How To Make Curry Mince

Kids love mince meat whether you serve it as meatballs and spaghetti, as a pie with a puff pastry lid or as a mince lasagna. At Rajah, we have found that a little curry powder added to your ground beef can intensify the savoury flavour of the meat and improve the overall taste of any dish you cook.

Too often mince meat becomes grey and tough in the pan and we run out of ideas on how to serve it when dinner time comes around. So, how can you get your mince a rich shade of brown and what is the best mince curry recipe? We’ve done our research to bring you the simplest route to tender, tasty ground beef curry and the many wonderful dishes you can create once you’ve nailed mince in your kitchen.

Five Tips To Help Create Mouth-Watering Curry Mince

1. Use A Variety of Ingredients.

The best minced curry recipes don’t only use mince, but a variety of ingredients to spruce up the flavour of the beef. Use a tablespoon of soya sauce for an Asian spin on your ground beef or add kidney beans for a nutty, wholesome taste profile as used in this Curried Mince and Bean Pasta recipe.

When cooking with lean mince you may want to add a little diced bacon to the pan to make your sauce juicier. Or add a teaspoon of paprika for a smokey aftertaste.

2. Start By Frying Onions and Garlic in Curry Powder.

Every mince curry recipe worth its salt (mind the food pun) requires you to add a splash of oil to a pan. Then you start by frying chopped onion (be it a red onion, a normal onion, or a handful of spring onions) and a teaspoon of minced garlic in your favourite curry powder.

A teaspoon of Rajah Hot Curry Powder is all it takes to change your afternoon sandwich from boring to dazzling. Have a look at how frying onions in oil and curry powder set the stage for this irresistible Curried Mince Sandwich with Cheese.

3. Don’t Add All The Mince At Once.

Mince meat that is grey in colour does not look appetizing at all and it is usually quite tough. To achieve a rich, brown hue don’t add all of the mince to the pan at the same time.

When you add the entire pack of mince to the pan the heat inside the mince is reduced and a greyish, tough dish is the result. Rather, divide your tray of ground beef into quarters and brown a quarter at a time. By browning small amounts of meat in a lug of oil your curry mince will look reddish-brown in colour and will also be more tender in texture.

4. Get The Seasoning Balance Right.

Once browned, you want to ensure that you have the right amount of seasoning to add to your ground beef curry. A combination of good quality beef stock and/or a teaspoon or two of dry soup mix can result in a delicious sauce in which your ground beef can then slowly cook to perfection.

In this Curried Mince with Steamed Bread recipe we added both beef stock and dried beef & tomato soup mix. This was combined with Rajah Mild & Spicy Curry Powder to develop into a sauce so rich, we also had to add bread to the recipe. Your loved ones will use the bread to wipe the pot clean when you serve this champion mince curry recipe.

5. Stick To The Traditional - Or Get Creative.

Traditionally in South Africa, curried mince is served in a vetkoek as this recipe shows, but you don’t have to settle for the traditional.

For a more modern alternative you can use your curry mince to create a pot roast meatloaf with chickpeas, tomato, onion, and slices of bacon which is then baked in the oven. Alternatively, you can roll your curried beef mince in puff pastry and serve it as a South African spin on Beef Wellington.

Beef mince is incredibly versatile and if you follow the steps laid out here to make your own, you will have a delicious base to get creative with.

Get The Thumbs Up From The World’s Toughest Food Critics

There you have it. Five simple tips to ensure your ground beef curry gets the thumbs up from the world’s toughest food critics, your loved ones. Whether you serve it on brown rice, add carrots for a healthier meal, or make meatballs we know that good advice, simple preparation and great quality curry powder are the cornerstones of the best mince curry recipes.