Ria's Collection: KUTTANADAN DUCK ROAST a virtual' virunnu' and a happy blog!

Sunday, January 31, 2010

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'!

16 Comments:

Priya dharshini said...

Anything in ria's collection are best and out of the world...Best wishes to ria and jobin..

Tina said...

Ingane kothipikkalle dear.....Duck oru wkns anu...ettavum fav...ivide irunnu vellam irikkukaye raksha ullooooo

Shabs.. said...

Congrats to Ria and Jobin on their wedding..!
The post was really beauttttttiful and the pics are fantastic.
Iam a great fan of Mariasmenu as well.....have tried many of her recipes and they all came out well....She is a sweet sweet lady. And i am a regular visitor Of rias collectiosn...
You both rock....keep up the good work.

Love,
shab.

Divya Kudua said...

So happy to see your blog back in action.How are you doing manavatty??

The virunnu looks lovely and I'm sure Maria has made it extra special for the newly-married[or abt to marry:)]couple!!

All the best to you guys!!

Maria..great post:)

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

All my best wishes for you Ria. May God bless you and Jobin a beautiful life of togetherness and bliss.

RV @ Food for 7 Stages said...

Lovely post Maria... Can we be friends too :)
Ria you have been blessed with wonderful friends.... Best wishes to you and jobin...

Jobin said...

Hello Maria,

Thank you very much for the post and especially in sharing the lines from your wedding card, it has to be coincidence, the last line is what I have engraved on our wedding slicer. I am just soo excited. The Duck Roast looks yummy, I need to taste it :)

Thanks,
Jobin

Twinsy Rachel said...

Nice to see RC is being alive n kicking :) Tx to both Ria n Maria. It was so sweet of Maria to give Ria n Jobin a virtual virunnu... Though I havent commented on Maria's Menu before despite being a silent follower, I know that Maria can always come up with something yummy.. :-) God Bless...

Ria, counting days huh??

Y said...

What a fabulous post! And all the best to you for your wedding preparations, Ria.

Deepa Jagarlapoodi said...

i just visited your Blog...i love kerala vegetarian recipes..hope to have more n more of them

Malar Gandhi said...

I love duck meat, very tasteee:)

Unknown said...

Thank you all :)

@ Jobin - You are welcome to Bahrain anytime :) and once again Wish you both a wonderful married life!!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful post...Lovely dish....and Congrats!

Haddock said...

That looks great.
Can the duck be replaced by Chicken ?

Ria Mathew said...

Thank you all SO much for your kind wishes!

Haddock- Yes, you can try it with chicken too! :)

Unknown said...

Now there's a great guest post! Very sweet post.. Love those lines! The duck looks delicious!

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