My apologies to all purists: this has tomatoes in a can, pre-mixed curry powder, and beef. It’s what my invention led to when I was trying to concoct a dish that resembled the delicious Indian food I’d had at a restaurant, and I was dismayed at the amount of prep and number of ingredients demanded by the various recipes I checked.

Start your naan (flat bread) before you begin. Here’s the recipe: Naan (aka, utensil for Masala) It’ll be ready to throw on your hot stone cookie sheet when your curry is almost done.

Masala Ingredients:
2 lbs beef
1 sweet onion, sliced
2 red bell peppers, sliced
a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
a little vegetable oil
2 TB Maharajah curry powder (OR use 2 TB Balti curry powder– it’s also good, and has a tiny bit of heat. Both are sold at Penzey’s Spices)
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Cut beef into thin strips, set aside. (I use whatever cut of beef is on sale. A couple of pounds.) Slice up the onion and red peppers.

Heat a little vegetable oil in a 12 inch skillet (medium heat works well, use only enough oil to coat the bottom of the skillet). Dump the onion and pepper in the skillet and saute until the onion pieces are lightly browned and the pepper pieces are a little soft. Add the meat strips. Saute until the meat is lightly browned.

Add 28 oz diced tomatoes, 2 TB Maharajah curry powder, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp garlic powder. Stir until everything is completely blended and it starts to bubble.

Reduce heat to simmer, cover, stir every 20 minutes. Do this until an hour or more has passed.

During the last half hour of cooking, start baking your naan.

When you take the last naan out of the oven, serve it immediately with the masala.