COORG PANDI CURRY for 10 years of food blogging!

I

honestly don't know where to begin or what to talk about first. This little blog of mine turns 10 years old today. 10 years ago on this day, I started typing a recipe on a platform called Blogger, not knowing that once the post was published, the whole world could see it! I realized it after I received the very first comment ever on my very first post...a simple Chocolate Biscuit Pudding! That's all I knew (rather, didn't know!) about the whole new world of food blogging! Ritchie, my brother, pointed out that blogging might be easier than typing out recipes via emails. I just listened to him and named my blog 'Ria's Collection', the name I had given to my most precious handwritten recipe diary.

Now. This food blogging thing is everywhere. Everybody knows about it and everyone follows some blog or the other to get recipes and ideas. I mean, it is so common. 10 years ago, there were hardly a handful. I don't think I even spoke about it to my parents. Only when recognitions started pouring in  from all sides did I even think about telling them. I mean, it was just a thing that I did after I came back home from work...what's there to talk about it,right? :)

One thing I know for sure is that my intention for this space was and still is to share recipes and talk about what's going on in my life in general. I have met and interacted with so many of you via emails, chats, WhatsApp messages and even face to face at various,mostly unexpected places (think elevators!) . It always felt nice and it always made me feel that I am doing something right. I have made so many extremely good friends in real life through my food blog. What I am trying to say is that, this little space of mine on the internet has given me a whole lot more than what I have put into it. And that feels awesome! You dear readers, you have been such a wonderful bunch of people and thank you so much for still reading Ria's Collection even though I have been terrible at updating it these days.

Now, let's get back to business. Cooking that is! This time on our way back to the airport from Kannur, I stopped at a small store in Coorg to buy some Kachampuli & Paaputtu Thari to carry back with me to Minneapolis. But. I had to leave it behind at the very last minute due to excess weight. When I got here, our friend Z shared a bottle from his stash and there was no looking back! I went and bought some Pork that day itself and made this excellent dish!

The very first time I had this curry, I honestly didn't like it. We bought it from a lady who was selling it at a tourist spot in Coorg. It was greenish in colour and tasted really bad. But,whenever I heard people raving about it, I was convinced that there must be something good about that dish if it had to be so popular. So I decided to try this recipe at home and I am so glad that I did! It was exceptionally good!

COORG PANDI CURRY
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 kilo pork shoulder, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt

For Coorg Black Masala:
4 teaspoons Coriander seeds
2 teaspoons peppercorns
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

Crush together:
100 grams pearl onions
10-12 green chilies
2 inch piece ginger
10 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves

2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 sprig curry leaves
1 teaspoon Kachampuli

Method:
Keep aside 5-6 fatty pieces of the pork and marinate the remaining using red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt for 1 hour.Dry roast the spices and grind it to a fine powder.Coarsely crush together the ingredients mentioned using a mortar & pestle or by using the smallest mixie jar.

Heat a heavy bottomed pan on medium high heat and add the fatty pork pieces. Toss them around till they render their fat. Remove the pieces and put it along with the marinated pork. There should be around 2 tablespoons of rendered fat.
If needed, add 2 more tablespoons of oil into the pot along with the pork fat and saute the curry leaves and crushed paste till its are well cooked and turns brown in colour. If it's sticking too much, add a little bit more of oil.

Add the marinated pork, 1/2 cup water,salt and cook covered until the pork is almost cooked,approximately 35 minutes. Add a bit of water if needed, it shouldn't be too dry.
Once the pork is almost cooked,add the black masala and kachampuli and cook for another 10 minutes.

By this time, the curry should be dark brown in colour. Uncover the pot and keep tossing the pieces till it turns black in colour. It should not burn, adjust the heat as necessary. It will take about 4-5 minutes.
If you want it to be a curry, add a splash of water and let it come to a boil once the pork has attained the black colour. I have made it almost dry and that's what you see in the photos above.
Serve hot with Rice, Rotis, Paaputtu, Appam, Neer Dosa, Benne Kadamputtu etc.

This curry needs attention towards the end if you want to get that authentic colour for it.  So pay close attention during the last few minutes. You most likely won't need a lot of oil since the pork is fatty and it will cook in its own fat. So don't add a lot of oil to begin with or while frying towards the end.
Now, for Kachampuli substitutes. It's a thick jet black concentrate made from Kudampuli and tastes exactly like Kudampuli. It very very strong and a little goes a long way. It's just 1 teaspoon for 1 kilo of Pork.So there is no direct substitute. Try not to use vinegar because it will only give you the tanginess and not the colour. I think, sambar tamarind would be a better substitute. Try to extract a thick paste and add according to your taste.

Our hearts were won by this dish. It's really spicy with all the green chilies, red chili powder & black pepper in it. Try it, you will love it! I served them alongside Paaputtu, another Coorg special made from rice & coconut.

It gives me goosebumps when I think that so many of you have been reading this blog of mine for a decade now. When I started writing it 10 years ago, I had just finished my Masters and started a new job as a Consultant Merchandiser for Parry Murray, UK. Then our wedding got fixed and you saw a lot of wedding preparations that were shared here. After our wedding, I moved to USA in 2010. Then three homes, a Vanitha Pachakarani title, 2 kids, various media mentions, TV shows and a graduation from Le Cordon Bleu...here I am 10 years later! The past 10 years have been one of the most exciting times in my life so far. There have been so many changes in my life and by God's grace, it's all been positive! I wonder how the next 10 years is going to be! :-) And before I forget, Happy 10th Birthday Dear Bloggie!

Thanks for stopping by! Do come back!