Tuesday 28 February 2012

Poori and pork (tikka) masala

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The weather has been brilliant the past couple of days and its (almost) like summer is round the corner. I saw the first few daffodils outside my apartment today and almost jumped up in joy. Even if its not bright and sunny, the temperature sure is in double digits and the winds are bearable. Anything to not go out in layers of clothing is a big relief for me. That said, I'm pretty bummed I couldn't wear my uber cool Coccinelle gloves enough.

So on one of those really good weather days, I was in a mood to cook. Like really, painstakingly make things from scratch. These kinda moods pass by soon, so before it did I became proactive and decided to make poori's. Now, people who know me, know my phobia about kneading, rolling and deep frying. I was willing to forego all that and made a tremendous attempt to make round-like poori's. The optimism was too good to be true, so after the first few, it was back to shapeless ones. But I decided it was high time I jotted down a poori recipe for days like these, where I didn't have to exhaust myself doing google searches for exact water measurements etc.
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To go with it, my initial plan was to make the usual potato masala. But that's what I'd do on a lazy day. It was a proactive day instead and so I made pork tikka masala. Now, its not one of those authentic tikka masala recipes, but kinda nice and easy in comparison. Its a slow cooker recipe and I didn't have the time for that and hence used the ever helpful pressure cooker for the same. I'm sure taste-wise, the slow cooker version would have been better, but it served my purpose and tasted great with hot poori's.

Poori (Indian fried bread)- recipe adapted from here (makes 12 medium sized ones)
Chapati flour (atta)- 1 1/2 cups
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Oil- 1 tbsp + enough for deep frying
Warm water- 1/2 cup
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In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt.
Rub in the oil as evenly as possible.
Add the warm water bit by bit and bring the flour together.
Knead for a couple of minutes till the dough becomes pliable.
Brush some oil on it, cover with a wet towel and let it rest for about half an hour (or 10 minutes)
When ready to roll, heat enough oil in a pan. Keep the fire on medium heat and wait for it to reach the right temperature.
Knead the dough once more and make 12 golf-ball size balls out of it.
Roll out each ball into a disc, not as thin as a chapati, and keep ready.
Pint a tiny piece of dough and drop into the oil. If its the right temperature, it would immediately float to the top.
Slowly slide in one rolled out disc. When it floats to the top, lightly press it with a ladle, allowing it to puff up.
Roll over and fry the other side similarly.
When it becomes golden brown, take it off the oil, let it drip out the oil and drain on paper towels. Repeat the same with the remaining dough.

Pork (tikka) masala- recipe adapted from here
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Pork shoulder/ leg (with or without fat)- 1 kg (diced into medium pieces)
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Cumin powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Garam masala- 1/2 tbsp
Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp, roughly chopped
Oil- 2 tbsp
Water- 1/2 cup
Salt- to taste

Marinade
Onions- 2 large
Garlic- 8 cloves
Ginger- 2 inch piece, peeled, roughed sliced
Plain yoghurt- 1/2 cup
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Salt- to taste
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Make a paste out of the all the ingredients listed under the marinade section.
Place the diced pork into a large bowl and pour half of the marinade over it. Reserve the other half.
Mix well, cover and leave aside for at least 30 minutes.
When ready to cook, place the marinated pork and water in a pressure cooker and cook till the pork is tender, still holding its shape, about 15 minutes.
Once the pressure subsides, open the lid and if there is a significant amount of water, place it back on medium-high heat and allow most of the liquid to evaporate.
Once that's done, heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan and add the reserved half of onion paste.
Cook till it turns a light brown, about 10 to 12 minutes on medium heat.
Stir in the cooked pork along with all the masala/gravy and cook on high for a couple of minutes, stirring well.
Then, reduce flame to medium and add turmeric, cumin, coriander and chilli powder and stir fry till the meat turns darker in colour.
Once you see the oil releasing the sides, sprinkle garam masala, give a final stir and take it off the flame.
Keep covered, and just before serving, sprinkle coriander leaves.

