Ingredients:
Pork -- 1 kg
Onion -- 2 big
Pearl onions -- ½ cup, sliced
Ginger -- 1 inch piece
Garlic -- 6 - 8 cloves
Green chillies -- 3
Coconut pieces -- ½ cup(optional)
Turmeric Powder -- ½ + ½ tbsp
Chilly Powder -- 1 ½ tbsp
Coriander Powder -- 1 ½ tbsp
Pepper Powder -- 2 tsp or 15 black pepper corns
Cardamom -- 6
Cloves -- 6
Cinnamon Sticks -- 3, 1 inch pieces
Fennel Seeds -- 2 tsp
Curry leaves -- 2 sprigs + more if required
Mustard seeds -- 1 tsp
Oil -- 2 to 3 tbsp + more if required , I love to use coconut oil
Salt -- to taste
Preparation of pork fry:
Cut and clean the pork into medium slices. Marinate them in ½ tbsp turmeric powder and keep aside.
Grind the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds and pepper corns(if not use the pepper powder) to a fine powder. Slice the onions and mince the ginger, garlic and green chillies. You can mince them together or keep it separate. Keep them aside.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pressure cooker and add the mustard seeds.Let it splutter.Add the coconut pieces and fry until they are light brown.
Add sliced onion, pearl onion, minced ginger, garlic and green chillies and curry leaves. On a medium flame, fry until onions are golden brown.
Reduce the flame to medium low and add the salt, powders(turmeric, chilly and coriander) and the ground masala (keep aside 1 tsp for final garnishing). Keep stirring until the raw smell of the powders go off. Make sure not to burn them. Add a little more oil in case it is too dry to get burnt.
Add the pork pieces and continue stirring until the masala sticks well on to the pork. Add ¼ cup of hot water and pressure cook the pork low flame until the meat is cooked well. For my pressure cooker, it took 2 - 3 whistles.
Let the steam completely vent out.
Open the lid and on medium heat, keep stirring every 2 - 3 minutes and let the extra water get dry.
Now the final part is to stir fry until the required consistency is achieved. I like it towards the dry end and also love it when fried in the cast iron pan. (the cheenachatti is the best).
Heat a wide pan and add the remaining oil. You can continue in the pressure cooker itself, if that is wide enough to stir and if you are not looking for a very dry consistency.
Add the pork masala and fry until dry. Add more curry leaves and more oil to enhance the flavor, if you would like to. Sprinkle the left over ground masala and switch off the flame.
This goes well will rice or any breads. You can replace pork with any red meat – Beef / Mutton / Lamb
Recipe Courtesy: Swapna’s Cuisine