Pork Baffat

Pork Baffat, Mangalore style. (Pics by June Carvalho)

ALL Mangalorean Catholics love their pork. Sounds like a generalisation, but find me one who doesn't (?!) and I'll alter my statement a bit.

No feast or celebration in the community, with the exception of the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady (celebrated on September 8) is complete without a pork dish, be it a baffat, sorpotel, indad or a roast. Pork baffat with soft, spongy sannas is the classic combination. Baffat is a somewhat spicy gravy, with just the right hint of sourness to balance the spice and bring it all together with the strong and pungent aromas of onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies. The smells wafting out of the kitchen while it's cooking away are, well what shall I say, simply glorious.

In Bangalore, baffat powder can be readily found in any Mangalore Store or at the ham shop on Hutchins Road as well as the one on Buddha Vihara Road, opposite Frazer Town Police Station. Also at Lusitania on Mosque Road, Frazer Town. If you happen to visit Mangalore, do step into Raysons, opposite Moti Mahal hotel on Falnir Road renowned for their superior quality baffat powder and a host of other masala powders that make Mangalorean Catholic cooking a breeze.

CLASSIC COMBO: Pork Baffat with Sannas

What you need:

1kg pork
500 gm onion
3-4 tbsps baffat powder
6 green chillies
3 pods garlic
3" piece ginger
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
1-2 tbsp vinegar
3-4 bay leaves
Salt to taste

Cut the pork into small pieces. Halve the green chillies lengthwise. Chop the ginger and dice the onion. Separate and peel the cloves of garlic from the pod and halve each lengthwise. Mix all the ingredients with the pork, add half a cup of water and set aside to marinate for an hour or two. Cover and cook on slow heat until meat is tender and the fat floats on top. Serve hot with sannas.

 PS: Do not add additional water as the onions and meat release moisture in the cooking process. The gravy should be a bit thick. Add water, preferably hot water, a little at a time, only if it's too dry. Adjust spice to suit your taste.

Caipirinha

MY No.1 favourite cocktail is the caipirinha (pronounced kai-pur-een-yah), made from cachaca (pronounced ka-sha-sa), Brazil's national drink. I simply love it. Understatement. How I discovered cachaca and the caipirinha and the lengths to which I went to procure my first bottle with the active involvement of the spouse, is the stuff of another tale. Suffice it to say that when I first read about it in a newspaper column, I was intrigued enough to find out more and instantly knew that I had to have it. 

Though cachaca is popularly referred to as Brazilian rum, there's a subtle difference between the two. At the most you can say they're cousins with a common source of origin - sugarcane. But while cachaca is distilled from fermented sugarcane juice, rum is derived from the molasses left over after the process of sugar production. 

I chilled out with this one after a really tiring day. A fabulous drink to unwind with. 

CAIPIRINHA (Pics by June Carvalho)

For a caipirinha, you need really simple ingredients: ice cubes, lime, sugar and of course, cachaca. Understandably, there are many brands of cachaca, but I use one called Cachaca 51 Pirassununga (because that's the only brand available at my source). Nothing like using Brazilian limes for the drink with their wonderful, refreshing citrus aroma, although some suggest using lemons. But since neither can be found so easily where we live, one can make do with the yellow limes commonly available in our Indian markets, although their skins are not as aromatic as their South American relatives. However, whenever I get a supply of Brazilian limes from an unnamed source, which is fairly often, they're reserved for exclusive use in this cocktail! Psst...there are still a few of them in my fridge... enough for a dozen cocktails...enough to keep me pleasantly drunk and happy until the next lot (of limes) arrives around end of July and to anyone else who'd care to drop in and have a drink with me, it's always happy hour!

What you need for 1 serving:

• 1/2 a Brazilian lime, cut in quarters
• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
• Ice cubes
• 60 ml cachaca

In an old-fashioned glass, muddle the lime with sugar to release the juice and essential oils from the skins of the lime. Fill glass with ice cubes. Pour cachaca over. Swirl. Now sip! 

If you don't have cachaca, use vodka to make a caipiroska. If you use a light rum, I'm told it's called a caipirissima!

Reduce sugar if you prefer it less sweet. 

Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney

Ridge Gourd Peel Chutney

I had never imagined that a spicy, tangy chutney could result from the peel of a ridge gourd. I tried it out for myself and was delighted by the outcome - an instant pep-up to a simple meal of rice, dal and vegetables and superb also with ragi dosas.


Use the peel of a tender ridge gourd, which is not stringy and fibrous.


A lot of the nutritious elements are contained in the peels of fruits and vegetables, which we mindlessly throw away. So the next time you're about to discard the ridge gourd peel, think again. And just keep 'em guessing...coz it's difficult to tell what this chutney was made of until you disclose the ingredients. 

What you need:

Peel of a tender ridge gourd

1 tbsp urad dal

3 dry red chillies

1/2" piece of ginger

A pinch of cumin seed

1 sprig of curry leaves

A small ball of tamarind

1 tablespoon oil

Salt to taste.

Boil the ridge gourd peel in a cup of water, to which a pinch of salt has been added, for about five minutes. Heat oil in a small pan and fry the urad dal till light brown. Add the red chillies and cumin seed, giving it all a quick stir. Then add the curry leaves. Stir. Remove from heat. Cool completely and grind with the drained peel, tamarind, ginger and salt to taste.

