a norm in the Pakistani Cuisine and can be considered one of the regular dishes cooked. This recipe is by my beloved elder sister-in-law. Do try this delicious and simple dish

Ingrediants
2 lbs beef, lamb or mutton(stew meat, easily available in markets). DONOT USE CHICKEN/TURKEY FOR THIS!!
2 onions finely chopped
3 tomatoes finely chopped
3/4 tbsp Ginger paste
3/4 tbsp Garlic Paste
1 tsp Garam Masala (very easily available from your neighborhood Indian/Pakistani store)
1.5 tsp Red pepper powder (you can substitute with cayan pepper powder if you have it already)
2 tsp coriander powder (also available in any indian store)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
3-4 fresh green chillies (I prefer them split into half for more heat, you can choose to put whole or even skip it if you like. Donot use jalapeno or some other pepper, these costs like 25cents for a decent amount of green chillies at an indian store)
3 medium sized potato (or about 0.75 lbs of Okra)
Salt

Method:
Brown the onions in little bit of olive oil. Once its golden, add the meat into it and let it fry for about 5 minutes. Let the water evaporate and fry it within the little bit of oil you added for onions plus the fat of the meat.

Add the ginger and garlic paste, garam masala, red pepper powder, coriander powder, turmeric, and about 1 tbsp of salt (if using kosher salt, taste the curry right before adding potatoes later in the recipe and adjust the water/salt level). Keep stirring the meat since you will have next to no moisture and letting it sit can make it overcooked at some spots.
Add the finely chopped tomatoes. Stir it for about 5 minutes and add about 2 cups of water and then let it cook over low heat. This will take about 30-45 minutes. Keep an eye on the stew and feel free to add water. The water level should be enough to cover up all the meat. Let it cook till oil separates from the stew.
Once the beef is cooked enough that a spoon can easily break it, add potatoes green chillies and let it cook till the potatoes are also cooked. Dont worry, this part wont take longer than 10 minutes. Add some fresh green coriander if you like after its cooked.

In pakistan they eat this dish with rice or naan/roti/chapati (different kinds of flat breads back home). Try it like a soup if you feel like however my favorite method is with either bread or rice. Enjoy!