Kerala Pork Fry

This is a classic dish that originated in Kerala, my mom though from Tamilnadu and tamilian by birth was born in Kerala. In the part of Tamilnadu closest to Kerala this dish is also very popular. This dish is particularly sentimental to me because every time I went home to visit my mom in Chennai she would make it for me. She had once given me a notepad full of handwritten recipes I had her write down but for some reason this was not one of them. I had always wanted to try and make it but never got around to it.

When COVID came around, I finally started trying to cook all of the dishes in my moms recipe book and one weekend I had want to cook it but realized I didn't have the recipe. I told myself I would call my mom that weekend and ask her to send my the recipe, sadly that weekend my mom passed away -- likely from COVID.

Ever since I tried a few times by downloading recipes from the internet and trying them, I kept getting disappointed. I consider myself a pretty good cook but somehow this recipe eluded me. I finally decided to take a few bits from a few of the recipes I had and keep trying until I got it right.

The first was a disaster, it was so spicy as to be inedible, the second was better but kind of watery and still very spicy, I tried to get the kids to eat it and they thought it was too spicy. There were two big challenges I had -- too spicy and couldn't get it to be dry -- not quite fried but dry.

This dish has just about every Indian spice you have come across and so the proportions were tricky to balance out -- the recipes on the internet just did not work for me. After about 5 tries I finally got it very close to the way Mom made it. The good news was that everytime I made it even during my failed tries, it reminded me of my Mom and how much she meant to me.

Ingredients

1 lb of pork butt

1 large onion sliced

2 medium ripe tomatoes sliced

4 garlic cloves finely chopped

1/2 inch of ginger slivered

2 green Thai or Indian chillies

2 sprigs of curry leaves

2 tbsp of vinegar

3/4 tsp of salt

3 tbsp of coconut oil

2 small or 1 large sliced shallot

1 dried whole red chilli

Coriander leaves

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp fennel seed

1 tsp each of coriander, cumin, black pepper

3/4 tsp of turmeric

1/2 tsp each of red chili powder and garam masala

1/2 tsp each of mustard seeds and fennel seeds

3-4 cloves

2 bay leaves

Preparation

Cut the pork butt into cubes about 3/4 of an inch each. Mix well in a large bowl with the vinegar, salt and turmeric, set aside.

In a large pressure cooker mix the onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, 1 sprig of curry leaves, cumin, coriander, black pepper, red chili powder and garam masala and a tbsp of coconut oil. Mix well. Add the pork mix and mix well. Close the pressure cooker and turn on the heat to high. Wait until the sixth whistle, then turn the heat off and wait for about 5 minutes before releasing the steam carefully.

After the steam has fully released (check one last time by using a fork or knife to pull the valve up until it stops hissing), carefully open the pressure cooker keeping your face away from the opening. Throughly mix everything, there should be some liquid with the mix so on low heat simmer while stirring occasionally until all of the water is gone. Turn off the heat and keep it aside.

In a large fry pan or saute pan, add the remaining 2 tbsp of coconut oil. Add the mustard seeds and fennel seeds until the mustard starts to burst. Now add the shallots, cloves, a sprig of curry leaves, crumbled red chillies, bay leaves and saute until the shallots are browned. Now add the meat mix and saute until it is very dry, some oil may rise to the top - for about 5 minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Rice or chapatis

Chennai Style Chicken Biriyani (Courtesy Joy Nesamoney my mom)

Chicken Biriyani for 10 people, with Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients For Biriyani

Meat -- 5 lbs bone-in chicken breasts 

Yellow Onions - 3-4

Garlic - 8 cloves

Ginger - 6 1/2 inch pieces

Green chilis - 5 green chilies

Chili Powder - 1 tsp

Salt - 2 tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander Powder - 6 tsp

Lime Juice - juice of 1 lime

Yoghurt - 5 tbsp

Cashewnuts - 2 cups

Golden Raisins - 2 cups

Bay leaves - 6 leaves

Cloves - 8 cloves

Cardamon (Elaichi) - 8 pods

Basmati Rice - 3 cups of rice

Butter - 3 sticks

Coriander Leaves - 2 sprigs

Mint Leaves - 2 sprigs

Saffron or yellow FC - 3 pinches

Cinnamon sticks - 4 sticks

For Yogurt Sauce

Onions - 3

Green chillies - 3

Curry leaves - sprig

1 pint of yogurt

1 tsp Mustard seeds

Salt - 3/4 tsp or to taste

Cooking the Biriyani

Cut chicken into 2-inch pieces with the bone (the bone adds flavor to the Biryani).

Warm 1/2 packet of butter and warm the rice with the butter until hot but not fried. Add 6 cups of water and sprinkle the Saffron over the water. Cook until all the water evaporates (or cook in a rice cooker).  Remove immediately when cooked and spread out in a large aluminum pan to cool (don't leave it in the cooker).

Cut Onions into very thin slices, set aside.

Cut Ginger, Garlic, Chillies, Coriander leaves, Mint leaves. Add to a blender with a little water and blend to a paste.

In a large pan, add 3-4 tablespoons of oil. Fry the onions until brown but not burnt, set aside. Fry the raisins until plump and cashews until a little brown on the outside, seperately, then combine into a dish, set aside.

