Assmese Pork Recipes

This time, I want to share a few very popular dishes from Assam with you in a different way. Basically, I was thinking, to make this post a bit personalized rather than just sharing only the recipe.

By this time you might have formed some idea, that Assam is really a land of rich amalgamation of many cultures, tribes, customs and food habits. Over a period of time, the typical dishes of many communities/ tribes have influenced and have got influenced by various cooking methods and styles of other communities. The popular dishes from Assam at the present day therefore reflect this trend and you can not really separate one from another, with respect to authenticity and origin. Having said that, I again would like to put the disclaimer, that, every cook has her/his own style and trademark preparation method.

Now, coming to pork dishes, I really find it very amazing, how pork has taken the place for most favorite meat in recent times among the people of Assam. Originally, not many communities used to consume pork as their main non-vegetarian side dish due to various religious and social restrictions. But, of late, more and more people have started having pork, either as a family habit or by discovering the awesome taste of the ingenious authentic pork dishes which different tribes of the region have been cooking. Today, if you ask any youth from Assam, what’s your favorite meat, 70% chances are there that the answer will be Pork.

In Assamese, we call it Gahori. It has many other names though e.g. Assam Tractor. I really don’t know what the origin of this name is or who coined it first, but I guess, you can really make out, why it is called so. Whatever you may call it, I am sure, you would definitely enjoy the following dishes which I am going to talk here today.

Although, there are many popular pork recipes which people of Assam and NE India prepare and serve, I am going to talk about mostly about three very must have dishes. They are:

Pork Curry with Lai Xaak (Mustard spinach/ tendergreen)
Pork with Gaanj Tenga (Chilly Pork Curry in Bamboo Shoot)
Chilly Dry Fried Pork

There are some basic things with pork dishes if you really want to taste it in the Assamese way.

First, you should get the most appropriate type of pork meat. I am not an authority on pork, but I have heard the meat from lower neck and lower belly part tastes the best. Then you need to get the meat cut down into smaller pieces so that you can cook it well it in a curry form. An ideal pork piece can be cut in such a way, where you get both fat and little bit of meat with the skin. (See photo)

Second, the usages of spices in Assamese pork dishes. As mentioned in many places throughout various posts in this blog, Assamese dishes do not require much of spices, and its especially applicable for pork dishes. You don’t have to use any of the garam masalas which you might have used for mutton or chicken. What you need for pork dishes are only garlic, ginger and green chilies.

Third thing is, if you get some tender pork meat, then its very good. Otherwise, make sure, you cook the meat till its soft and tender. If the pieces with skin is soft, then you can assume, its done. You also need to make sure; you wash and clean the meat properly before cooking to avoid hygiene issues.

Fourth, you don’t have to use any additional oil to make the curry. You can make the curry in the pork fat itself.

Before getting into the details of the recipes, let me mention a few names without whom my pork fiesta would not have been completed. They are the guys who really helped me to taste, appreciate, understand and experiment pork at various point of time by sharing their ingenious trademark recipes.

Thanks Ghananil for your special dry fried pork. Thanks Debajyoti for your pork and laai xaak recipe. Thanks Jeet for your naga style bamboo shoot pork recipe. Thanks Utpal, Parashar, Anupom, and Himangshu et al for tolerating my experiment with pork and for your praises.

Thanks to all those buddies with whom I had the chance to have Assam tractor licking my fingers on so many occasions.

Thanks to my better half too for letting me cook pork the way I want.

Pork Curry with Lai Xaak (Mustard spinach/ tender green)

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients:

Fresh Pork Meat (cut into small pieces as shown in the photo) 1 K.G.

Laai Xaak (Mustard Greens) [BTW, this was home grown :), straight from Assam]

Fresh Lai Xaak (Mustard spinach/ tender green) 1 bunch

Garlic 8 cloves
Ginger 1 inch
Green Chilies 5 nos
Turmeric Powder 1 tsp
Red Chilly Powder 1 tsp
Cumin powder half tsp
Onions 2 nos
Salt to taste

Optional:

Medium sized tomato 1 no
Big sized potato 1 no

P.S. Most of the Assamese non-vegetarian dishes traditionally contain potato as one of the mandatory ingredient.

