Original Duck Curry - നാടൻ താറാവ് കറി

It's been a while since we had duck at home. H had mentioned this sad fact the other day and so when I spied some fresh duck at Costco it was just meant to be. I was relaxed and in a good  mood and so checked out a few good recipes. What I had in mind matched with what I saw at kothiyavanu and mishmash. Thanks to both these ladies the family had a little duck fest I'd say! Recipe mostly follows what is given at mishmash with some inputs taken from kothiyavanu and slight adaptations called for by what I had at hand.

In The Mix

duck - cut into medium sized pieces - 2 lbs.
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
salt - 1 tsp

potatoes - 3 medium sized, peeled and halved

coconut oil - 2 tbsp
big red onion - 1 big thinly sliced
shallots - 8 medium sized, thinly sliced
serano chilies - 3 slit sideways
ginger - 1 1/2 inch, peeled and sliced
garam masala - 2 tsp
coconut milk - 1/2 cup mixed with 1/4 cup water
water - 2 cup
curry leaves - 2 sprigs
salt to taste

pressure cooker

to marinate:
roasted coriander powder - 1/4 cup
chili powder - 3 tsp
turmeric powder - 1 tsp
black pepper powder - 1 tsp (freshly ground from pepper corns using a pestle & mortar)
garam masala - 1 tsp (from equal parts powder mix of cardamom, cinnamon & cloves)
ginger garlic mix - 3 tsp (freshly ground/chopped from equal parts ginger and garlic)
salt to taste

How To Do

Wash and drain the duck pieces. Mix 1/4 tsp turmeric and 1 tsp salt with enough water to soak the duck and let sit for 2-3 minutes. Rinse and drain the duck.

Add all the marinade ingredients to the duck, mix well and let sit covered for 30 minutes at room temperature.

Boil a pan with water and add the potatoes. Boil once and cover and cook for 20-25 minutes so the potatoes are soft but still holds together well. Drain, cool, slice and set aside. Alternately, dice the peeled potatoes, add a tbsp of water, cover in plastic wrap and microwave for 3-4 minutes.

Growing up in our farm where everything was cooked from scratch, I had not seen a pressure cooker used for cooking till much later. I was rather afraid of the terrible earth shattering sound it can make which was later identified as just a whistle! H's family on the other hand probably used pressure cooker for cooking all kinds of meat and so he had one with him which became ours after marriage. I just never liked using it though. Anyways, we got a brand new one from India sometime back and looking at this duck curry recipe I decided try out the beast, er.. cooker. So the short of the matter is we can marinate the meat in the cooker itself thus saving an extra pan.

Add 1 cup of water to the marinated meat after the 30 minutes, cover and pressure cook on medium high. Once the steam starts to come, put the weight on. About 5-6 whistles and the duck is ready! A total of 10-12 minutes went by for this. Remove the cooker from heat and let sit so it cools before you can open it.

                   

Heat oil in a pan, saute the sliced onions. Once onions are soft, add ginger and green chili. Saute for 2-3 minutes and add 1 tsp of garam masala. Keep on low to medium heat and saute till the roasted aroma rises. Then add the pressure cooked duck and let sit for a minute or two. Add coconut milk and 1 cup of water after using it to clean out any remaining pressure cooker masala. Check salt and add as needed, let boil once on medium heat. Gently add the potatoes and mix all well together.

Now add the curry leaves along with the remaining 1 tsp of garam masala and simmer on stove for about 20 minutes. Rotate the pan once or twice to keep things moving. Keep simmering as needed till the right consistency is achieved for the by-now glorious gravy.

Enjoy with freshly baked bread from the nearby bakery like we did or with appam or rice.

Merry Christmas & A Happy 2011!

Stars sent lovingly from India have been hung up with lights and all. See one of those above. Just ignore the dark wires:-) Nativity is setup, appam batter is ready, stew pieces are cut and duck roast is done. Fruit cake has been distributed and gifts are under the tree. Now all that is left is for Santa to visit and for us to attend Mass. Did I say that I love holidays especially guilt free ones with no pressure from work? Hope the holidays are going well for everyone and that Christmas is indeed Merry. Wishing everyone a wonderful New Year too . A picture of our roasted duck is below.

Oven Roasted Potatoes
I oven roasted  the potatoes in the oven instead of frying in oil this time. A much better and easier way to do it. Here is how:

Preheat oven to 475F
Just peel and cube 1 or 2 potatoes. You could also cut them into circles as before.
Sprinkle some oil, mix and sprinkle some salt.
Spread on a cookie sheet and bake for 25-28 minutes.
If doing circles reduce the time to 12-15 minutes and check.
Let cool for potatoes to come off the sheet and add to the roasted duck curry. Done!

Original/Nadan Duck Roast

Hope everyone is enjoying the infant 2009. This recipe belongs to Mrs KMM with ever so slight adaptations. If the recipe sounds daunting, don't let that fool you. This is a winner and will always come out right regardless of your personal mood. What better you need from a recipe especially when you want to fill the table top with exotic sounding dishes for invited guests? The duck in this story comes fresh, undressed and with skin from the local Chinese grocery store. I leave the skin on.

In The Mix
Duck - 1 whole duck cut in medium to large sized pieces and each scored deep

large potatoes - 2 or 3 peeled and cut into concentric circles
big red onion - 1 large sliced thin (for greater taste, strain the onion with salt and squeeze to wilt before use)
warm milk - 2 cups
coconut milk - 1/4 or 1/2 cup (optional)
water - as needed
oil - as needed

To Marinate
coriander powder - 5 tsp
chili powder - 2 tsp
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
pepper powder - 1/2 to 1 tsp
cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
garam masala - 1 1/2 tsp (mix of equal amnts of cinnammon,cloves & cardamom powders)
garlic - 6 or 7 large cloves
ginger - 1 1/2" piece
vinegar - 1 1/2 tbsp (or 1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon)
salt - to taste

How To Do

Wash and pat dry the duck pieces. Chop ginger and garlic together and mix with rest of the marinade items including salt. Add in the duck pieces and marinate overnight or for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator.

Cook covered with 1 cup milk and enough water to almost cover the pieces. When done, separate the pieces and gravy. When you are pressed for time to prepare everything in a day, you can just follow the recipe up to this point a day or two ahead and keep refrigerated till D-day.

Heat oil in a pan to fry the potato pieces and drain on paper towels. Add the cooked duck pieces and fry all sides. Add oil as needed. Drain on paper towels.


Add onion to the remaining oil and saute well to brown. Now add the set aside gravy to the onions and add the remaining 1 cup milk. Boil the mixture, add the duck pieces and reduce to desired gravy consistancy. Stir occasionally so the milk won't separate too much. Thicker gravy is better for the dish but more gravy might be in order if going with porotta/chapathi or the likes. Either way, taste will be preserved. Check for salt. Add the optional coconut milk at this stage if you prefer, mix well and immediately remove from heat.

Pour into a serving dish and arrange with the fried potato pieces for oohs and aahs around the dinner table:-)