In a large vessel add 1.5 stick of butter, add Cinnamon (whole sticks), Smashed Cloves, Cardamom (seeds), Bay leaves and fry. Now add the liquid mixture of ginger, garlic etc. into this and gently fry. Add 1 tsp chilli poweder, 1/2 tsp Turmeric, 6 tsp of coriander, lime juice, yogurt, salt. Cook until the butter separates a little from the mix. Now add the chicken pieces and cook for 10-15 minutes until chicken is tender, add a little water, no more than half a cup (don't overcook). You can use a scissor or knife to cut through a piece to make sure the pieces are cooked through to the center but juicy inside.

Take a large vessel big enough to hold all the Biriyani, now add layers of rice, followed by the onions, cashews and raisins and then followed by the above mix, continuing in layers until the top, fluffing gently. Garnish with Coriander.

Making the Yogurt Sauce

Thinly slice onions, chilies and add to yogurt, mix well. In a small pan add 2 tbsp of oil, when hot, add mustard seeds, curry leaves until fried. Pour the mustard seeds and curry leaves into the yogurt mixture. Its best to prepare this earlier and let it sit for an hour so the onions are softened by the yogurt and yet a little crunchy.

Tandoori Chicken -- without the Tandoor!

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Almost everyone has heard of Tandoori Chicken, much like Butter Chicken which is a staple of Indian cuisine Tandoori Chicken is very popular all over the world. Practically every Indian restaurant will offer it. A very simple basic meal would be Tandoori Chicken with Dhal and Rice.

The challenge with making Tandoori Chicken at home of course is that most of us don't have a Tandoor lying around at home. Here's what a real tandoor looks like, its a kind of like a pizza oven, the sides serve to make tandoori breads like Naan or Roti and the middle serves as a high heat grill which cooks the meat via radiant heat, instantly searing it and making the outside crisp and the insides moist. Traveling through northern states of India like Punjab and Haryana, you will see the roadside restaurants inevitably have one of these tucked away in the back or sometimes the more touristy ones up front so you can watch the food being made.

This is what a real-life Tandoor looks like:

Tandoori Chicken I make at home does not use a Tandoor, I used to use the grill but it was kind of messy and so one winter I tried it indoors in the oven using the roast setting and then broiling at the end and it came out really well, almost like the the real thing:

Ingredients

4 Chicken Legs with thighs and drumsticks

1 tsp Coriander

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Turmeric

1 tsp Cayenne pepper

1 tsp Garam Masala

1 tsp Sweet Paprika

1 tsp salt

1 cup plain yogurt

2 tbsp lemon juice

4 garlic cloves minced

2 tbsp ginger minced

3 tbsp vegetable oil

A few drops Red Food Color

This dish requires the chicken to marinate for at least an hour so be mindful of that and allow enough time for that. I usually start this dish first while cooking dinner so I can leave the chicken to marinate while making the rest of the meal. You may also prepare it a day ahead or that morning and put the mix in the fridge and cook in the evening.

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (use the convection roast setting if available).

Prepare the chicken by removing the skin, if you purchased 4 full legs, slice the legs into two halves by using a sharp knife and cutting exactly at the joint, with luck and some practice you will slice right through the cartilage and separate the thigh and drumstick. If you are unsure of this you can also just buy 4 thigh pieces and 4 drumstick pieces. Removing the skin is easy, just use a paper towel and tug at the skin and it will come off easy. Pat the pieces dry and set aside.

In a saucepan heat the 3 tbsps of oil until just warm, and quickly saute JUST the dry spices. Make sure the heat is medium or the spices will burn and add a burnt taste. Scrape the spice mix into a bowl to stop it cooking and let it cool down.

In a large bowl add the lemon juice, yogurt, garlic, ginger and food color and mix in the spices, the mix should be a somewhat dull red color. Now drop the chicken pieces into the mix, coat the pieces thoroughly and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for an hour. If you will be preparing this well ahead of cooking, put it in a large ziploc bag, seal and put in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook.

Remove each marinated piece, shake it loose of any marinade and place it in a baking sheet/tray lined with foil. Spread the pieces apart so they dont touch each other. Place the tray in the oven and let it cook for about 30 minutes. Check to see how it is cooking, about 10 minutes before it is ready, you will see the chicken meat start to separate from the bone on the drumsticks and some of the tips may start getting a little charred. At about 40 minutes turn on the broiler for about 5 minutes, keeping an eye on the chicken to make sure it does not burn -- broilers can crisp the chicken too fast, essentially burning it, take the chicken out no later than 45 minutes (some ovens may be done in 35 to 40 minutes). If you are not sure, pick up a piece with a pair of tongs and slice into the meat portion, it should be well cooked but not dry i.e. a little moist but not shiny/translucent.

Its important not to keep opening the oven to check every few minutes as the temperature will drop and the chicken may not cook through. Don't overcook it either as it will become very dry and chewy and lose some of its flavor, so its important to take it out right on time.

Immediately transfer the pieces into a bowl so they stop cooking, sprinkle some coriander leaves on top and serve with warm Naan, Chapaties or Roti and some Dhal.