Pork Bafad

Pork is a favorite amongst the Christians; Goans, Mangaloreans or East Indians love their pork preparations with a gusto that one can say is borderline crazy. Cholestrol can go take a hike, we love our "dukramaas". There can't be any celebration that is complete without pork preparartion. Well "Pork bafad" is a Mangalorean pork preparartion that has its own place of honor. No roce, wedding, christmas, birthday (you get the drift ;-)) can be celebrated without pork bafad. Atleast that's how it is done in my family. Infact my husband is amazed at how much pork my family and I can gorge in one go ;-), he thinks we ought to get a prize just for that.

I'm sure others enjoy it too, but there are no definite statistics to prove that :-). There are many variations to the recipe I have share below. Some prefer too many onions - this adds to the gravy and make it a bit sweet. Others prefer too much spice. I've tried various recipes and this won the most votes in my family. So this recipe is a family recipe now. This recipe was printed in my parish bulletin and was shared by a senior citizen, whose name unfortunately I did not capture. But God bless her, its an awesome recipe and if you do try it and like it you know who to thank !

Ingredients:

1. Pork - 1 kg
2. Onions - 3 nos medium (Cubed)
3. Ginger - 1 inch (chopped finely)
4. Garlic - 1 pod (chopped finely)
5. Green chillies - 3 nos (slit)
6. Cloves - 6 nos
7. Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
8. Bay leaves - 2 -3 nos
9. Vinegar - to taste
10. Salt - to taste

The below ingredients to be ground:

1. Kashmiri chillies - 15 nos
2. Peppercorns - 10 nos
3. Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
4. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
5. Tamarind - 1/2 a lemon sized ball (soaked in warm water)

Grind the above using water.

Method:

1. Cut the pork into 1 inch cubes. Wash well and drain excess water.
2. In a pan large enough to hold all ingredients, put the pork, add the ground masala and all ingredients. Mix well and switch on the gas.
3. Use water to clean the mixie jar. Do not use any more water than that for the preparation.
4. Bring the meat to a boil, lower the flame and let it cook for 25 -30 minutes.
5. Continue cooking till dissolved fat appears on top or until the meat is tender. This could take anywhere between 45 mins to an hour.
6. Check for spice and salt.
7. Tastes best with Sannas or pau.

* Note: Pork tastes best when the preparation is allowed to rest atleast for a couple of hours, better still for a day.