KUTTANADAN DUCK ROAST

There was a time when I thought that my Instagram inbox would literally get stuck with the number of photos I was getting from you readers after making my Amma's Kuttanadan Chicken Roast. It's a phenomenal recipe and I cannot tell you how much it's been loved by everyone! Everytime I hear the word Chicken Roast or Duck Roast, it has a festive feel to it. Now that Christmas is literally around the corner, I thought I'd share my favourite Duck Roast recipe with you all so that you can put that one on your Christmas Menu this year! I don't know about you but my Christmas party menu is ALL set, already! So if you are like me and plan menus a over a month ahead of time, you are my people! :-)

I've made this recipe a number of times already and it gives consistent results each time. There's barely anything to do at all but at the end of it, you are rewarded with the most tastiest Duck Roast ever! I made this today to serve alongside Appam. So I made the gravy a little more loose than I would if I were to serve it with rice and kachiyamoru. So go with what you need it for. Usually duck is sold with skin-on. We use it as is and that's the ideal way to get the maximum flavor for the curry. I buy our duck from the Oriental store but the duck we get here are heavy on the skin and fat so I trim any excess or loose skin and discard it. I don't use the giblets,that also goes into the bin.

We are a duck-meat loving family. When I was in India, our duck always came from Pallikuttumma. It was and still is the most tastiest duck that I've ever eaten. The meat is dark and so good! Whenever we go to Pallikuttumma, Achamma aunty will make sure there's a duck curry on the table especially for Appa. Since Appa loves it so much, Amma would buy some and freeze it to take with us to Kannur. Amma's most favourite way of cooking a 'Tharavu' is by using her Ammachi's Tharavu Piralen recipe, which I agree is my favourite too!

Velliammachi passed away when I was three, around Zara's age. So I don't recollect eating anything that she made with her hands. I personally feel, heirloom recipes are the best possible ways to taste what your ancestors cooked. So whenever Amma makes Tharavu Piralen and whenever I make it at home, it gives me an extra special feel and I make that curry with the utmost care, love and attention.
While today's dish is Duck Roast which by the way is a recipe from one of my most used cookbooks - Ente Tharavdu Pachakam by Aswathy Mathan, it is again an heirloom recipe from the author's family. No wonder it tastes exceptional!

KUTTANADAN DUCK ROAST
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 kilo cleaned & cut duck

1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon khus khus,soaked in 2 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 tablespoon Kashmiri chili powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
6 cloves garlic
1 inch piece ginger
2 medium onions
10 pearl onions
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ghee
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon sliced pearl onions
Curry leaves
Thinly sliced fried potatoes, optional

Method: 
Grind together all the ingredients from white vinegar through salt into a fine paste. You don't have to add water, onions will take care of it.
Into a large pan, add the duck pieces and pour the ground paste over it. Mix well and let it marinate for an hour. Once the time is up, add 1 cup water and cook the duck covered on medium heat until it's almost cooked,about 35 minutes. Separate the almost-cooked pieces from the gravy.
In a large pan, preferably with tall sides to avoid spluttering, heat the coconut oil and add a couple sprigs of curry leaves. Add the duck pieces to it,a few pieces at a time and fry until golden on all sides. Repeat until all pieces are fried.
To the remaining oil, add the ghee and saute the sliced pearl onions. Pour the reserved gravy into it along with the fried duck pieces and let it come to a boil. It will thicken very quickly and darken in colour as well.
Adjust the consistency as per your need. Check for seasonings and serve garnished with thinly sliced and fried potatoes on top!

I cannot tell you enough how much I want you all to try this recipe. It's so good! Like I mentioned earlier, the gravy consistency is upto you. If it's to be served with Appam, it needs more gravy, so stop as soon as the gravy and pieces come to a boil. If you want to serve it with rice and kachiyamoru (deadly combo!!!), reduce further till the pieces gets coated with the gravy.

Ian and Zara love Duck Roast as much as we both do! Usually one kilo of chicken last for atleast two or three meals but when it's Duck Roast, it vanishes!

CHEMMEEN MANGATHOLI PAAL CURRY

Almost my entire childhood vacation at Kothamangalm in my Ammai's house included unlimited supply of Mangatholi along with plenty of Kappa Erachi,Cheeda and other goodies. Till a couple of years I thought Mangatholi was literally the sundried skin of raw mangoes.Only recently did I realize that it was the entire green mango flesh which were roughly cut up and dried under the sun along with salt till it was dehydrated and almost black in colour. That flavour of Mangatholi will be on my tongue until my last day. It is so good! Super tangy,salty pieces of mango which tastes like...the Sun!

