Sri Lankan Devilled Beef (Spicy Dry Beef Curry)

Sri Lankan curries

As I’ve talked about before, Sri Lankan recipes are inherently spicy (as long as it’s not “hospital food” that’s intended for patients who can’t handle the heat and spice).

Regular Sri Lankan curry recipes (like this chicken curry, beef curry, mutton curry, crab curry, fish curry etc.) are influenced by this affection for heat and spices, and by the influence from Indian cuisine from long ago.

Since then the Sri Lankan food landscape has evolved and developed its own style and flavor profiles, thanks in part to the additional influence of being colonized by different nations over centuries, and by the rich heritage of different cultures like the Sri Lankan Tamil, Muslim and Burgher communities.

Sri Lankan – Chinese fusion cuisine

But there’s a relatively new addition to Sri Lankan cuisine, as a result of the South East Asian population that has called Sri Lanka home for a few generations, giving rise to Sri Lankan-Chinese food!

Very similar to Indo-Chinese food, it combines the cooking techniques and flavors of East Asian cuisine with what is popular locally.

Devilled curry

This is where devilled curries (or deviled, US spelling) found their origin.

Whether it’s devilled beef curry, devilled chicken curry, devilled pork curry, or devilled mutton curry, or this hot butter cuttlefish dish – they are extremely popular and are permanent fixtures in Sri Lankan restaurants.

Unlike regular beef curry or Thai green curry beef etc., this Sri Lankan devilled curry is a dry curry where the meat is cooked with a little caramelization, then stir-fried with banana peppers, tomatoes, onions and some spices.

Suffice to say there’s plenty of chili pepper involved, but the good news is that you can adjust the heat level to your taste and the underlying flavor profile will still be the same.

Ingredient notes

One change that I made to this recipe is the use of Anaheim peppers because I don’t have access to banana peppers. Anaheim peppers are spicier than banana peppers, and I always use anaheim for any recipe that calls for banana peppers. They still retain the sweetness of banana peppers, but with that extra kick.

This Sri Lankan Devilled Beef Curry (Dry Beef Curry) is easy to make, and so flavorful! Tender pieces of beef, stir-fried with anaheim or banana peppers, onions and tomatoes.

The predominant flavors in this Sri Lankan devilled beef curry dish come from the curry powder, tomato sauce, sugar, vinegar, crushed chili flakes and soy sauce.

This is a popular dish that served with cold beer as well! Here the beef is cut into bigger chunks, but cooked the same way as a spicy dish that complements a cold beer perfectly! But you can just as easily make this dish with chicken, pork or even sausages.

Recipe tips for the best dry beef curry

• Use a good cut of marbled beef. The marbled fat will help keep the beef tender. The leaner the cut, the tougher the beef will be when cooked.
• Cut the beef AGAINST the grain. Whether you are cutting thin slices (so that they cook faster), or chunks (to serve like tapas), you want to cut the beef against the direction of the muscle fibers. This is less of an issue for chunks, but vital for when you’re cutting thin strips.
• The traditional way of making this Sri Lankan devilled beef curry is with banana peppers and some green chili peppers (to make it even spicier). If you don’t have banana peppers, you can use anaheim peppers that are spicier, and then omit the extra green chili peppers. If you can’t find anaheim peppers either, then you can use green bell peppers instead.
• This recipe uses peppers, cayenne pepper and crushed chili flakes. Devilled curries are meant to be spicy, so please make sure to adjust the recipe to your taste! Leave out the cayenne pepper and use less crushed chili flakes to make it milder.

This spicy, tangy, sweet dry beef curry is arguably the most popular Sri Lankan-Chinese dish! And if you’re a fan of curries and spicy food, then this one’s a keeper!