Sunday, January 20, 2008

Sunday Lunch ala Nityan



Made a delicious Pork Vindaloo and beans and coconut ala Nityan today for family lunch at home, marinated for a day and cooked for 3 hours...feeling very lazy so will post tomorrow, some pictures for now. Love

Pork Vindaloo

1 kg Pork with fat and no skin ( leg )
1/2 kg lean pork
3-4 spoons vinegar (any white or Goa vinegar)
2 large onions (mash/ pulp)
1 whole pod garlic
Nice large piece of Ginger
grind ginger and garlic together in to a paste
1 teaspoon zeera powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 and a half teaspoon chilli powder ( i used a mix of kashmiri mirchi and normal sabut red mirchi ,freshly ground )
11/2 -2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt

Clean pork and marinate with all the above ingredients, mix nicely and let it sit in the fridge for 12-24-48 hours! ( I did 24)

Put Pork in to a large non stick type cooking vessel on the small flame on simmer for an hour, no oil required (the fat will more than compensate!) you will find water has been released, half cover and let it cook for another 30 to 40 mins . Check salt/ vinegar/ red chilli levels and add if needed. after and hour and a half of cooking add
1 1/2 inch piece of Cinnamon
15-20 pepper corns
5-8 cloves

For the next hour slowly stir the meat, the gravy will thicken, take it off the fire when you see the right consistency. It has a thick small amount of gravy . So total cooking time is 2 and a half to three hours. very simple and highly satisfying, thanks Nityan for this superb discovery! It can be mopped up with bread/ pao's/ sannas!

and for the Beans;

Take Half a kilo French beans, chop really fine after removing the strings etc
Half a grated coconut (or a large heaped handful)

Heat a little oil in a kadhai and put in
1 Teaspoon Black urad dal ( which can be soaked for 10 -15 min to soften)
1 Teaspoon Black mustard seeds
3 Broken red chilli's
a dash of hing if you want

Put in the copped beans and cook for 5 minutes on medium to low fire
mix in salt
Cover and cook for a few more minutes/ keep tasting to make sure the beans don't get overcooked, they should remain slightly crunchy
Close the gas and add the grated coconut and mix, that's it!

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Goaaaah!



So this one is a tried and tested beauty which always brings back memories of Goa. Even though I'm vegetarian now, I still have to make this prawn rechad for my friends here in Toronto who can't get enough of it. There are various versions, but this is my recipe. And with a collection of these malabar spices, who can go wrong?

Prawn Rechad
Ingredients:
1" stick cinnamon
5 cardamom pods
7 cloves
1 tbsp black peppercorn
3 kashmiri chillies
1 pod garlic
3 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 lb prawns
salt to taste
vegetable oil

So clean the prawns and set them aside. In a bowl, soak the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, chillies, pepper and cloves of garlic in the white vinegar. Add the salt and sugar, and grind to a paste. (Add more vinegar if necessary). Combine this potent mixture to the prawns and mix well. Heat some oil in a frying pan, and fry the prawns until red, succulent and juicy.
Serve hot.....with ample amount of drinks. Personally urak with soda and lime, or fenny or a good old gin and tonic does the trick.

Let's meet in goa.