Do you all like the smell of clothes dried under the scorching Sun? I do. It always reminds me of Pallikuttumma. All our clothes would be hung on the line and even on the pebbles on the ground to dry and in the evening when it's taken inside the house,it would be paper dry and smells like the Sun. If I were to close my eyes and take a deep breath, I can still smell those clothes of mine. Those were the days we carelessly roamed around everywhere wearing hand-me-downs,least bothered about how our hair looked like or how messy our face were after eating ripe and raw mangoes holding them as is. I miss my childhood. I really had a good one.

When I was pregnant with Zara, I craved for Mangatholi. That was when Jobin was travelling to India for work. I immediately Whatsapped Ammai and asked her if she had any stock. Of course, she did and she sent it to Amma and Jobin collected it from there and brought it all the way to Minneapolis. I wonder if those mangoes which were hanging on my Ammai's trees knew that they would end up in a dish in Minneapolis!

I usually eat them as is but off late, I've been using it instead of our Kudampuli/ Valanpuli for curries. They work just fine and provides such a rustic taste to the curry. When I came across this curry on YouTube, I had to give it a try right away. As I was cooking, I posted some videos of it on Instagram (which is currently where I am the most active...if you would like to get cooking updates ALL the time from me, you can follow me there! ) and I was flooded with requests to share the recipe. It's literally impossible to share recipes personally anymore because of time constraints and the lack of interest in typing out in detail using my phone. So I told them that I will share it here, so that all of you can view it and try it at home!

CHEMMEEN MANGATHOLI PAAL CURRY
Serves 6

Ingredients:
500g Shrimp,cleaned
2 inch piece ginger, crushed
1 medium onion,sliced fine
2-3 green chilies, slit
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 sprig curry leaves
Salt

About 1/3 -1/2 cup Mangatholi,soaked in 1/2 cup water*

1 1/4 cup thin coconut milk
1/2 cup thick coconut milk

For tempering:
3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
2 dried red chilies
1 sprig curry leaves
5 pearl onions, sliced
2 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

Method: In a meenchatti,add the shrimp,ginger,onion, chilies,spice powders,curry leaves, salt and 1 cup water. Cook on medium heat till the shrimp is half way done. Add the thin coconut milk, Mangatholi pieces along with the soaking water and cook covered until the shrimp is completely cooked.If the gravy is too thin at this point, cook the curry uncovered for 1-2 minutes. Add the thick coconut milk and bring it to a boil. Take it off the stove.
In a small pan, heat the oil and crackle the mustard seeds.Add the dried red chilies, curry leaves and shallots and fry till the shallots starts to turn colour. Turn the heat to low and add in the spice powders.Cook stirring well for 20 seconds. Turn off the heat and pour the tempering over the curry. Check for seasonings and serve hot with rice!

* You can use one raw green mangoes pieces instead. Just make sure you don't over cook the shrimp or the mango pieces. You can use Kudampuli too,if green mangoes are unavailable.

This is an AMAZING curry! It's tangy and spicy. Since the shrimp doesn't take that long to get cooked, the ginger and onion pieces retain their shape so you get a bite of it every once in a while. This curry is best served with plain rice. Ian loved it. Jobin is in India for work right now,so that's why you don't get to hear about him much these days. So do let me know if you try this curry, you will love it for sure! In the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram here!

I have some news for Kannur people! Amma and her fellow YWCA members have opened a cafe and guest house  right next to St. Teresa's School in Burnacherry. The quaint little cafe,originally a British cottage,serves homemade food made exclusively by Amma and two other members. It's called Cafe Y and it's open from 9 am till 7 pm. Please visit when time permits!

A CHRISTMAS SPREAD - MEDIA MENTION

It was just before I left for India this time that I saw an email in my inbox from Grihalakshmi, a fortnighty magazine from Kerala. They asked me if I was willing to do a Christmas menu spread for their magazine. Initially, I was not very sure if I would be able to do it because from the day I would land in India, a week long journey was planned already. Since the team was very flexible with their dates, I accepted the offer and the rest is history,as you see it. The shoot happened in our home, in Kannur and it was a fun filled, labour intensive one yet worth every drop of sweat shed!
This was published on 15 December 2014 but,since we were travelling I couldn't update you all earlier. It's better late than never, right?

Menu:

Rich Hot Chocolate

American Buttermilk Pancakes

Bell Pepper Tempura with Chili Garlic Sauce

Easy Quiche

Cheesy Cauliflower & Sweet Corn Mini Pie

Ginger & Soy Baked Chicken

Grilled Chicken & Pasta Salad

Mango Fizz

Mango Pudding Cake

Mocha Truffles