Preparation:

Wash the meat properly and keep a few fat pieces (5-6 medium sized) aside from rest of the meat
Take the garlic cloves, remove the skin, and then crush them to a coarse paste. Need not be a fine paste.
Crush ginger and mix it with the garlic
Cut the onions in thin slices
Slit the green chilies lengthwise in two halves
Cut the tomato in 4 halves
Cut the potato in 8 parts


Cooking:

Put a wide pressure cooker on stove and heat it in medium flame till its complete dry and warm. Do not overheat the cooker.
Put the fat pieces which you kept separately after washing into the cooker and make sure they do not stick to the cooker. Keep stirring the pieces with medium flame one.
Oil will come out from the fat pieces slowly and the color of the fat pieces will turn from golden to light brown. (If you want to take out the oil from the pieces faster, then u put the flame to bit on the higher side and cover the cooker temporarily.)
Once sufficient amount of oil comes out, put the cut onions in the cooker and stir fry them till they become golden brown.
Then put the rest of the pork in the cooker and increase the flame.
Put turmeric and red chilly powder and little bit of cumin (jeera) powder if you like and mix them well with the pork. Leave it on medium high flame for 2-3 minutes
Once oil starts coming out reduce the flame and put the ginger garlic paste you prepared. Mix them well with the meat and cover the cooker and leave it for 2-3 minutes.
Uncover the cooker and put the cut potatoes, if you had done it and put the flame at medium heat. Keep frying them for sometime and then put the lid back and let it cook on low heat.
Once the meat is somewhat cooked, take the laai leafs and tear them into small portions by hand and put them in the pressure cooker. You can put small amount of leafs so that you can keep mixing them with the meat by stirring.
Put the lid back on the cooker and reduce the flame. Keep it covered for 5 minutes.
At this point of time, you should get the aroma of Laai xaak and the pork. Check if the leafs are starting to form a lump, then add the tomatoes in the cooker. Fry them in low flame till they start to melt.
Add the slit green chilies and salt.
Add a cup of hot water and increase the flame.
Once the curry starts boiling, put the lid clipped on the cooker and let pressure cook it for 5/6 whistles.
Take the cooker out of the stove and let it cool naturally. Once you can open the cooker, put it back on the stove and mix the curry and the meat properly. Sprinkle some fresh coriander over it and serve hot with rice. Here it would look like:

Gahori Lai Xaak: Home Cooked

We are adding this picture of home-cooked dish as an update on request from a few of you out there :)

Pork with Gaanj Tenga (Chilly Pork Curry in Bamboo Shoot)

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients:

Fresh Pork Meat (cut into small pieces as shown in the photo) 1 K.G.

Bamboo Shoot (Grated) 150 gms

Bhot Jolokiya (Raja Mircha)

Dried Red Chilies - 8 nos (If you can get Bhot Jolokiya then its better; one is more than enough)

1. Garlic 8 cloves
   Ginger 1 inch
   Onions 2 nos
   Salt to taste
   Fresh coriander 1 bunch
   
   P.S. For more on bamboo shoot, please check the bottom left hand section of this page. This recipe does not need turmeric powder or any other masala.
   
