Beef Chui Jhal Recipe – Traditional Bangladeshi Curry

Beef Chui Jhal is a traditional Bangladeshi dish known for its rich spices and delicious flavor. This Beef Chui Jhal recipe combines tender beef, fresh chui jhal stems, onions, and aromatic spices to create a comforting homemade curry. It tastes best when served hot with steamed rice.

How to Cook Beef Chui Jhal at Home

Beef chui jhal comes from southwestern Bangladesh and it stands out because of the chui jhal stems that go into the curry. The meat gets tender after slow cooking and the spices mix in with a kind of peppery kick that regular beef curry does not have. I think it works best with plain rice but sometimes people add pulao too.

You start with around a kilo of beef pieces and roughly 150 to 200 grams of those stems. Onions sliced up medium size along with ginger garlic paste and the usual powders like turmeric chili coriander cumin and a bit of garam masala at the end. Mustard oil is what they use for the base though regular oil can work if that is all you have. Salt and bay leaves go in early and you need some hot water to keep things from sticking.

Fry the onions until they turn soft and a little golden then stir in the paste and powders. The beef goes next and you let it cook until the color changes all over. Once the chui jhal stems are added you pour enough water to cover and simmer with the lid on. It seems like you have to check now and then because the meat needs time to get soft and you might add more water along the way.

When it is done the gravy can be left to thicken a little and garam masala gets stirred in last. Fresh stems make the biggest difference but I am not totally sure how much water to start with if you want it thick instead of thin. Chili amount can be changed depending on who is eating.

It tastes good with cucumber and lemon on the side but the rich part is really the curry itself. Slow cooking helps the flavors come through yet sometimes it feels like it takes longer than expected.