[shankar.balan]

This one's for all those who like Pork and/ or any descendants of Obelix.

This is not for weight watchers or other types of health fiends.

If you have pet Dogs they will love it just as much as you will so please share a little with them.

Here it is:

1 Kg tender pork cubes cut along with fat and rind - from Bamburies - Bangalore - best-est!

Marinade:

1.5 tablespoons regular red chilly powder

1 tablespoon salt

2 tea spoons of Black Ground Pepper (freshly ground in a mortar and pestle)

2 tablespoons Turmeric powder

2 tea-spoons of Coorg Kachampuli OR Standard Vinegar + one lime's juice fully squeezed out - doesnt matter if the seeds fall in.

Wash the pork cubes, fat and rind thoroughly and work in the marinade nicely with your paws.

Leave it aside to settle - 4 hours is fine - 24 hours is very much better indeed.

Preparation:

Put pork, fat and rind in the pressure cooker along with a cup or 2 of water - 250-300 ml or so max.

Pressure Cook the Marinated Pork nicely for about 4-5 whistles - removes any trace of troublesome wormy sort of beasts like TrichiniaSolium etc plus makes the meat really tender.

Dry Fry the following to make the main masala- few minutes only. Fry until the aroma is tangible and smells appetizing.

1 tablespoon Cumin seeds - Jeera

1/2 tablespoon Fenugreek seeds - Methi

1 tablespoon Coriander seeds - Dhaniya

10 standard dry red chillies - 1 chilly for every 100 grams of meat

Grind the fried masala ingredients into a semi coarse mixture in the mixer.

Cooking:

Take out the masala and place in a nice deep wok along with a couple of tablespoons of standard home ghee.

Fry the masala on a low flame for a bit (3-4 minutes) till it becomes like a semi-viscous colloidal mixture

Remove Pork, fat and rind pieces from pressure cooker and place it carefully little by little in the wok, still on a low flame, stirring it up all the time to coat each individual piece nicely with masala. Don't throw away the stock water from the pressure cooking.

Add some of the stock water from the pressure cooker so that the meat and masala dont burn. Keep the flame on medium/low.

Cover the Wok and leave it gently simmering for 10 minutes. Check it after 10 minutes and give it all a good stir. This will release some wonderful aromas.

Cover it again and leave it for another 10 minutes now on medium flame.

By this time the pork and fat and rind will all be cooking nicely releasing its own fat into the wok - effectively it fries itself in its own fat and stays moist yet dry-ish.

Now reduce the flame, give it another stir and again leave it for 10 to 15 minutes so that it dries out a bit.

Check it by tasting and by now you should be good to switch off and serve this hot. It will still be floating about in the pork fat that has melted. Dont worry about that, just eat it! In particular sink your teeth into one of these nicely fried up Fat pieces - they are divine - just like pork crackling that you may have eaten, but nicely impregnated with our desi spices!

*Should you wish to, as a variation you can add in some finely chopped onions (2 large ones), longitudinally slit green chillies (3 long ones) and capsicum (2 mid sized capsicums sliced thin.). To be added in while frying during the last few minutes.


Suggested Accompaniments / To be eaten along with: This pork dish is best enjoyed with low oil parathas, rice rotis or plain fresh baked soft buns/ mini baguettes from the local bakery.

*This recipe can easily be adapted to mutton (boneless cubes).

P.S. I am by no means a MasterChef, just a regular bloke who likes good grub and a bit of kitchen time now and then!

[Parthasarathig]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

1. Sieve together 250g of maida and a teaspoon of baking powder
2. Mash one large ripe banana and add it to the mix with a bit of sugar and salt, a pinch of cardamom powder and a teaspoon of oil
3. Make a softish dough with lukewarm water, and leave it covered in a warm place to prove for a couple of hours
4. Make balls, roll out the size of large pooris, and deep fry them till golden brown

Enjoy!

Wow i did feel banana had to be there in some form. Thanks for the recipe sir. Looks like i can have it for dinner now. Still time is there to cook

[black12rr]

After reading all the horror stories on the other thread ,I would like to try to make this at home .

How to make domino veg extravaganza at home ? or any other better pizzas . Can I do it in microwave ? . Any recipes appreciated .