   Preparation:
   
   Wash the meat properly and keep a few fat pieces (5-6 medium sized) aside from rest of the meat
   Take the garlic cloves, remove the skin, and then crush them to a coarse paste. Need not be a fine paste.
   Crush ginger and mix it with the garlic
   Make separate paste of the red chilies. Or you can keep them as flakes.
   Cut the onions in thin slices
   
   Cooking:
   
   Put a wide pressure cooker on stove and heat it in medium flame till its complete dry and warm. Do not overheat the cooker.
   Put the fat pieces which you kept separately after washing into the cooker and make sure they do not stick to the cooker. Keep stirring the pieces with medium flame one.
   Oil will come out from the fat pieces slowly and the color of the fat pieces will turn from golden to light brown. (If you want to take out the oil from the pieces faster, then u put the flame to bit on the higher side and cover the cooker temporarily.)
   Once sufficient amount of oil comes out, put the cut onions in the cooker and stir fry them till they become golden brown.
   Then put the rest of the pork in the cooker and increase the flame.
   Once oil starts coming out reduce the flame and put the ginger garlic paste you prepared. Mix them well with the meat and cover the cooker and leave it for 2-3 minutes.
   Uncover the cooker and put the red chilly flakes and put the flame at medium heat. Keep frying them for sometime and then put the lid back and let it cook on low heat.
   Once the meat is somewhat cooked, put the bamboo shoots in the cooker and mix them with the meat by stirring.
   Put the lid back on the cooker and reduce the flame. Keep it covered for 5 minutes.
   At this point of time, you should get the aroma of bamboo shoot and the pork. Keep frying them in low flame till they start to melt.
   Add salt.
   Add hot water to cover the meat and increase the flame. The gravy should be deep golden brown to red in color. If you have added sufficient amount of red chilly paste, then the gravy will take an inviting color without using any other masala.
   Once the curry starts boiling, put the lid clipped on the cooker and let pressure cook it for 5/6 whistles
   

Take the cooker out of the stove and let it cool naturally. Once you can open the cooker, put it back on the stove and mix the curry and the meat properly. Sprinkle some fresh coriander over it and serve hot with rice.

Home Cooked Pork and Bamboo Shoot with Dried Raja Mircha

Chilly Dry Fried Pork

1. Serves 4 – 6
   
   Ingredients:
   
   Fresh Pork Meat (cut into small pieces as shown in the photo) 0.5 K.G.
   Garlic 6 cloves
   Ginger 1 inch
   Onions 1 no
   Salt to taste
   Fresh capsicum 1 no
   Turmeric powder 1 tsp
   Red chilly powder ½ tsp
   Black pepper powder ½ tsp
   Dark soya sauce 1 table spoon
   Green chilies 4 nos
   Spring Onions 3 nos
   Fresh coriander 1 bunch
   Cooking oil 1 table spoon
   
   Preparation:
   
   Wash the meat properly and keep a few fat pieces (5-6 medium sized) aside from rest of the meat
   Take the garlic cloves, remove the skin, and then crush them to a coarse paste. Need not be a fine paste.
   Crush ginger and mix it with the garlic
   Cut the onion and capsicum into rings
   Cut the spring onions including the bulb into one inch long pieces
   
   Cooking:
   
   Add half cup of water in a cooker
   Add turmeric powder, red chilly powder and half of the ginger garlic paste in the water and mix well.
   Put the pork in the cooker and mix with the Masala water.
   Steam the cooker in medium high heat for 3-4 whistles. Last two whistles in low flame.
   Let the cooker be cooled naturally and once cooled, separate the meat from the remaining water and keep aside. Don’t throw the boiled water away. You might need it.
   Heat a wok or deep fry pan (not a flat frying pan). Put one table spoon of cooking oil and spread the oil on the surface of the pan
   Once the oil is hot, put the remaining ginger garlic paste.
   Put the drained out pork in the pan and sauté them for sometime, till they get a brownish tint.
   Cover the pan with a lid and put the flame in medium low.
   After 3-5 minutes once the oil starts coming out from the fat, increase the flame and keep stir fry.
   Add black pepper powder, salt and the spring onions.
   Once the spring onions are flat, add the capsicum and onion rings. Adjust the salt if you like.
   Reduce the flame to lowest and cover the pan for 3 minutes.
   Add dark soya sauce and mix it well and stir fry. At this point of time, the meat should be light brown in color and should be tender. Check for a fat piece whether the skin is soft.
   Add the slit green chilies and coriander.

Serve it hot with beer or with normal rice meal.