Erachi Varattiyathu - Meat Fry

Now that the Christmas is around the corner, a meat recipe for the family gathering. Kerala Christians are so good at cooking the meat as Ularthiyathu or Varathiyathu. Here is a recipe to try with a meat of your choice. (Use the meat of your preference, pork or beef for this recipe) Merry Christmas to my christian friends !!

Ingredients

1 kilo - Erachi /Meat

To dry roast, powder & marinate

5 tbsp - Coriander powder
1 tbsp - Red chili powder
1 tsp - Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp - Black pepper powder
2 - Cinnamon sticks
4 - Cloves
1 - Black cardamom / Badi Elaichi ( click for pic )
1 - Star Anise / Takkolam
1 to 2 tsp - Fennel seeds/ Perumjeerakam 

Grind Coarsely

5 flakes - Garlic
1 inch piece - Ginger
Few curry leaves

Seasoning

1 big - Onion , thinly sliced
1/2 cut - Coconut, cut to small bits
Curry leaves

Method

1 ) Dry roast the spices( Cinnamon, clove, black cardamom, star anise, fennel ) till the aroma comes out and add that to a blender. Then dry roast the powders on low heat, till the color changes to a deep color. Add to the blender and make a powder with the spices.

2 ) Grind coarsely garlic and ginger. Add few curry leaves and just crush.

3 ) Add the ground powder and coarsely ground to the meat. Add salt to taste and marinate for half an hour.

4 ) Place the meat in utensil to cook or pressure cook. (The meat you get in USA cooks very fast. So you don't have to pressure cook.)

5 ) Cook the meat on a low heat, covered with a lid. When the meat starts cooking, some water will come out and it will cook in that water. If not add very little water and cook covered. Cook till the meat is well cooked and all the water is used up.

6 ) In a pan fry the coconut pieces to a light golden color. Take off the pan and set aside. Add sliced onion to the pan and fry to a golden brown. Add curry leaves.

7 ) Add this to the cooked meat, stir and fry the meat adding more oil. (If you have not trimmed off the fat from the meat, you can fry in it's oil. If you have trimmed off all the fat then add more oil to fry)

Serve as a starter or as a side dish. Garnish with lemon wedges and onion rings.
Note
This is a spicy dish. Reduce the spicy level by reducing the quantity of red chili and black pepper.