[anupmathur]

Well, here's one that could pass muster quite well:






If you do sometimes make rotis at home, well, use the same 'atta' and knead the flour, but with active dry yeast and salt added. Let it sit for a few hours for the dough to 'rise'.
After that you simply use a 'belan' or roll it out by hand, patting and stretching. Do this in a lightly oiled baking sheet/tray.

Lightly brush the top with oil and start loading your pizza!
I first laid a bed of mozzarella on the dough, then the meats (chorizo picanté, smoked sausage, pepperoni and ham is the mix I used), then the mushrooms, onion slivers, red and yellow bell peppers (dry roasted a wee bit first), then some corn and green olives, followed by more grated mozzarella and sharp cheddar. I sprinkled some oregano, basil and black pepper between the layers. Then bake in a 225°C oven till the crust is nice and toasty and the cheese has melted.

Fifteen minutes into the baking I took the pizza off from the baking sheet and placed it directly on the wire rack and baked for five or six minutes more to get the crust well toasted.

Boy! This was one well loaded pizza!

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by black12rr

... How to make domino veg extravaganza at home ? ... Can I do it in microwave ? ...

Recipes for Pizza you can get plenty on the net. And no, you can't make it in the microwave unless it has a grill in it. What matters is the quality of flour, cheese and veggies you use.
* Normal maida from the grocery shop will give you only so-so results. Try and get 00 grade flour. No, don't use readymade pizza base - shortcuts don't work
* Use good baker's yeast, not old dry ones in a packet from a shop which hasn't sold any for months
* Get good Mozarella cheese - the one that comes swimming in liquid. Skip the ones that say "Pizza Cheese"
* You can use any vegetables you like, as long as you don't use the ones that collapse when heated
* Black and green olives you can get in a bottle almost everywhere nowadays. Ditto the tomato puree / sauce for the base.
* Jalapeno you can in some shops. Substitute with the pale green long chillies used for mirchi bhajji if you don't get jalapeno peppers
* Corn kernels, capsicum and mushrooms should be as fresh & crisp as possible. Slice them thin (not the corn), otherwise they will stay raw in the time it takes to bake the pizza
* Use just-ripe oval tomatoes, not fully/over-ripe round tomatoes - scoop out and discard the pulp & seeds

[bblost]

Home Alone. Abandoned by family. I had to find some solace in food.

On my way back from office picked up a kilo of beef.

Asked the butcher to cut it into small 1 inch size cubes.

Washed it well and drained all the excess water.

Rubbed some ginger garlic paste. Added some whole pepper corns, garlic pods, bay leaf, star anise and salt.

Pressure cooked it on a high flame. Once pressure was built made it low flame.

After a couple of minutes. Switched it off. Let it cool. Checked. The meat was done.

Ate it with bread

Not the whole kilo. Have some left over for tonight's dinner.

Plan to cook some onions, add a chopped potato.
Once the potato is soft, will add the remaining meat and eat it like a healthy salad.

[traveloholic]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

* Normal maida from the grocery shop will give you only so-so results. Try and get 00 grade flour. No, don't use readymade pizza base - shortcuts don't work

I have never come across a 00 grade flour. I wanted to make Ravioli the last weekend and was scouting for 00 Grade Flour but could not lay my hands on one. Can you let me know, which brand sells it? I might search for the same here.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by traveloholic

I have never come across a 00 grade flour. I wanted to make Ravioli the last weekend and was scouting for 00 Grade Flour but could not lay my hands on one. Can you let me know, which brand sells it? I might search for the same here.

I am not 100% sure, but you may want to check out Nature Basket.
Banjara Hills Road 10 and Jubilee Hills Rd 36.

They usually stock things like this.

[DerAlte]

Originally Posted by bblost

... Not the whole kilo. Have some left over for tonight's dinner.

Plan to cook some onions, add a chopped potato. ...

I really thought you would have polished off the whole thing in one go, till I read the left-over part.

Another healthy option: make a stew - boil together diced potato, onion, carrot, turnip (if you can get it), a few French beans, odds and ends, and add the left over stuff ... great comfort food by itself.

