Alternative names | Sylheti beef |
---|---|
Course | Main |
Place of origin | ![]() |
Region or state | Sylhet Division |
Main ingredients | Beef, Satkara, onion, garlic and bay leaf.[1] |
Beef Hatkhora (Sylheti: ꠢꠣꠔꠇꠞꠣꠞ ꠍꠣꠟꠝ; Bengali: সাতকরার গরুর মাংস, [ɦat̪xɔɾa]) or Internationally known as Sylheti Beef;[2] is a part of Bengali cuisine consisting of rice, satkara citrus, and beef curry.[3] Whilst having its origins in the Sylhet Division of Bangladesh,[4] the dish has now gained popularity across the country and among the British Bangladeshi diaspora in the United Kingdom.[5][6] At the time of Eid-ul-Adha, it is a famous dish.[7][8] The presence of a citrus fruit makes the dish unique among Bangladeshi curries in terms of taste and aroma.[9] A soupy variant of the dish is made with the bones of cow feet, and in other variants, the beef is sometimes replaced with fish or other meats.[10][11][12][13]
Vegetable oil, cinnamon, cardamom, fenugreek seeds, salt, onions, paste of garlic and ginger, beef chuck, chilli powder, turmeric, ground coriander and cumin, garam masala, Hatkora and a tomato.[14][15]
Oil is heated in a large, heavy bottomed, non-stick saucepan. Then cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom, star anise and fenugreek seeds are added to reheat for swirling in the oil to release the flavours.[16][17] Adding beef, salt, spices and green chilies it is stirred for a while and then covered.[18] Cutting the piece of Hatkhora into wedges and then chop each wedge into small pieces.[19] Hatkhora is added then followed up some hot water.[20] When the curry is boiled, it is simmered for a while.[21] After that chopped coriander is added until the meat is tender.
The dish is served with glutinous rice or boiled white rice, a salad of cucumber, tomatoes and onions are used as a side dish.[9] It is also eaten with Pilau,[22] Khichdi and Paratha.[23]