I’m super excited to share this recipe- it’s my family’s traditional recipe for Memon style Khao Suey (also called Khaosa or Khaosay)!
So what exactly is Memon? Memons are a sub-ethnic group of people originating from the South Asian subcontinent. We have our own language, Memoni, which shares lots of similarities with Sindhi, Gujurati, Punjabi and Kutchi. Historically, Memons have been merchants and it isn’t uncommon to find pockets of Memon communities not only in the Subcontinent, but also in Eastern Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
This dish is a result of Memon traders finding their way to Burma (present day Myanmar), falling in love with the cuisine, and bringing it back and adapting it to suit their palette. It is the most popular dish amongst the Memon community, and has found its way into mainstream Pakistani and Indian fare.
This recipe is an authentic Memon style Khao Suey, and it’s something I’ve enjoyed learning from my Mama. My hope is that it inspires you to come out of your comfort zone and make something completely unique. Mark my words- your tastebuds will thank you 😎.
Memon Style Khao Suey
Ingredients
Coconut Curry
- 3 green chilies (serrano or jalapeño)
- 1 13.5 ounce/ 400 milliliter can full-fat coconut milk
- ¾ cup gram flour
- ¾ cup full-fat yogurt
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- Salt, to taste
- ¼ cup neutral flavored oil
- 15 curry leaves
- 4 dried whole red chilies
Beef Stew/Curry
- ¼ cup neutral flavored oil
- 1 pound boneless beef, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 medium onion, sliced thin
- 2 tomatoes, pulsed in a blender or food processor
- 1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 ½ teaspoons red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- Salt, to taste
Assembly/Garnish
- 1 pound spaghetti, cooked to desired doneness
- Fried spaghetti or crushed potato chips
- Fried onions
- Garlic, sliced and fried until golden brown
- Cilantro, chopped
- Mint, chopped
- Boiled eggs, diced
- Fresh lemon or lime juice
- Chaat masala
- Crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
Prepare Coconut Curry
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Combine green chilies, coconut milk, gram flour, yogurt, ginger garlic paste, turmeric, and salt in the jar of a blender and blitz until smooth. Add 4 cups water and pulse until combined. Set aside.
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Heat oil in a large vessel over medium heat. Add red chilies and curry leaves and cook for a few seconds. Add coconut milk mixture and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low. Cook uncovered until thickened and reduced, adding water as necessary, about 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Prepare Beef Stew/ Curry
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Combine all of the ingredients in a large vessel and add 2 cups water. Cook over medium heat until the meat it cooked through and tender, about 45 to 60 minutes. Add water as necessary, and set aside.
Assemble Khao Suey
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Place spaghetti on individual plates. Top with coconut curry and beef stew. Garnish with desired condiments.
Recipe Notes
Measurements are in actual measuring spoons/cups and not eating utensils.
Chicken Stew/Curry: To replace beef with chicken, use the same ingredients and method, and omit the water. The chicken will release its own moisture, and it should be enough. Add water only as necessary.
I was looking for something exciting to make for dinner last night and I stumbled upon this recipe, I had all the ingredients in my pantry so I thought of giving it a try and it turned out absolutely delicious! My husband couldn’t get enough and he said we should have it for dinner every week now. Thank you for such a great recipe Chai and Churros. Can’t wait to give the other recipes a try.
thank you so very much! This truly made my day <3
I’ve always liked Khao Suey but whenever I looked for recipes they were just too complicated. I stumbled upon this blog and found the easiest recipe. It turned out so delicious, the measurements were perfect and it was just amazing! I’ve recommended it to a few other people.
Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
Thank you so sooo much for your kind words!
I made this recipe last night (we call it “khawsa” at home) and it was a hit! Your recipe was super easy to follow despite the complexity of the dish. Will definitely make again.
Only alteration I did is that we’ve been using banza chickpea spaghetti instead of regular noodles. Tastes pretty good especially since gram flour (chickpea flour) has the same taste. I’d even argue that the sauce stuck better to these noodles than your standard spaghetti!
Using chickpea pasta is so genius! Thank you for your feedback <3
What to add for a vegetarian version in beef stew?
I’m not sure, but I imagine using paneer in place of the meat should be fine!
I think most Memon families that had merchants in them have a kausa (spelled various ways too) recipe. My sister has a difficult time digesting beef. For her “Boti Curry” we use frozen soup vegetables – which are basically frozen mixed vegetables WITH potatos. I recommend Kroger or Meijer if you have one in your region.
Also, our family recipe isn’t made with coconut milk which seems weird because the name apparently has to do with coconut milk but a lot of family recipes are made with a besan/gram flour yogurt kadi
It’s so amazing to me how food transcends borders, and every family has their own take on dishes. Thank you for sharing your family’s take on this delicious dish!