Originally Posted by traveloholic

... was scouting for 00 Grade Flour but could not lay my hands on one. ... which brand sells it? ...

Originally Posted by bblost

... They usually stock things like this.

There are a couple of Indian companies who make and export it in bulk, but they don't sell it in India. The real difference is in the wheat used for maida in India, not just the milling - the flour / farine used in Europe produces end-results that are no match. Typical example is croissants - if you have ever tasted the ones in Europe, you will be disappointed with the best of the best made in India. The French guy who runs Cafe Noir at UB City in Bangalore has given up trying to replicate that with Indian maida.

A better bet would be specialty imported food stores. There are a few in Bangalore, and I am sure Hyderabad, having more "khau public" than Bangalore, would also have some.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

Another healthy option: make a stew - boil together diced potato, onion, carrot, turnip (if you can get it), a few French beans, odds and ends, and add the left over stuff ... great comfort food by itself.

Melted some butter, added sliced onions. When they got a little translucent added potato, beans, turnip and finally spinach.

Between each of the vegetables waited for about 3 - 4 minutes.

Added some cream. There was no maida in the house for making a stew.

Added the left over beef.

Closed the dish and let it cook over a low flame for sometimes.

When the turnips and potato went soft. Dinner Time.

Thanks for the idea.

[drk_411]

Hi Guys. I am a senior citizen and enjoy a retired life [ Read plenty of time for cooking ] I do contribute about cooking on different forums. This is my first post on cooking here. So bricks and bouquets are welcome.


Ok. Let's do Rogan Josh. Kashmiri Style.

Now there are lots of variations and lots of recipes you would find on the net.

This is how I did it today and usually do, keeping the basics of this dish intact. And what are the basics ?
In Kashmiri rogan josh , we don't add tomatoes.

we do add the sonth (Ginger powder), Saunf Powder ( Fennel Seed Powder),Curd (Yogurt) and Hing (Asafoetida)

So let's get started.

We had about 1 Kg of mutton. So we marinated it in half a kg of yogurt overnight.



Take a pan and put in Half a cup of oil. [yes, it is lots of oil, but how your rogan would get josh !!! ]. I know people who use more than this. You can reduce the quantity or skim it off once the dish is made



Add a quarter teaspoon full of hing [ Asafoetida ]



four teaspoon fulls of brown onion paste [ you brown the onions and make a paste ]



six large [ black ] cardomoms slightly crushed



two sticks of cinnamons



two bay leaves [ crushed ]



8-10 cloves



a teaspoon full of garlic paste and a teaspoon full of ginger paste





and now add the marinated mutton



and bhuno it



Do you see how small the bones and shanks are. This was a young lamb and two front legs weighed only 1.6 kgs. The young lamb cooks fast and nicely and is helped by overnight marination.

and this is your spice plate containing :
half a teaspoon full of salt
half a teaspoon full of degi mirch [kashmiri red chilli powder ]
half a teaspoon full of sonth [ dried ginger powder ]
half a teaspoon full of saunf powder [ fennel seed powder ]
a pinch of nutmeg powder



and throw it in



add some water

cover it and let it simmer for some 20-25 mintues on slow fire.

Mind you we did not use any coriander powder, any garam masala powder, any tomato or any other normal or usual "Curry powder or curry spice"

This is your labour of love






Enjoy it with roti, tandoori roti, pudina prantha, keema Prantha, rice, pulao, naan, garlic naan, butter naan.

"Hat ke bole to" have it with dosa, poha or besan ka chilla !!!

[drk_411]

Here is the recipe :

take a cutter and cut away the bread slice



like this



apply butter on one side of the bread slice like this, the idea is to butter it so that it gets roasted finely.



Now take a flat griddle and apply some butter over it and place the bread slice over it placing the buttered side down



Now break an egg into the cavity




cover it and let it simmer for a minute and half or so



Lift up the cover



It is easily picked up and plated





Dust some salt and black pepper powder and enjoy






the "discarded" bread circles are very very usable. You can make bread pakora, french toast, milk toast, garlic bread or some more fancy stuff with it like simply carve away some thick slice of cheese with the same cutter and make a sandwich or use some slightly mashed and boiled potato with some spice mix , shape it with the same cutter and lay over top of it.

