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Recipe-1 › Curries of the world › Kala bhuna

Chittagong, Bangladesh

Kala bhuna (Chittagong beef)

Chittagong’s famous dark beef curry. “Kala” means black: the meat is fried for a long time in mustard oil and roasted spices until it turns almost black. It is the base recipe with the frying (“bhuna”) taken much further.

Close to the base recipe Hot

Too hot for you? Use half the chilli (powder, paste or fresh chillies) and leave out the green chillies.

New here? How this page works

Recipe-1 is one simple curry recipe in nine steps: fry onions and green chillies, add your vegetables or meat, add chilli powder and turmeric, then water and salt, and boil. With small changes the same nine steps make curries from all over the world.

This page takes those nine steps and shows what to change to make Kala bhuna. You don’t need to read anything else first: every base step is written out below. The changes are worked out on paper from what is typical for this dish; not yet kitchen-tested. Cooked it? Tell others how it went.

Green: the base recipe step (crossed out = do not use it for this dish)Red: what to do instead for Kala bhuna

See the full base recipe (with timers and tips) · See all curries on the world map

You’ll need

How many people?4

The amounts change with the number of people; cooking times stay about the same (use a bigger pot for more). Taste as you go: you can always add more chilli or salt, but you cannot take it out.

Main ingredient: 1 kg Beef (or mutton), in small pieces.

From the base recipe

  • 4 Onions
  • 4 Green chillies
  • Cooking oil not used
  • 2 tsp Red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp Turmeric
  • 1½ tsp · 150 ml Salt and water
  • 2 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
  • Cloves, cardamom and cinnamon not used
  • Garam masala (optional) not used

Add for Kala bhuna

  • 6 tbsp Mustard oil
  • 2 tbsp Kala bhuna masala: roasted and ground cumin, coriander, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves
  • 3 Bay leaves

Leave out

  • Nothing: use it all.

The nine steps, with the changes

Where a step has a red line, do the red line and not the crossed-out green base step. Steps with only green are done just as in the base recipe.

  1. Base step: do not useCut onions and chillies.

    Kala bhuna: do thisSlice plenty of onions, and some green chillies.

  2. Base step: do not useFry in some oil for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Kala bhuna: do thisHeat mustard oil until it smokes, let it cool a little, then fry the onions with bay leaves. Add ginger garlic paste (non-veg step A).

  3. Base step: do not useCut the vegetable(s) of your choice.

    Kala bhuna: do thisUse the beef.

  4. Base step: do not useAdd them and fry for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Kala bhuna: do thisAdd the beef and fry for about 10 minutes.

  5. Base step: do not useAdd red chilli powder and turmeric.

    Kala bhuna: do thisAdd chilli powder, turmeric and the kala bhuna masala.

  6. Keep frying until just before they start browning.

  7. Base step: do not useAdd some water.

    Kala bhuna: do thisAdd only a little water.

  8. Add salt.

  9. Base step: do not useBoil until the gravy is as thick as you like.

    Kala bhuna: do thisCover and simmer until the beef is tender (about 1½ hours). Then uncover and keep frying, stirring often, for 20–30 minutes until the curry is dry and almost black.

Serve: With plain rice, khichuri or paratha.

For meat and seafood, make sure it is cooked through: chicken until no pink remains inside; mutton, goat and beef need long, slow cooking.

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