Naadan Pork Vattichathu / Kerala-Style Pork Curry - Dry

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So what do you do when you have a considerable amount of fat deposited around your waist, and find yourself dancing to lady Ga Ga’s tune in a pub/club passé?  I would work on that waist again!  No, not to lose it but to get it all rounded up like a ‘muffin top’ as Elizabeth Gilbert says in her book ‘Eat Pray Love.’ And the best way to do it is enjoy your friend’s home cooked pork.  Deliciously pungent and nicely fatty, it is most appropriate for a Friday evening.  Let’s kick start this party with food, food and more food.

 

 It’s rare for me to look at weekends so happily in advance.  Most often, I feel the weekend only by Saturday afternoon.  And then I am whining“OMG! Weekend is over!" Once the words are out, that's it! It get’s all melancholy!  The remaining 1 ½ days are wasted.

Does this happen to you?  You have something in hand; don’t realize its worth until it is too late.  Of course! Everybody knows such things, it’s a cliché.   But then remember what I told you earlier, take this weekend head on and enjoy.  Don’t listen to me whatever age we are, we can still swing to the beats of Lady Ga Ga or Justin Timberlake.  Let’s get this thing rolling!



By the way, don’t cook this recipe by yourself.  Print it out on a nice card and gift it to your friend.  Remember what I said, it tastes best when another makes it for you. Have fun!

Pork shoulders - 2 lb
Coriander Powder - 5 Tbspn
Turmeric Powder - 1 Tspn
Chili Powder - 2 Tbspn
Garam Masala - 1/2 tspn
Onions - 3 medium size
Ginger paste - 1 Tbspn
Garlic - 1 Tbspn
Coconut milk- 1 Tbspn
Green chilies - 5 nos
Curry Leaves
Oil
Salt

Method:
1. Chop pork shoulders into small cubes and set aside
2. Take coriander, turmeric, chili and garam masala in a small wok or skillet and heat it stirring to make sure it does not get burned but until the mixture give off its aroma.  Switch off stove transfer the mixture instantly onto any dish to avoid further cooking of the powder.
3. Chop onions and saute followed with slit green chilies
4. Follow up with ginger, garlic, curry leaves and once this express the cooked aroma add the toasted powder.  Once oil expresses add the coconut milk which will help to soothe the pungent masala and then add the tomatoes and cook until they are soft. 
5. Take your time with the above step, it's best when the masala is slowly cooked and oil clears the pan.
6. Slide in the pork and stir to coat the masala.  Cook on a low heat, the pork will cook in it's own water but if you find it difficult add some water about 1/2 cup and cook on low heat until pork is soft. 
7. After about 15 minutes make sure you stir the mixture well to avoid burning the masala.
8. Garnish with Curry leaves and serve.

Note:
1. The dish is pungent and have a concentrated flavor of coriander powder.  It pairs well with idiyappams, sannas, appam etc which have a sweet flavor.
2. This recipe is also my friend Jaya's.  Thank you!

Contributor: Sunitha
Recipe Courtesy: Jaya

Varutharacha Pork Curry/ Pork in fried and ground coconut gravy

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  The spicy curry cooking on the stove and a cloudy weather outside is just what I need on a lazy day like today.

  With this kind of weather you can hardly blame me if spicy rich food invades my mind.  I know I talked about doing an Italian fare this week but I just couldn't help myself.  I am too Malayalee I suppose.  Rainy, cloudy weather is reminiscent of monsoon holidays and comfort food.  Therefore, will you forgive me? Shall we take a look at a spicy, tantalizing fare?

   The curry is cooked with pork shoulders.  The shoulder meat is lined with gooey fat (gooey when cooked) making the taste exquisite.   Now, here I am not blowing smoke about my culinary skills.  I am just saying pork shoulder meat has a lot of fat and it's very tasty.  Thanks to J my friend who suggested I buy pork shoulder for curry.

  Now to brag just a little about the curry.   The gravy has a nutty flavor exuding from the fried coconut.  This teamed with curry leaves and all the other spices makes it quite South Indian which means utterly tasty.  A 'hit your senses' kind of dish ironing smooth with coconut.  If you have not yet cooked with this gravy you should.  Agreed it's pungent and the dish bursts with a medley of flavor.  Even then the fried coconut, to repeat myself, adds dimension soothing the piquant spices.  For me, it recreate the smell and taste of Kerala.  I know I said I will just brag a lil but you see..Sigh! Couldn't help myself.

Anyways,  to get you down from the high of a host of spices bite into Brussels sprouts.  The wedges arev sauteed in butter to perfection(read a little crunchy yet cooked).  Heat oil in a pan add 'I can't believe it's not butter' wait till it melts and plop in the wedges.  Stir it around briskly till the white of the sprouts are mottled with brown.  You may be thinking "what the heck" well, I understand your sentiments.  Mixing Indian and a totally American recipe may sound ludicrous but believe me spicy curry served with hot jasmine rice and buttery sprouts are complementary.  

Now, without further ado.....   



