What to do with round steak: Layered Beef

Here is an Indian Muslim recipe for tash kabab, “layered beef” that calls for round steak. If you like complex spices, you’ll like this! (From Complete Book of Indian Cooking by Suneeta Vaswani)

Ingredients

• 2.5 T ginger paste (make by grating fresh gingerroot)
• 2 lbs round steak, 1/2″ thick, trimmed of fat (you’ll want at least two pieces so you can layer them — see step 7 — but not chunks as for stew)
• 1 c plain nonfat yogurt, at room temperature
• 2 t salt or to taste
• 1 t cornstarch
• 2 T coriander seeds
• 2 T cumin seeds
• 1 t powdered mace
• 1/2 t black peppercorns
• 4 whole cloves
• 4 green cardamom pods, seeds only
• 5 dried Indian chiles, broken into pieces, seeds removed (dried cayennes work well, or any spicy chiles, or less spicy chiles — you decide!)
• 20 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2.5 c thinly sliced onions (sliced lengthwise)
• 2 c crispy fried onions (you can get bags of these in Indian or international food grocery stores)
• 3 T neutral oil

1. Rub the ginger into the meat and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the yogurt, salt, and cornstarch. Set aside.
3. In a skillet over medium heat, toast the coriander and cumin until lightly browned and fragrant, 3 – 4 minutes.
4. In a small blender or coffee grinder, grind all the dry spices to a powder. Add the garlic and 2 T of the yogurt mixture, and blend to a paste. Stir the paste into the rest of the yogurt mixture.
5. Transfer a quarter of the spicy yogurt mixture to a bowl and mix in the sliced onions.
6. Coat the meat with the rest of the spicy yogurt mixture.
7. In a large flameproof casserole, cazuela, or saucepan — must have a tight-fitting lid — arrange half the meat in a layer. Cover with half of the yogurt/onion mixture. Top with half of the fried onions. Repeat with the remaining meat, yogurt/onion, and fried onions. Drizzle the oil over the top and around the sides of the casserole.
8. Cover with the lid and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, shaking the pan occasionally to prevent sticking, until meat is tender, about 1  hour.

Serve with rice. (Or noodles could also be good — any starch that will absorb the lovely sauce.)