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Notes: This is not a spicy preparation, add one green chilli along with the powders, if you want it spicier.
I didn't dry out the pork too much as I wanted it to be a semi-gravy-like consistency for the poori's
You can cook the pork in the pressure cooker for up to 24 hours in advance and do the last bit before you serve.
You can also freeze the dish once completely cooled. Just leave it out at room temperature to thaw and maybe sauté it in a little oil before serving.

32 comments:

Sarah said...

that is one awesome meal that i would love to dig into!!!! mindblowing combination!

Umm Mymoonah said...

Poori looks soft and fluffy, yummy!

Archana said...

Pooris look delicious.

Aarthi said...

Yummy recipe..bookmarked

Aarthi
http://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/

Unknown said...

Poori my god..looks so tempting

Suganya said...

Nice looking pork recipe. Great pictures. YUM!

Suja Manoj said...

That sounds an awesome combo,sure must have tasted delicious..yum

Reshmi Mahesh said...

Perfect looking pooris...Lovely presentation..

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Simply delicious looking recipe.

Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi

Cassia Bark said...

I loooooooove those pics......drooling right now...Seriously :D

Binys Recipes said...

wow thats superb.....who must have tot of this....i want to have it now

Sravs said...

wonderful !! looks delicious !!

Ongoing event CC-Dish For Loved Ones

Rookie Qookie said...

Never tried making pork curries at home..will try them once am over my stinky-squid experiment :)

Pointblank said...

Poori and Pork? Wow! Thats a hitherto unheard combo. Honestly, I have had pooris only with potato bhaji.. And its a surprise that ur still lost on the kneading :D.. I mean u have turned into a great cook now :) Edi, i think the trick is to keep pouring water little by little, so that u can stop right when it is sufficient. And in case u end up pouring more water than required, u can always add a lil flour. That should make it fine :)

Charu Srivastava said...

simply mouthwatering...i actualy feel lik hving puris right now....

KitchenKarma said...

I know these moods...have them sometimes myself...the pooris and pork both look awesome...

Asha said...

Oh ho... my mouth is watering...

Deeps @ Naughty Curry said...

i too find myself making poori's when the day is pleasant.. funny how the weather dictates our cooking :)

Poornima Nair said...

This is so tempting! Poori and pork sound great!

Satrupa said...

Look whoz back on the block .. It's MEEEEEEEEE into action again :)All I can say is ..."I came, I saw and I drooled" :)
Luv Ya

Namitha said...

Wow,delicious combination ! Never dared to cook pork,but I guess it should be fine here.

Unknown said...

back at home, we have poori with mutton korma, on luxury day. You did a good job girl even with ur phobia. Till date i wait for some scapegoats (friends) to arrive home and ask them to do for me. But anyhow not sure if pics of poori or tikka masala i'm drooling!

Anonymous said...

I am a pork lover! That pork tikka masala sounds too yum and with poori .. double yum!
I too suck at kneading and rolling but am getting there slowly slowly :)

abraham said...

making me feel hungry and it is just 6am....here

Torviewtoronto said...

poori looks fabulous had for dinner :) too

M D said...

Poori saagu is one of my favorites. Your clicks tempt me!

Unknown said...

what a yummy dish..looks so delicious...first time here..Happy to follow u

www.mahaslovelyhome.com said...

yummy n tasty recipe dear..vl try this......nice space vth awesome recipes and nice cliks too.....
Maha

Spicy-Aroma said...

this looks super tempting..new to your space and loved it totally..glad to follow u!! :)
Spicy-Aroma

the Junkie book said...

wow am your fan for choosing pork tikka masala with poori...the problem with poori again that it's so gassy...well now you gather i have gastritis ;p ty for the tikka masala recipe. looks very good.

TheYummyMorsel said...

The poori's are just gorgeous . Just love 'em.

Suhaina said...

poori looks delicious..nice clicks dear.