Kerala is renowned for its spicy and hot
cuisines. No wonder it is called the ‘Land of Spices’. Its endless dishes,
which make up a multitude of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options, owe
their richness to the history, geography and culture of the land.
In Kerala, coconut plays a big role in the
cooking, with almost every dish including this fresh ingredient along with a
host of other spices like chilli powder, turmeric powder, tamarind, pepper
powder, curry leaves, mustard seeds and asafoetida. In a way, the coconut works
as a deterrent against all this tongue-tingling, fiery flavours.
Along the coast of Kerala, seafood is
obviously the primary diet. But on the plains, freshly harvested vegetables are
the main source of food. In Northern and tribal Kerala, meat is the main
course.
One thing is for certain, now matter which
part of this land you venture into, the cuisine is a marvellous melody of
scintillating ingredients and hypnotic aromas.
This recipe is a famous Kerala dish, which my husband had
been requesting over and over again. So, I finally got down to doing some
research and with a little of my own additions and subtractions, I created this
recipe. It is very close to the original, with maybe just a few alterations in
the amounts of the ingredients themselves. One more thing, the original recipe
asks for cut pieces of coconut, where else, I use the scraped coconut. Another
thing to remember is if you do not have shallots, you can always substitute
with normal onions. Also, even though the recipe requires you to marinate the
beef for only 30 minutes it turns out even better when you do it for longer,
say overnight in the fridge.
First crush (I use a food processor or mixie) the shallots,
ginger and garlic together.
Wash and drain the beef. Put it in a bowl. Add the shallot,
ginger and garlic mixture to it. Add the chilli pieces, coriander powder,
turmeric powder, pepper powder, garam masala, salt and vinegar. Mix well so
that all the ingredients combine thoroughly. Cover and keep it aside for ½ hour
to marinate.
After the marinating process is complete, put the beef
mixture into a pressure cooker. Add just a little bit of water, maybe about ½ a
cup or even less. Cook according to your pressure cooker. Once done, the beef
should have almost no liquid. If there is too much water, cook until it
evaporates. Make sure not to bun the beef.
Now in a shallow pan, add the coconut oil and heat on a
medium flame. When the oil is hot, add the curry leaves. Once they crackle, add
the beef mixture. Fry till the beef turns black in colour.
Serve hot. It’s perfect with rice and curry, parotta, roti
or even bread. It’s also an awesome ‘bite’ or starter when enjoying a drink
with company.
Bite: In Sri Lanka, all the dishes enjoyed when having a
drink (finger-food, starters) are referred to as ‘Bites’. I guess, this is
because these come in bite-size pieces.
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