I’ve tried a couple other khao suey recipes, and this was not only one of the easiest to follow, but it was the most flavorful. It’s actually as close to my mom’s as I think I’ll ever get! Everyone inhaled it, including my 7 year old!
Thank you sooo much Tahera! This made me soo soooo happy!
Tried it. Loved it. Absolutely perfect recipe. Thanks so much dear!
Never had it before and now I know how it tastes like!
Thank you so much Sadiya! This makes me so happy ❤️
Khausay is a family favorite (we buy it from a local caterer almost weekly). When I try making it at home, I cannot get the coconut curry right. … till now. It’s perfect. Mashallah 😋 I am so grateful for this recipe.
Sana, your words mean so much to me ❤️ Thank you so much for taking the time our to leave feedback!
If you want to make the curry like desi kari not coconut what would you do? Substitute the coconut milk for buttermilk?
I wouldn’t make that direct swap, because buttermilk is acidic and sour, whereas coconut milk has a more muted flavor, and then the rest of spices get thrown off. If you’re looking for a more traditional desi karhi, I would suggest using this recipe-
https://chaiandchurros.com/gujrati-karhi/
Thank you gir sharing.
We first had kauk suey as we called it in Karachi. It was made by a pakistani lady who had been brought up in Burma.
We had her instructions which were very much of the first catch your chicken variety and included soaking desiccated coconut to create our coconut milk.or cutting up a fresh coconut and have the cook create a milky pastu from that . The rest was the similar to your instructions.
We did have loads of toppings. Cut like, ginger match sticks, fried garlic, green coriander, dried prawns, hard boiled eggs.wete on offer. I seem to remember we first boiled a whole chicken and the hint for tiny bones before we proceeded with the recipe. I think Karachi chicken were rather tougher.
Almost a day of cooking was involved.
I’ll stick with your delicious recipe in future and hopefully make it more often..
“Kauk suey” to us was only the chocken version.
Thank you so much! I’m so happy that you enjoyed it!
Hi I have a question, could I make the beef in an instant pot? If so, what would be the directions of cooking it over the instant pot? Thank you for the recipe btw! I’m so excited to finally try it out inshallah.
Yes, you can totally make this in the instant pot! Unfortunately I don’t own one, and I’m so sorry that I can’t provide you with the directions regarding settings.
So tastyyyy and easy to follow
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe.my family loved it.will be sharing this recipe with my friends.they will like it.
Thank you Thank you Thank you! It was such a massive hit at our huge dinner party, thank God, I doubled the quantities, and was still running out of spaghetti simply because it was that good!
It was easy to follow, and converted many Kari-non-fans.
As a non memon, I was told I out-memon-ed the memon. Thank you Henna!
Oh Sonya, this makes me so incredibly happy! Thank you so much for your feedback!!
Used this recipe with some variations to make some Khausa and got raving comments when I made it for a small family luncheon. Pretty much my go to now when I make Khausa. Keeping that memon-ness alive!
This has very quickly become a family favourite. Even my 1 yr old and 5 yr old love this! No more fights on the dinner table about having to finish up, the kids practically lick their bowls clean. Don’t let the long list of ingredients deter you, the recipe is actually very easy and even quick, and not a lot of hands on time required. A win in my book!
This makes me so happy! Thank you Zuha!
Just tried this recipe and it was a super successful one! Everything came together so well. Fixed my khao suey craving. I added a bit of fish sauce to the coconut gravy to add another dimension and I think it worked great to balance the gram flour taste.
Thank you so much Madiha! I love your addition of fish sauce!
Hi, what do you mean by ¼ cup neutral flavored oil? which oil could be used?
Hello! A neutral flavored oil is an oil that doesn’t have too strong of a taste. This can include vegetable oil, canola oil, safflower oil, and even avocado oil. You want to avoid something like olive oil.
I was craving khao suway and came across this recipe. Tries it and omgggg its AMAZING! Thank you for sharing
Thank you so much! I’m so happy that you enjoyed it!
Hello I haven’t tried this exact recipe as mines doesn’t use onions in the beef curry, I just use beef and some spices and basically add the paste of besan, tomatoes, coconut cream and fried onions to the beef so it makes a gravy but I still don’t like my version as the gravy becomes very thick and I’m looking to make a gravy that’s thinner in consistency so I want to ask that does this recipe give a thin consistency for the beef curry?
The consistency of this gravy is perfect! Not too thick, and not too thin.
Thank you for making this recipe so easy to follow! I’ve had this before and recreating seems so intimidating until now. Can’t wait to try it out !!!
Thank YOU!! ❤️