Minced Pork with Potatoes

Pork..well there are only two ways about it..some people love it & others stay as far as away from it.. my family has a 50 : 50 ratio of both groups.. My Dad is an ardent pork eater and fear of cholestrol is the only thing that keeps away from it. The other day a friend of my Dad's came over with 2KG of this meat fresh from the butcher's knife. For me, Pork needs to be well cooked, with all the fat rendered and keeping this in mind I decided to mince the meat and cook it. Here is how I went about it : -

Minced Pork - 250 Gms

Potatoes - 1 large sized

Onions - 1 large sized

For the Marinate : -

Chilli Powder - 2 tbsp
Pepper Powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Vinegar - 1 tbsp
Garam Masala - 2 Tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp

Slice the peeled potatoes to small squares ( approx 2 cm cuts) and dice the onion well. Marinate the pork, potatoes & onion with the marinate mix and refreigerate for 30 mins. Cook  for 15 mins in a non stick pan without adding additional oil. Mix it well with a wooden spatula and ensure that the minced meat is not clustered. Serve hot.

Potatoes & Raw Bananas absorb the Pork fat and also add flavor to the meat. Additonally carrots or peas can also be added.

Kerala Parotta

For a long time I have been wanting to make Kerala Parotta of KP as it is popularily known in most of the Bangalore restaurants. I always thought it was a very difficult recipe and completely dipped in oil but was surprised to see that it was not the case.

KP's can be quite a novelty especially while having guests. Though it does take some time to prepare,some bit of early preparation can be done.

This recipe was off the internet and is the easier way to make KP's ( unlike the original Thattu Kada recipe's)...

Ingredients

Maida ( all purpose flour ) - 2 cups ( for about 4- 5 KP's)
Hot Water - as required to make dough ( about 3/4 cup)
Salt to taste

Oil - 2 tsp

Preparation Time - 1 hour

Make the flour by kneading the maida, water & salt well. It would become a very smooth white dough. It is quite difficult to make maida dough as the whole thing can get sticky if there is excess water. So add water slowly, till it is just right and smooth.

If this needs to be stored, then cover with a muslin cloth ( the dough should retain its moisture) and not become dry.

Seperate the dough into tennis ball sized balls.

Roll the dough using a rolling pin ( similar to making roti's). This needs to be done on a flat surface,like the kitchen table. Spread a little oil on the flat surface before rolling. Shape is not a problem here, it cab be rolled horizontaly, vertically, diagnonally or just about in any direction. The key is to make it as thin as possible. Even if the dough tears in certain areas, it is still pardonable.

Now using both hands pleat the rolled dough. Similar to the way saris's are done. About an inch width would be good enough. (Pleat - From any one direction fold the rolled dough back & forth across the length). At the end there would be one single length wise folded dough.

Roll this in a concentric fashion.  Even at this stage it can be stored ( covered with a muslin cloth).

Take the concentric dough and flatten using a rolling pin ( do not make it very thin, leave it thick). Use oil to flatten if required.

On a thava, heat it and turn sides. Add oil if requierd. The Kerala Paratta's are ready now.

Once about 4 or 5 KP's are made, keep them on a flat surface.Now try clapping with KP's in between. This helps in seperating the layers. This needs to be done with the KP's are hot so be careful with your hands.

It can be served with thick gravy curries..

Sambar

Sambar..the first & foremost of all south Indian Dishes. It is again a " must have" in almost all festivities in the south. Every state and culture have a variant sambar recipe. Some like it more sweet, whereas others have it spicy with even ground fried coconut paste.

This dish is said to have an interesting origin. Many many years back when the Maratha's where ruling Tanjore under the King Sambhoji who was a great connosieur of food, he used to cook a dish with kokum which he got from Maharashtra. But once it so happened that there was delay in getting kokum for his favorite dish amti. The kitchen staff suggested that he use Tamarind instead which is used by locals for the sour taste.The chef king decided to try that and that was the origin of this new dish which got his name.

Soon this dish got popular in his kingdom and in nearby places ( who can refuse the King's recipe and still remain alive). In coastal areas where use of coconut was popular, spiced ground coconut paste was also added.

Aviyal

Its Onakalam again.. and time to make my fav dish..aviyal. Explained in english, its a concoction of many vegetables cooked in yoghurt with mildly flavored coconut..

Aviyal is said to have a very interesting origin. There are many stories which link it to royalty. Most commonly said is that it originated during Mahabharata when Bhima ( the strong man amongst the Pandavas) was working as a cook in a palace and while the king walked into the royal kitchen he saw lots of vegetables being left over. As the King did not like waste of any kind, he ordered all the remaining vegetables to be made into a dish..and our dear old Bhima cooked the veggies in some curd and coconut seasoning..& voila a new dish was born.

Interestingly the term " Aviyal " is used colloquially for variety or for mix and matches. There is even a Kerala rock band by this name in which there is a mix of various music genres.

I make aviyal for pretty much the same purpose - to use up left over veggies and also to because its one of the most tasty recipes for having a wide variety of greens..

Kerala Beef Fry..

theOn a sunday morning  if you drive by a christian neighbourhood in kerala you are sure to know that there is some variant of beef on the stove. Nowadays it is cooked rarely ( may be in alternate weeks) becuase of all the negatives of red meat.