Pandi Curry for a Piggy Potluck

Some of us on The Porkaholics group got together for a piggy potluck and I decided to cook the classic Coorgi Pandi Curry. The main motivation for me was the fact that I had kachampuli, the specific sour vinegar that the Kodavas use. I had eaten pandi curry made by Megha and had always hoped to make it myself, and the potluck was the perfect opportunity. 

I asked Megha for her recipe and I followed it to the T. Pandi curry was surprisingly easy to make and it turned out to be quite a hit at the potluck. 

Here is the recipe once again, adjusted for the 3 kilos of pork I cooked for 10 adults. Many people got to take some home :) 

Megha Deokule's Pandi Curry 

3 kilos fatty pork meat, cubed into small pieces

50 cloves of garlic roughly pounded 

4 sprigs curry leaves

2 medium onions, sliced

6 green chillies, slit

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp red chilly powder

5 tbsp coriander or dhania powder dry roasted on a tava till brown

2 tbsp kachampuli vinegar

Salt as required

Dry Masala 

3 tbsp jeera or cumin seeds

3 tbsp whole black pepper

8 cloves

8 inch cassia bark or dalchini

In a large thick bottomed vessel mix the pork cubes with the pounded garlic, curry leaves, slit green chillies, onions, turmeric and chilli powders. Mix well, add some water and bring to a boil. Lower the flame and cook this on slow heat till the meat is about three/fourths cooked. This should take an hour or so. Make sure to stir it about once in a way as it cooks. 

Now add the dry ground garam masala, the kachampuli, the roasted coriander powder and salt and cook it further till the meat is fully done. Give it an occasional stir. I reduced the gravy as much as I could and ended up with a fatty spicy thick gravy that was really, really delicious.  

Traditionally Pandi curry is served with Akki Roti (rice rotis) or Kadambuttu (round idli like dumplings made with rava or semolina). We had it with regular sliced bread and rice. 

Cook the pandi curry a day in advance if you can. The flavours develop really nicely. Megha also advises that you heat it only on a flame and never in the microwave. 

I was very surprised to see how simple this preparation actually is. The magic, according to me, is in cooking it slowly. I love pork and this was one of the best I have ever cooked! 

Marathon Bloggers Project 52

Pork Shops in Mumbai - well, some of them

I love pork. I love it so much I started a group, The Porkaholics, on Facebook just to connect with other pork-mad people and drool over porkalicious pictures, photos, recipes and exchange information.

Many, many months ago I thought of doing a round of pork shops in Mumbai and simply putting together a list in one place, on this blog. However, I took the lazy way out and simply created a document on The Porkaholics page and left it at that. That was a good thing because many members added information and we have contributions not just from Mumbai but from all over the country!

Still, the blog post was due and here it finally is. The entire credit for all the research on this one goes to my friend Jubal who happily drove me around the city and helped me locate as many shops as we could. In fact, he'd sat with his Dad and Mum and compiled a list of shops and where to find them before we set out.

This list is far from complete but it was such fun wandering around Bombay, locating shops in alleys and by lanes, driving around from New Bombay till Mazgaon, and seeing much more than just the pork shops themselves.

The first shop we went to is the one where Jubal and his family regularly shop at, called Himalaya Cold Storage. This one's on Nahur road in Mulund.

This is the list of goodies available

And this is the man in charge, Mr. Kishore

I asked Mr. Kishore about other pork shops and he mentioned his brother's shop in Vikhroli. Another brother runs a shop in Vashi and that one is called Hilton and is very well known in all of New Bombay. An interesting thing that Mr. Kishore told us was that his family was in the pork business with many shops all over the place including one in Dahisar. The family shops can be recognised by the shop names - all of them begin with 'Hi' after his grandfather's name (which unfortunately I have forgotten)

The Vashi shop, Hilton Cold Storage is in sector 17. The phone number is 27880899 and the address is Shop no. 34, Raikar Bhawan, Sector 17, Plot 9, Vashi.

For those in Navi Mumbai Hypercity in the Inorbit Mall stocks a few imported cold cuts and a good selection of frozen pork products like Sumeru ham, bacon, sausages, and some other brands too. If you're in Nerul there's an excellent shop just outside the railway station called Modern Cold Storage. Tel - 27701582. This shop stocks fresh pork along with a good range of frozen and processed meats.

In Kharghar there is Jambon Stores in Sector 20.

Hilltop Cold Storage is in Vikhroli.

Jubal and I drove to Vikhroli and found D'souza Cold Storage which is bang opposite the church. Hilltop, pictured above, is just around the corner.

Jubal's Dad had highly recommended a shop in Sakinaka on the Pipe road. We hunted high and low and finally found the shop. The only tragedy was that it was no longer a pork shop but was selling Tshirts instead. Fortunately Jubal is the persistent type and he asked around in the neighbouring shops if there was a pork shop nearby and we hit gold!

After walking through an old wada like building we came upon a village neatly tucked in the heart of the crowded Saki Naka area. In this little village was the St.Anthony Pork and Meat Shop.

After our little adventure in Saki Naka we drove on towards south Bombay. It was afternoon and many of the shops on our list were closed. They would reopen in the evening.

We found the Wadala shop open. Poona Farm Products is another wonderful shop that stocks not only fresh pork and a variety of frozen pork products, they also sell pork vindaloo, sorpotel and a few other cooked goodies.

Further south at Dockyard Road we discovered a municipal market that houses a massive fish section, and separate mutton, beef and pork sections! Unfortunately the shops were closed for the afternoon. The place looked quite clean so if you're in the area or nearby don't hesitate to go there. Just ask anyone in the area and they will be happy to show you where the market is. It is across the BPT road that is parallel to P D'Mello road.

We doubled back and went to Kalina to nail down another pork shop. Modern Fresh Meat.

There are many, many more shops all over the city. Quite a few of them are listed here on this document that I have created on The Porkaholics page.

Marathon Bloggers Project 52