leftover roast duck stirfry

It was roast duck with orange glaze for our quiet New Year dinner. Even though the duck was not that big, there was some meat left over. Enough for a quick stirfry.

I am not going to give a list here. Because there's n't much to expand on.

I had a small green bell pepper in the fridge. can use any other veg. I like bell peppers in stirfries. Heated a little oil in a wok and sautéd the green bell pepper first, and set it aside. Then did the same with some chopped onion + a few cloves of garlic, crushed/minced, in that oil.
Added a couple of tsp of crushed red pepper. Next, a few dashes of the sauces in the following picture:

That is, a splash of vinegar - say, a tbsp, 2 tsps of the sweet chili sauce, 3-4 tsps of the green chili sauce, 3 tsps of the  dark soy sauce. The aim was a sweet-sour-hot taste - just a teeny tiny hint of sweet and a little more sour and a lot more heat.

Anyway, stirred the thing around for a minute or two. Added the shredded (roast)duck. Gave a good stir. And don't let's forget the bell peppers, or broccoli or whatever vegetable you may have lying around. Added that now. Stirred it all around for some more.
 Should taste to see if you like the seasoning. Correct to your taste - salt and such.
If you still don't like it, nothing much you can do really, except tip it into the waste bin while no one's looking. Just kidding, you will like it. :)

Have it with some rice.

Now, you can make this using roast chicken or regular chicken, beef, or pork. Pretty much your basic stir fry. Just be sure to use thinly cut pieces. For instance, to make it easy, buy beef that's cut for asian-style stir fries. Or that Milanese cut , which you can further cut into smaller pieces.
This was the roast duck, btw.

Kerala meat masala

Row 1 from L -cinnamon, poppy seed
Row 2 from L -star anise, fennel seeds, cloves
Row 3 from L -cardamom, ground nutmeg, black peppercorns

Kerala/ Malabar has been the land of spices from ancient times, as early as King Solomon's times. And Malayalis obviously use a lot of spices in their food.

Like I keep saying, the masala mix varies according to the family, the region, the community, the state etc. etc. Google it, and you'll get many entries. But for the Malayali, the most common basic meat masala mix is the same, more or less.




Here I am going to share my mom's basic mix (picture above). We can always add to this, the other usual culprits  -- turmeric, coriander, red and green chili, cumin, asafoetida, fenugreek, mustard, poppy seed, ginger, garlic, bay leaves, curry leaves etc. according to the recipe. Not all recipes need all the spices.

The basic meat masala mix is somewhat like the Chinese five-spice, except that we have about 8 spices in the mix. I have the Malayalam words for each too :

cloves -- karayampu or grampu
cinnamon -- karukapatta
fennel -- perumjeerakam
black pepper-- kurumulaku
star anise-- thakkolam
cardamom -- aelakka
nutmeg+mace -- jaathikka + jaathipathri
poppy seed-- kashakasha

Now, the proportions  -- for one or two ( or 3 -- I am not trying to be difficult, but will make sure next time) tablespoons of masala mix: 8-10 cloves, 3-4 1" flat cinnamon pieces, 1 tsp of fennel seeds, 1 tsp of black peppercorns, 3 star anise, 6 cardamoms, 1/8 tsp of nutmeg, 1 tsp poppy seed, a pinch of mace. ( normally we use 1-2 tsps of the mix for a 2 lb. meat dish.)


Sometimes fennel is omitted, at other times, poppy seeds. So it's kind of personal, you see? Back home, we buy spices in bulk from a wholesale spice store, and get them ground and mixed by the shopkeeper. That's an easy way for  moms to send it with their children who live far away. But when you have the time, the spices are dry roasted and ground and packed in airtight bags. Refrigerating the mix is recommended in such cases, when you have larger quantities. The ideal way is to dry roast and grind your spices right when you are making your dishes -- which is what most households do back home. I do that when I feel like going that extra mile. But for nutmeg, I use the ground version, which is not ideal, they say.- :)

Nazrani mutton fry - aattirachi varattiyathu

This is a favorite nazrani dish. Obviously, we make it spicy and hot, so if you prefer it less spicy, you may have to reduce the amount of spices. Lamb can be used instead of mutton which is  goat meat.
"varattal" is a common method of stovetop cooking in Kerala. It is a mix of braising and stir-frying. There is also thaalikkal where the spices are sauteed first and then the meat is added., and cooked. You may use tomatoes instead of vinegar.

aattirachi varattiyathu after the final seasoning

Ingredients:

bone-in or boneless mutton cubed -- 2 lb.
1/2 cup onion, sliced thin
 2 tbsp ginger, crushed
5-6 green chillies, split lengthwise
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
4 tsp coriander powder
2 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
3/4 tsp cumin powder
1 1/2 tsp Kerala meat masala powder or garam masala powder
1 or 2 sprigs of curry leaves
1 tbsp vinegar
2 -3 tbsp cooking oil
Salt

 final seasoning or "kaachal" - noun, "kaachuka"- verb:

3 tbsp oil

1/2 to 1 cup onion, sliced thin

3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed

scant 1 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp kerala meat masala

a pinch of cumin
curry leaves

Method:

Clean the meat thoroughly.Drain. In the pot you would be cooking in, mix all the ingredients in the first set, except the meat and vinegar, with enough oil (traditionally, coconut oil, but now, any vegetable/olive oil) to make a moist mass. Now add the meat and mix well. You may marinate this for half an hour, if you like. But not really necessary.
Cook with enough water to cover the meat. Give it a stir. Cover. Start with high heat till it boils. Pour in the vinegar.Then reduce heat. Stir again. Cover and cook till meat is done. If the meat is real tender, it will be done sooner than if it is tough. Usually it will take an hour or more. Check and stir occasionally. Test with fork, if the meat comes off easily from the bones, it is done. (Pressure cookers save time, by the way.) All the liquid should be gone at the end. (If meat is still not done, and water is gone, add more boiling water. If there is too much liquid, and the meat is almost done, leave the pot open, turn the heat high and let the liquid dry out. Meanwhile do not forget to taste and see if the seasonings including the salt is balanced and to your taste.

Once the meat is done, we go to the next step of "kaachal" -- it is okay to eat it now, but the next step makes it even more delicious.

Heat oil in a wok or skillet. Add the onion, garlic and curry leaves. Saute till almost brown -- do not burn --
Now add the prepared meat. Stir well. Reduce heat. Keep stirring.
Be careful about the center -- things could get sticky and burn.
Trick is to stir well and all around and under.
The longer you do this "varattal", the tastier the dish.

Serve with rice or roti. A simple, good accompaniment is morozhichukoottaan or buttermilk curry. Or if one feels real lazy, yogurt-onion sallaas.

buttermilk curry