KUTTANADAN DUCK ROAST a virtual' virunnu' and a happy blog!

"Truly great friends are hard to find,difficult to leave, and impossible to forget".

Author Unknown

How many of you believe that we can be  friends  real good friends with people whom we have never met? Well, I am a strong believer of that. It could be the simplest of reasons for you both to be friends with each other. For me, through my love for food, have found many like-minded foodie friends who have been blogging as passionately or I would rather say, more passionately than me. Food was the topic that drew us closer, but as the days passed by, we realise there is something more that than just food! :) This is the best part of blogging.

So here is my lovely friend Maria , who instantly accepted my request to feed my ever-so- hungry blog during my wedding preparation time! It was a very short notice for her, but I was 100% sure that she can do it, because , she is a marvel at cooking! For all those who haven't been to her space,do check out her space!





I dont know how many of you know me, so I will do the introduction part first. I am Maria and I have a small space called MariasMenu.

It’s the first time I’ve got an opportunity to do a guest blogging, thanks a ton Ria dear. Am very excited about it :)

Before going to the recipe, let me wish our lovely bride & groom (Ria & Jobin) a happy & blessed married life!! I would like to quote a few lines from a wedding card, that I got for my wedding. I Liked the lines in that card, hence thought of passing it to you too.

A happy marriage means these things -

sharing little happenings,

togetherness that never ends-

hand in hand,

the best of friends,

encouragement,

a little kiss,

lots of pride in one another,

being honest with each other.

A happy marriage is

love and laughter,

and living happily ever after!!

May your marriage be filled with loads of love & laughter and may you live happily ever after!!

Now about the recipe…When Ria asked me to do the guest post I agreed immediately, even without thinking what will I post. As the days passed by I was getting more and more confused about what to make.

Then one day, I was chatting with my friend who got married recently and she happened to tell me about the “virunnu”. Virunnu kodukkal or rather virunnu (as its popularly known) is an age old tradition that we have in Kerala. Soon after the wedding, the newly weds start getting invitation from their relatives and friends (from both sides) to visit them. Its a time where you get to know the family of your spouse in detail. Not to mention that the highlight of the virunnu is the grand feast prepared by the host for the newlyweds. Each host tries their best to impress the bride & groom with their masterpiece dish :)

Now when my friend mentioned the word virunnu, I suddenly thought about Ria. I was thinking what will be that special dish that I would like to prepare for them. Finally I zeroed in on kuttanadan duck roast. If you are a frequent visitor here at Ria’s place, am sure you might have noticed her love for Kuttanad or rather her “motherland” ;). So here I am with this Kuttanadan duck roast especially for you. Hope you both will like it. Let me tell you how happy I am that I could atleast give you a virtual “virunnu”.

Once again wish you both a beautiful married life!



Here is the recipe:

1. Duck – 1/2 kg (after cleaning)
2. Shallots (small onion) – 1/4 cup, chopped
   Ginger & garlic – 1 – 1.5 tsp, chopped
   Chilly powder – 1-1.5 tsp
   Coriander powder – 2-3 tsp
   Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
   Garam masala – 1 – 1.5 tsp
   Black pepper powder – 1/2 tsp
   Vinegar – 2 tbsp
   Salt
3. Curry leaves
4. Oil & ghee
5. Onion – 2, sliced finely
   
   For garnishing
6. Onion – 1 small, sliced finely
   Potato – 1 medium, cut into wedges & boiled
   Curry leaves

Grind number 2 ingredients into a fine paste. Marinate the cleaned duck pieces with half of the ground paste. Keep it aside for 1 hour.

Heat oil in a pan (you can use a combination of oil & ghee also) and shallow fry the marinated duck pieces till it turns golden brown colour. Keep it aside. In the same oil add the finely sliced onions & cook. When the onion becomes golden brown colour add the remaining half of the ground masala. Fry it till the oil starts appearing. Add 2 cups of boiling water to the onion and masala mix. Combine well.

Transfer the fried duck pieces and the onion gravy to a pressure cooker. Cook till the duck is done. The cooking time varies depending on the type of duck (broiler or free range).Once the pressure is gone, open the cooker & cook till the gravy thickens. This curry usually doesn’t have much gravy, so you need to cook till the water is almost dried and each piece is thickly coated with the masala. Transfer the duck pieces to a serving dish and garnish with fried onions, potatoes & curry leaves. Serve hot with rice or appam.

For garnishing

Heat oil/ghee in a pan and fry the boiled potato wedges, remove from pan, In the same oil fry the thinly sliced onions & curry leaves.

Notes: I cooked the duck with skin on. Since I used a broiler duck, I cooked it for 5-6 whistles on high flame.

Thank you SO much Maria for doing this for me! Muah! We thoroughly enjoyed the virtual 'virunnu'!