Bali and Babi Guling

TOP of my list of dishes to tuck into in Bali was babi guling or roast suckling pig. Babi = pig. Not sure whether we could make it to Ibu Oka in Ubud, made famous by Anthony Bourdain, we ordered babi guling at a warung (a warung is a typically family-run cafe, restaurant or business) on the road from Mengwi to Bedugul. The babi guling came in a shallow woven basket which was double-lined with grease-proof paper and banana leaf. There was a mound of red rice, over which were tender, succulent shreds of meat with thick gravy, some crisp, shiny brown crackling and crisp, deep fried slices of innards like liver and God-knows-what-else on the side, a piece of sausage, some water spinach and a chicken satay.

We also got a coconut shell bowlful of spicy broth, of the peppery kind that drives away a cold. None of us were suffering from a cold, but it did serve to whet our appetites! The suckling pig is stuffed with tapioca leaves (pardon my ignorance, but it was the first time I heard that tapioca leaves were edible! I thought it was only the root!) and vegetables mixed with a variety of local spices and spit-roasted over a fire of dried coconut shells, the last bit explained by Wayan Agus, our tour driver & guide. I detected the taste of yellow curry paste or base gede in it. The dish was good for a change but given a choice though, I prefer pork as a baffat, sorpotel or indad any day, to be mopped up with soft, spongy sannas.

In Ubud, we stepped into Ibu Oka, despite gorging on a sumptuous meal complete with a soup and a dessert that we cooked along with 12 other foreign tourists in a Balinese home cooking class. It was my niece who wanted to try a plate of babi guling here. Her verdict? Really good! I sampled a spoonful, but my taste-buds were too saturated from the heavy lunch to record any impression. I sipped on sweet, tender coconut water instead...

Bali on my plate

ONE of the highlights of my recent trip to Bali was the food. From the fresh, cheap and tasty fare dished out by the humble carts and the warungs to the swish restaurants, there was an amazing world of Balinese culinary delights waiting to be explored. There was nasi goreng, mee goreng, babi guling, rujak bali, chicken and fish satay, urab, gado gado, bakso ayam, cap cay (pronounced chap chai), fried tempeh, tuna steamed in banana leaf, yellow chicken curry, pisang goreng, ikan goreng with nasi and soup and grilled seafood marinated in Balinese bumbu (spices) that we had on Jimbaran beach, all washed down with Bintang beer. Happily none of us came down with the dreaded Bali belly.

Common condiments and spices employed in Balinese cooking are ginger that includes galangal and two lesser types of it, garlic, fresh turmeric, peanuts, candle nuts or macadamia nuts, terasi or dried shrimp paste (quite smelly but indispensable to most dishes), small green Balinese limes, hot bird's eye chillis, white and black pepper, coriander,lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, shallots, fresh cinnamon leaves and coconut. The amalgamation of all these results in an eclectic mix of flavours, the spice and lemon complementing each other like best buddies. Spices and ingredients are manually ground or pounded in a mortar and pestle that might seem laborious in today's times when electrical appliances do all the hard work, but that's how it's done to retain freshness. No Balinese cook will ever grumble that it's hard work.

Fish, chicken and pork are widely cooked and although beef is available it is generally avoided by the largely Hindu populace. In fact, seeing that you're Indian and therefore presuming you're Hindu, the hotel's restaurant staff will immediately warn you that "it's beef," you're pointing at as an add-on to your breakfast omelette. A common remark encountered, especially from hotel staff was: "You Indian? I Hindu", probably expecting a reply like "Yes. I too Hindu", but I would simply smile and nod in affirmation, rather than launch into a long-winding explanation on the religious and cultural diversity of India. The staple food is rice, harvested four times a year, and eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner in traditional Balinese homes along with accompaniments of meat and vegetables. They produce red, black and white rice.

In most homes, rice is cooked early in the morning, and small portions of it is then spooned into tiny baskets made out of coconut palm fronds or banana leaves and left outside homes as a daily offering. The offering baskets themselves are pretty and speak of the creativity of Balinese women, who keep their hands always busy even as they are chatting away.

Floral offerings are also common, placed in temples, outside homes and establishments. There was always a fresh floral offering basket on the extreme right corner of the dashboard of our vehicle, which our tour driver Wayan Agus proudly claimed was his wife's handiwork.

Mussels and mussels...alive alive-o!

FISHERFOLK are engrossed in separating clumps of freshly picked mussels at the Kundapur waterfront, on the Konkan coast of Karnataka. (Apr 30, 2012). The scene brought to mind the popular, old Irish song Molly Malone, in which Molly the fishmonger, plies her trade through the streets of Dublin, singing "...cockles and mussels, alive alive-o." This catch was indeed as alive alive oh as it could get. The asking price? INR 400 for 100 mussels.

(Above & below): It's a scenic walk along the Kundapur waterfront, although some careless litter here and there acts as a scene spoiler.

What was that again...?

During a recent visit to Karnad.... I was so amused by these signboards that I had to capture them instantly...

(Above) Drums Trick?? Let's leave that to the drummer shall we?

(Above) FOR PET LOVERS ONLY - PUPS FOR SALE: What happens when certain words get "transliterated" from Kannada to English? Puffs turn into pups!