Porkkum Kayayum / Pork with Raw Banana

This post is a dedication to all pork lovers, and who does not make a fussy face in front of a pork dish!!

Hailing from a place known for pork & pork dishes, I will not let go a chance of cooking pork for guests who enjoy it. Recently we had a Goan friend visiting us, and me and my husband were thrilled at the chance of getting to cook & eat pork.

The recipe below is adapted from Mishmash's, however adjusted to our taste. I love my grandmom's idea of adding raw banana to the pork dish, as it gives something other than meat to chew on in between. The sight of raw banana skin cooked & coated with pork fat itself makes me drool.

So straight into the recipe..

Cubed pork - 1 kg (it should be a good mix of meat & fatty chunks, as the fat adds an un-explainable flavor to the dish. Moreover, it is this fat that is used for sauteing the onions...no other oil is used).

Coriander powder - 4 tbsp
Chilly powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 1 big pod
Ginger - a 4 inch piece
Salt - as per taste

Raw banana (pacha ethakkaya) - 2

Big onion - 2 big, thinly sliced
Small onion - 8 - 10, thinly sliced (this is optional, as small onion adds flavor, as well as good for health)
Chilly - 5-6 nos, slit lengthwise
Black pepper powder - 2 tsp
Garam masala - 3 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Method

Wash the pork thoroughly and marinate the meat with slightly roasted coriander powder, chilly powder, salt & turmeric powder. Now add crushed ginger & garlic to the meat and mix thoroughly with hand. Set aside this for 30 min.

Wash & clean the raw banana, cut into cubes and cook with little salt, turmeric powder & enough water. Once cooked, drain excess water and keep aside.

Pressure cook the marinated pork with around half cup water (I normally cook it for 1 whistle in high flame & 3 whistles in low flame). Let all the pressure gets released.

Meanwhile, keep a heavy bottomed kadai or manchatti (manchatti is the best!) on the stove and let it get hot.
Once the pressure has been released from pressure cooker, open the cooker & drain the pork fat into the chatti. Let the fat boil in the chatti for sometime. This is to remove the water traces from the fat.
Once the fat is hot enough, add thinly sliced big & small onions and saute well in the fat.
Once the onions are translucent, add the slit chillies, and throw in some curry leaves. Let them get sauteed well, stirring in between.
Now add half the black pepper & 1 tsp of freshly made garam masala and saute for a min.
Add the cooked meat & raw banana to this mixture and combine well.
Let the meat get cooked in the masala for atleast 7-8 min. Don't forget to stir in between (This stage is a dangerous one, as a nice aroma starts filling your kitchen, and you just cannot stop yourself from tasting the erachikashanam and the neykashanam alternately).
While the meat gets soaked & sauteed in the masala, sprinkle rest of black pepper & garam masala and mix well so that all masalas gets absorbed by the pork.

Serve hot with kuthari choru or even with chapathis...they taste great!!