Ingredients:

Pork - 2.65 lbs
Turmeric - 1/2 Tspn
Salt - 1/2 Tspn

Saute:
Ginger - 2 Tbspn chopped
Garlic - 2 Tbspn
Onions - 1 Big
Tomato - 2 medium size (tomato on wine kind)
Oil - 1 Tbspn

For Dry Frying

Fennel Seeds - 1 1/2 Tbspn
Cumin Seeds - 1 Tspn
Star Aniseed - 1/2 of one
Cloves - 8 nos
Cardamom - 3 nos
Cinnamon Stick - 2 inch
Whole Pepper Corns - 1/2 Tbsp

Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup
Chili Powder - 1 Tbspn
Coriander Powder - 1 Tbspn
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 Tspn



Method:

1. Take meat, 1/2 tspn turmeric and salt; pressure cook for 3 whistles set aside.

2. Dry fry all the whole spices and ground to a powder
2. Roast the grated coconut to a light brown color add chili powder, coriander and turmeric powder and saute. Keep stirring to avoid burning the coconut and the powders. Dry grind till you powder this and add some water and grind it to a fine paste
3. Heat oil in a pan, saute onions followed by ginger and garlic; two sprigs of curry leaves
3. Add tomato and saute add the ground spice mix
4. Add the meat and all its water to the above and cook off the water at least half of it.
5. Add the ground coconut mix



Contributor: Sunitha

Pork Ularthiyathu

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    How are you ladies?  I am settling in well with the help of a lot of hookie activity (crochet).  It's been quite therapeutic, crocheting.  All the counting helps to take my mind off of everything else.  It is a much calmer me sitting and talking to you now about all the foodie indulgences of the past weekend. I made some pork ularthiyathu with a lot of other favorites of mine.

  We had a guest over.  He was craving Indian home style food and ever ready for some myself I went all the way and fixed a fare of rice and moru kachiyathu, thoran, meen curry and ularthirachi.  This is a typical lunch at my home in Kerala.  Oh.. it was all very good.  Eating and reminiscing about holidays in Kerala.  We puttered around home eating, chatting,  watching mal flick etc recreating a true holiday.  It felt close to being home on a summer vacation.  Blissful.

  So, about this pork I made.  It came out well.  Not very dry, coated in a generous gravy which was not dripping leaving the meat succulent I was quite pleased with the way it turned out.  We talked away into the night forking up pieces clean off the bowl without dripping or dirtying the carpet.  It's ideal to have with rice and a wet gravy or just as a snack.  It's pungent so adjust the chili powder if you are going to eat it as a snack.    You can do the same with any meat of your preference.  The shallots and curry leaves gives the dish the perk it needs to stand out as a Mal dish.  



Ingredients:

Pork Ularthiyathu

Pork - 2 lbs
Shallots - 2 - 3 cups sliced (I added 3 cups sliced)
Ginger - 3 tbspn coarsely chopped
Garlic - 3 tbspn coarsely chopped
Garam Masala - 2 tspn
Chili Powder - 2 Tbspn (bring it to 1 tbspn if you don't want it it hot; you adjust at the end if you prefer by sprinkling ground pepper)
Coriander - 1 Tbspn
Turmeric - 1/2 to 1 tspn
Curry Leaves - 3 - 4 sprigs
Vinegar - 1 tspn
Oil - 2-3 Tbspn
Salt - to taste



You could pressure cook all of this with 1/2 cup of water until two whistles and then simmer and slow cook till dry. Or you can saute shallots, ginger and garlic followed with the powder masala. Once done add pork stir till the flesh turns white and then add 1 cup of water and slow cook for an hour. Once it has cooked for an hour stir fry until water dries and oil expresses.



Contributor: Sunitha

Pork Curry

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  I have been so out of the blog world.  My husband and I relocated to Ohio and for the last month or so decisions, waiting, biting nails and more waiting took up all the time.  Yes, I was cooking and eating and could have probably taken some pictures and blogged.  However, I was feeling frozen in place with inactivity for some absurd, inexcusable reasons.  Believing you will forgive my lack of visits to your blogs and enthusiasm in blogging generally, I have a recipe for this very tasty pork curry.

 I cannot boast of any new techniques of cooking here.  The taste is familiar and yet slight variations I made while cooking gives it a refreshing newness.  It all started when I visited a friend recently and he served an  awesome chicken curry.  I asked him how he makes it and the way he rambled along with the recipe it was all the same thing that I do. Yet, it tasted different and very good.  Some variations I gleaned from his rambings were that he had added a lot of coriander leaves and his ratio of chili to coriander powder was different from mine.  Having been reminded again how much fresh coriander leaves can break or make a dish I gave this one an abundant dose.  I am not disappointed!

Ingredients:
Pork - 2 lbs
Onion - 1 large
Ginger - 1 Tbspn
Garlic - 1 Tbspn
Potato - 1
Tomato - 1
Curd     - 2 Tbspn
Green chili - 4
Chili Powder - 1 Tbspn
Coriander Powder - 2 Tbspn
Turmeric - 1/2 tspn
Garam Masala - 1 tspn
Tejpatta/Indian Bay Leaf - 1
Coriander Leaves - 1 bunch
Salt - to taste

Method:
1. Marinate pork in curd and salt for an hour
2.. Saute onions till translucent and add green chilies, ginger and garlic and saute
3. Add chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala and turmeric
4. Add tomatoes
5. Add the marinated pork and a cup of water and pressure cook till done. (I kept it for one whistle and then lowered the fire and cooked for a while about 10 minutes
Garnish with plenty of coriander leaves and serve with rice or roti

Contributor: Sunitha