There are a zillion ideas and we would explore them in the future ...............



.

[drk_411]

Hi Guys, here is roasted Tomato Soup for you.

Take 750 Gms of Fresh Tomatos.



Wash, quarter and put them in oiled, foiled oven tray and sprinkle some salt



some freshly ground black pepper



and some dried herbs of your choice. I used basil, oregano and 4 leaves of rosemary and drizzle some olive oil / refined oil on tomatoes.

But why some space at the right end ? Wait.



and push in the oven tray and let them bake at 180 degree centigrade for some 6-7 minutes.

Meanwhile quarter a medium sized onion and also take some 8-10 cloves of garlic [ unpeeled ]



This is what you would see once you open the tray after 6-7 minutes. Add the onions and garlic now.



Keep the tray for another 7-8 minutes. It all depends upon the model of the oven you use. This particular oven has elements quite near to the tray, so just 15 minutes are enough. In normal OTG, you might even want to give some 20 or more minutes

This is what you see after 15 minutes



Take out the tomatoes in a plate. They smell heavenly.



and put them in your blender



add the roasted onion quarters



and peel the roasted garlic cloves and add them to the blender



add some veg / chicken stock



and pulse blend



till you make a puree of the tomatoes, onion garlic mix. Pour in the puree to a pan



You may add tomato puree. This is optional.



Add more veg / chicken stock to the desired consistancy of your soup and let it simmer on the fire for some time



Remove from fire and strain it with your soup strainer.



Now some people don't want to strain and want their soup a bit lumpy.

You can do that too if you deseed the tomatoes before roasting then there is no need to strain the soup

Give it another boil for 2-3 minutes



Now garnish with cream or butter or bread Croutons or chopped parsley or chopped coriander or your way and choice, so I leave the garnishing to you.

Enjoy this divine concoction.

The roasted tomato soup tastes much different than normal tomato soup , or cream of tomato soup or tomato borscht.

What ??? Tomato Borscht ?? Yeah some other time.


'

[Aroy]

Regarding Pizza

Off and on I make bread at home, and some times use the same dough for Pizza. You do not need fine Maida. In fact I mix 20-30% Atta in the dough. It tastes better and all who have had like the end result (Bread or Pizza) much better than the commercial stuff.

Here is the mix

. 1/2 kg packaged Maida
. 100-150g Atta
. 1 Table Spoon Yeast (I bough a 1/2kg packet of Chinese Dried Yeast from a Bakery Shop, and keep it in a tight container in the refrigerator. In one year I have finished half of it. The yeast is still perfect)
. 1/2 Table Spoon salt
. 1 cup milk
. Any spice you want to "spice up the bread" - Cumin, Onion Seeds, Sesame etc, about 1 Table Spoon

Kneed the ingredients with water to make a loose dough, more like thick paste. Pour it into a container with lid. The container should be at the most 1/3 full. Let it double once at room temperature. Deflate it. Refrigerate for a day or two, by then the Atta will be processed by the yeast. Before baking take the dough out of the refrigerator and fill the bread box (even in refrigerator, the dough will double or more in two days) and bake it, even though it is cold.Expect perfect bread.

For Pizza, kneed the dough to a hard consistency. Rest is same. Take the cold dough out, kneed it again, form the base and then layer the pizza as fast as you can - takes me about 20 minutes. Bake at highest heat in a pre heated oven. If the heat is low, the base will bloat up to a bun like consistency

[selfdrive]

@Aroy, thanks for confirming the atta combination. I was using whole wheat atta and it didnt come out so well.
I now expect to try again, hopefully sometime soon!

Originally Posted by selfdrive

DerAlte; can you please share your recipe for rogan josh?

Originally Posted by drk_411

Hi Guys. I am a senior citizen and enjoy a retired life [ Read plenty of time for cooking ] I do contribute about cooking on different forums. This is my first post on cooking here. So bricks and bouquets are welcome.

Ok. Let's do Rogan Josh. Kashmiri Style.

Welcome here drk_411!
Thanks for the recipe, I had just begun to pester DerAlte for the recipe
I look forward to more such recipes