Beef Stroganoff is said to be the invention of a cook around the year of 1890. He used to work for Count Pavel Stroganov, the Russian general. This was an extremely delicious recipe and it was introduced in the States during the 1950s. The servicemen who were in China and Europe during the world war two brought this recipe with them while coming back to their country.
This particular recipe is made from thin and slender beef strips. These strips are cooked with mushrooms and a sauce with the taste of sour cream. You can experiment with the side dishes with which this is served. Some people go for rice or noodles and some even serve this with French fries.
Normally the chefs prefer to make this recipe with the tenderloin section of beef or the top of the sirloin. While you are making this at home and do not have few ingredients handy, it is still possible to make this without hampering the taste. The sour cream can be substituted with yoghurt and the beef strips might be replaced with ground beef.
Heat medium a skillet and melt 3 table spoons of butter in it. Then adjust the heat to add the thin beef strips. The beef should be cooked till brown but the butter should not get burnt. You can add some pepper and salt while cooking the strips and after it is done take them in a bowl and keep aside.
Then take the same pan and add shallots init to cook for few minutes and then keep them with the meat. Now you need to melt another three table spoons of butter in the same skillet. Then increase the heat and add the mushrooms in the pan.
You need to cook them for at least 4 minutes and keep stirring occasionally. Now when they are getting cooked add some tarragon and nutmeg to the mushrooms. Now you can lower the flame and add the sour cream to the cooking mushrooms in the pan.
If you feel that the sauce needs to be thinned then add a little water (may be two table spoons) to the pan. Make sure the sour cream gets mixed with the mushrooms properly without simmering. Now put the shallots and beef in the pan and add some pepper and salt to it. The Beef Stroganoff is ready to serve.