Kerala Style Pork Fry

Last week I shared Pandi curry recipe - a pork curry from Coorg. And this week I'm back with another Pork recipe that is neither from Mangalore nor from Goa. :-) This pork fry is from Kerala, the land of spices, and rightly so the pork curry bursts with all the flavours of the commonly used spices.  Usually we don't add coconut to pork dishes in Mangalore or Goa, but this recipe uses coconut and the outcome is delicious. I got this recipe from my sister's recipe book. It is one of my favourite pass times when I visit her, I take all her recipe books and keep going through them. And I always find some new recipe that I didn't see before or try before. This is one such recipe, that was buried deep and has been rescued from obscurity :-)

Ingredients:

Pork cubes - 1 kg, washed and drained

Marinade:

1. Ginger - 1/2 inch piece, finely chopped or grated
2. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
3. Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1 tsp
4. Salt - as per taste

Roast and dry grind the below ingredients:

1. Fennel seeds - 1/2 tbsp
2. Cardamom - 6 nos
3. Cinnamon - 2 inch sticks
4. Cloves - 6 nos
5. Perppercorn - 1 tsp
6. Onion - 1 large, roughly chopped
7. Garlic - 6 fat cloves, sliced
8. Ginger - 1 inch piece, sliced
9. Coconut - 1 cup, dessicated

Ingredients for the tempering and curry:

1. Curry leaves - 20 - 25 leaves
2. Onion - 3 medium, sliced
3. Tomatoes - 3 medium, sliced
4. Green chilli - 4 nos, sliced
5. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
6. Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1 tbsp
7. Coriander powder - 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Cut, wash and drain the pork cubes. Marinate with the ingredients mentioned under marinade and set aside.
2. Heat a small pan, add oil and add ingredients mentioned under "Roast and dry grind" in the order mentioned. Keep stirring occasionally to ensure the contents don't burn. Once the coconut has turned a deep brown, the pan can be taken off the stove and kept aside for cooling.
3. Once cooled, the roasted ingredients are to be ground to a coarse powder without using any water. You can use the pulse feature in your blender, so that you get a coarse mixture.
4.  Note: This is not a ground paste or masala. Do not add water.
5. Heat a pan, add oil, add the curry leaves, sliced onions and 1/2 tsp salt. Fry the onions till they are well browned.
6. Add all the spice powders, mix well and now add the tomatoes. Add 1/4 cup water, bring it to a boil, lower the flame, put the lid on the pan and let it simmer till the tomatoes are soft and well cooked.
7. To this add the marinated pork, and green chillies, and the coarse mixture, mix well and bring it to a good boil, then add a cup of hot water. 
8. Lower the flame to medium on the stove and cook till done, the  cooking time can vary depending on the cut of the meat and it's age. So use your discretion. usually it takes between 20 to 30 minutes for pork to cook well.
9. Adjust seasoning and consistency and switch off the flame and it's ready to be served.

Note:

Pork preparations always taste better after they are rested for a few hours or even a day. So plan to serve this after a few hours of its preparation.