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Asma Khan’s first-class railway curry

Name: Asma Khan’s first-class railway curry
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 45 min
Total time: 1 h 60 min
Yield: Serves 4-5
Cuisine: Indian recipes
Ingredients: 4 tbsp vegetable oil; 4cm piece cassia bark or cinnamon stick; 3 cloves; 3 green cardamom pods; 1 Indian bay (cassia) leaf – see Know-how; 1 dried red chilli; 1kg stewing beef, mutton leg or lamb shanks; 2 small onions, finely chopped, then crushed to a paste with the flat of a knife; 4 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste; 1 tbsp ginger paste; ½ tsp ground turmeric; 1½ tsp ground coriander; 1½ tsp ground cumin; 1 tomato, diced; 2 tsp fine salt; 4 tbsp malt vinegar, plus more to taste; 2 large potatoes, peeled and quartered; 400ml tin full-fat coconut milk

By: Asma Khan

Published: 6 Mar 25
Updated: 6 Mar 25

Celebrated chef Asma Khan shares her recipe for railway curry, a mutton or beef coconut-based curry with a rich history.

“The origin of this curry, as its name implies, was the Indian Railways dining car,” explains Asma.”The popular story is that, in colonial times, an English passenger was tempted to try the mutton curry the staff were eating and enjoyed the flavours but not the chillies, so the cooks added coconut milk. I serve it with rice and stir-fried cabbage cooked with mustard seeds, garlic and turmeric.”

One of the UK’s most high-profile female restaurateurs, Asma was brought up in Kolkata, India. She came to the UK in 1991 and studied law in London. After obtaining a PhD in 2012, Asma started a supper club in her home before moving it into a Soho pub. Its success led, in 2017, to the opening of her acclaimed restaurant, Darjeeling Express, in Soho, where she led an all-female team of home cooks, mostly immigrants. She was the first UK chef to be profiled on the hit Netflix documentary series Chef’s Table. These recipes are from her third cookery book, Monsoon (DK £26).

Serve Asma’s aloo dum on the side.

Easy
March 2025

Test kitchen approved

Serves 4-5
Prep time 15 min. Cook time 1 hour 45 min

Celebrated chef Asma Khan shares her recipe for railway curry, a mutton or beef coconut-based curry with a rich history.

Serve Asma’s aloo dum on the side.

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 612kcals
Fat: 31g (15g saturated)
Protein: 49g
Carbohydrates: 32g (5.2g sugars)
Fibre: 3.8g
Salt: 2.3g

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Ingredients

4 tbsp vegetable oil
4cm piece cassia bark or cinnamon stick
3 cloves
3 green cardamom pods
1 Indian bay (cassia) leaf – see Know-how
1 dried red chilli
1kg stewing beef, mutton leg or lamb shanks
2 small onions, finely chopped, then crushed to a paste with the flat of a knife
4 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
½ tsp ground turmeric
1½ tsp ground coriander
1½ tsp ground cumin
1 tomato, diced
2 tsp fine salt
4 tbsp malt vinegar, plus more to taste
2 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
400ml tin full-fat coconut milk

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Method

In a heavy-based pan (with a lid), heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the cassia/cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods, bay leaf and dried chilli. Stir until everything has darkened in colour, then use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate and set aside.
In the same spice-infused oil, fry the meat pieces until seared all over. Don’t allow the meat to cook through; the aim is just to sear it. Remove from the pan and set aside, leaving as much of the oil in the pan as possible.
Add the onion paste, garlic paste and ginger paste to the pan. Take care as the pastes will splutter in the hot oil. Next, add the ground spices, followed by the diced tomato and cook for 2 minutes before returning the whole fried spices and seared meat to the pan.

Add the salt, vinegar and 700ml water, then bring to the boil. After 1 minute, cover the pan with the lid and reduce to a simmer. After about 1 hour, when the meat is three quarters cooked (it should be soft but not falling apart), add the potatoes and stir to coat in the gravy. Cook for 20 minutes or so, stirring regularly so the potatoes cook evenly. Don’t shake them too much as they may break.
Once the meat and potatoes are cooked, remove the lid and reduce any remaining liquid until the oil seeps to the edges of the pan. Usually I add some vinegar here – it depends on whether the vinegar aroma was lost in the cooking process. Add the coconut milk to warm through, then taste for seasoning before serving.