Instant Pickled Pork

Picture credit:  Sreyas Patil/Pratik Mulik

I have always enjoyed experimenting with flavours.  It is a trait my daughter, Shalvi, has inherited too!  Our family has always relished pork and I have had many successful experiments with cooking the same (and some disasters too!).  Shalvi, during one of her experiments in the kitchen, came up with this awesome recipe that I am sharing with my beloved readers today.  Happy cooking!

Ingredients:

Pork belly - 250 g

Oil - 2 tbsp

Onions - 2 large (sliced longitudinally)

Thick curd - 100 ml

Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp

Pickle masala - 2 tbsp  (find recipe here)

Dry coconut - 50 g (grated and mildly roasted) 

White sesame seeds - 50 g (roasted)

Turmeric - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Lemons - 2 large and juicy

Coriander for garnishing

Time:

Prep Time:  10-15 minutes

Cook Time:    40 minutes

Seasoning:    10 minutes

Method:

Chop the pork into bite-sized pieces.  Add in turmeric and salt and toss.  Cook the pork in a pressure cooker.  After the first whistle, lower the flame and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.   Once the pressure is released, drain any of the liquid in the pork and set aside.  (Take a bite to ensure it is properly cooked).

In a pan, heat the oil. Add onions and sauté till golden.  Add in curd, pickle masala, ginger garlic paste and some salt and cook till the mixture leaves the sides.  Add in the pork and stir it till it becomes homogeneous.  Add in the grated coconut and sesame seeds (save a small amount of both for garnishing) and stir well.  Cover the pan and simmer for five minutes.  Squeeze the juice of lemons and stir.  Transfer to a bowl, garnish with sesame, grated coconut and coriander leaves and serve hot.

Tips:

• You may use store-bought mango pickle masala
• Do not add water to the pork pieces - it will spread its own juice - cook in a separator
• Add in a pinch of salt to the onions; they turn golden faster this way
• You may substitute the pork with boneless lamb meat for pickled mutton (of course, cooking time will be lesser!)
• Always use fresh home-made ginger garlic paste to get the best flavour
• Please note this pickle is NOT for storage, but will stay for over a week in the refrigerator.

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