Vindaloo


 
TOTAL TIME
1hr 45mins
PREP 25 mins
COOK 1 hr 20 mins

This dish was brought to Goa by the Portuguese and soon became a popular Goan dish often served during special occasions. Historically this Pork dish is cooked with plenty of wine vinegar and garlic, however it soon received the Goanese treatment adding plentiful amounts of spice and chilli. It is a little bit of work, but I think it's worth it.
INGREDIENTS
SERVINGS 6
2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
2 dried chili pods
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon cardamom seed
1 cinnamon stick (3-inch long)
1 1⁄2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
5 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium onions, cut into rings
1⁄3 cup water
2 lbs pork, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 ginger cube, 1 inch cubed, chopped
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon coriander seed, ground
1⁄2 teaspoon turmeric

DIRECTIONS

Grind cumin seeds, red chilies, peppercorns, cardamom seeds, cinnamon, black mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds in a mortar & pestle or other spice grinder.
Put the ground spices in a bowl and mix in the vinegar, salt and sugar; set aside.
Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pot over a medium flame.
Add the onions.
Fry, stirring frequently, until the onions turn brown and crisp.
Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and place them into an electric blender or food processor - add 2-3 tablespoons of water to the blender and puree the onions.
Add this puree to the ground spices in the bowl.
-= You have now created your vindaloo paste - You can make this ahead of time and freeze -.
Put the ginger and garlic into an electric blender or food processor; add 2-3 tablespoons of water and blend until you have a smooth paste.
Heat the oil remaining in the pot once again over a medium-high flame.
When hot, add in the pork, a few at a time, and brown them lightly on all sides; remove each batch with a slotted spoon and reserve in a bowl - continue this procedure until all of the pork has been browned.
Now add the ginger-garlic paste to the same pot.
Turn down the heat to medium; stir the paste for a few seconds.
Add the coriander and turmeric; stir for another few seconds.
Add the meat, any juices that may have accumulated as well as the vindaloo paste and the water and bring to a boil.
Cover and simmer gently for an hour or until pork is tender; stirring occasionally during the cooking period.
Serve with Basmati rice and enjoy!


Xacuti



Ingredients
Chicken cut into 12 pieces 800 grams
Oil 4 tablespoons
Coconut scraped1 cup
Garlic 4-6 cloves
Whole dry red chillies broken4
 Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon
Coriander seeds 1 1/2 tablespoons
Black peppercorns 10
Fennel seeds (saunf) 1 teaspoon
Carom seeds (ajwain) 1 teaspoon
Poppy seeds (khuskhus/posto) 2 tablespoons
Cloves 6
Cinnamon 2 inch stick
Star anise 4
Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon
Onions chopped2 medium
Salt to taste
Tamarind pulp 1 tablespoon
Nutmeg grated1/4 teaspoon

Method
Step 1
Heat one tablespoon of oil in a pan and lightly brown coconut and transfer into a mixer jar. Add garlic cloves.
Step 2
Dry roast red chillies, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, black peppercorns, fennel seeds, carom seeds, poppy seeds, cloves, cinnamon and star anise till fragrant. Add it to the coconut in the jar.
Step 3
Add turmeric powder and a little water and grind to a smooth paste. Heat the remaining oil in a deep pan and sauté onions till well browned. Add chicken and sauté on high heat for two to three minutes.
Step 4
Add salt and mix. Add the masala paste and stir well. Add two cups of water and stir. Add tamarind pulp and mix. Grate some nutmeg (about ¼ teaspoon) and add. When the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook for about thirty minutes or till t
Step 5
Serve hot with boiled Goan red rice.


Bebinca



Serves - 4
Time - 1 Hour to prepare
INGREDIENTS
200 gm refined flour
10 egg yolks
500 gm sugar
200 ml coconut milk
5 gm nutmeg powder
200 gm butter

METHOD
Mix the coconut milk, flour, sugar, nutmeg and the egg yolks and make a batter.

Grease an oven proof dish with a spoonful of melted butter, pour 75 ml of batter into the dish and spread evenly.

Bake till golden brown.

Spread another spoonful of butter and pour another 75 ml of batter over it and spread evenly.

Bake and repeat this until all the batter is used up.

Turn out the bebinca onto a wire rack.

Cool and cut into slices before serving.



Prawn Balchao



Serves - 4
Time - 45 Minutes + Time to ferment appam batter to prepare

INGREDIENTS
Prawn Balchao:
1 cup prawn-deshelled and de-veined
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
5 green chillies
4-5 curry leaves
Oil to shallow fry
2 Tbsp balchao masala

For Balchao masala:
Red chilli powder
Goan Vinegar
Garlic, whole
Garam masala
Ginger
Salt and pepper
Chopped onions

For the Appams:
1 kg rice
1 1/2 litre of tender coconut
Optional: water and dry yeast
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp salt

METHOD
For the Prawns:

Marinate the prawn with salt and turmeric.


For Balchao Masala:

Make a fine paste of red chiilies and vinegar.

Add garlic, ginger and whole gram masala. This is peri peri masala.

Saute chopped onion on a slow fire and add peri- peri masala.

Now, shallow fry prawns in a pan.

Put green chillies and curry leaves.

Add the balchao masala.

Cook for few more minutes and serve.


For the Appams:

Mix all the ingredients to make a batter and keep aside for 4 to 5 hours to ferment.

Grease a pan and pour a ladle full of batter.

Move the pan around to spread the batter so that it is thin on the sides and thick in the middle.

Once brown remove the appam from the pan with the help of a knife or thin spatula.

Serve with prawn balchao.