Tuesday, November 10, 2009

STORY OF VEGETARIAN METE CHA-CHADI (LIVER FRY)


WARNING: THIS IS NOT A VEG DISH
VEGETARIAN METE CHACHADI sounds crazy??
Many years back, in a small gathering at home, I was reading out the simple diner menu.
"To start with you will have vegetarian mete chachaDi, with hot rice and green chili, followed by Dal, fish and then vege Mutton."
There was  obvious roars, " Ghosh has gone crazy...what do you mean by vege liver, vege mutton...stupid ..and etc etc."
I continued " Actually in many culture onion and garlic are treated as non-veg, like old traditional Bengali veg dishes, all Kashmiri dishes (including mutton) , Jain dishes are devoid of onion and garlic. Similarly meat from a " Boli-r patha" ( sacrificed animal) during Puja is regarded as Prashad and always cooked without onion and Garlic. I have seen hardcore vege Brahman friends eat this "meat Prashad". So I call these dishes veg meat preparation, " Pyar-se".
So since then we call these dishes ( devoid of Garlic onion) as Veg-Nonveg dishes or Veg Mutton, just for fun only.
THE RECIPE 
In a remote place in Orissa where I spent my childhood, meat or liver was not available much. The man would slaughter one goat if he saw enough customer else one had to come next day.
Every body needed a piece of liver, and it used to be very tiny piece for each and sold with mutton. It was so small that you couldn't cook any dish with the liver. There were many people at home who wanted a piece of liver, so it could not be put in the meat curry.
My mother used to chop them into very small pieces and fry them...
It is one of my favorites and often a party  dish when liver fans are there
 Here it is 
CAUTION . This should be tried by foodies who appreciate the typical light aroma of liver in original form, unmasked by the riot of garlic, ginger, onion, spices.
INGREDIENTS
1.Liver  200 gms ( mutton, Lamb, ( Beef can be used) NO CHICKEN LIVER, I don't like it , never used it). You can try with 50 gm also if you are not sure if you would like it.
2. Turmeric 11/2  level tsp
3. green chili 7, or more, ( 3 chili broken into 2 -3 pieces for seasoning, rest for garnishing) 
4. Kalo Jeere ( Kala jeera, Kalounji) 1 level tsp
5 Oil 1tbsp to 11/2 tbsp
6 salt to taste
PROCESS
cut the liver into tiny pieces 8 to 12 mm, 

Heat  Oil in a Kadhai ( I don't use non-stick ones for most Indian dishes).
Add the Kalo jeera and green chili seasoning, keep stirring and when the green chili turns white to very light brown, add the liver.
Add salt and turmeric powder,Keep frying , until the liver changes color ( about 3 minutes).
Add 1/2 cup water 

simmer for 7-8 minutes covered. ( Liver is generally cooked in 3-5 minutes and remains soft, any heating beyond 5 minutes makes it  stiff, but cooked). Here in this recipe , the liver will be stiff but cooked.)
Remove cover and dry out the water while stirring  allow the material to stick to the Kadhai.
IMPORTANT. When sufficient material sticks to the wall, reduce heat put 1 to 2 tbsp water,  and scratch out  the sticky material in water, and mix with the liver.
Picture below , material sticking to the Kadhai just before adding water

Most stuck material taken out with water and being mixed

Repeat this process 3 times , i.e allow the material to stick 3 times and remove with water and mix 3 times. In Badshahi cooking it is called " BHUNO THRICE" ( fry 3 times) , it can be bhuno twice, 4 times...etc depending upon Chef's whims :-)
( I remember, when I was young, many people who learnt this dish from me would come back and say " I cooked it, was very nice, but nowhere near yours". Obviously it wouldn't have been , because I never told this Bhuno thrice business to them..Looking back I feel sad, I was so mean....but feel bit better when I think that most great  Chefs don't share every thing)
Reduce heat , add rest of the green chili and  mix 
Remove into a dish and eat , straight or with rice

RESCUE OPERATION 
After making this, if you find it is just not edible or you don't like it...here is the good news...Proceed as usual from here, ginger garlic paste, onion, tomato , garam masala , diced Potato et al..recover the dish and  devour

This is not a part of the dish , it is for you dear foodies


29 comments:

prasu said...

another good dish from ur kithen ushnishg.........i personally never tried cooking or eating lever...but my PAPPA is a big fan of it, he used to always insist me to have it........but never felt like, but after seeing ur post pics....feel like trying next time. next time I'm going to surprise my PAPPa not only eating, but will cook this dish by myself for himn...thank u for the post.

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Prasu
Many thanks..I am sure PAPPA will like this flavor.
I am not sure if u will like it 1st time,but never mind I have given the rescue operation for the dish...
good wishes

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

you have reminded me of my Grandfather he was a great lover of this mete chachori. here we get a lot of liver pieces mostly put them in curry. would definitely try this one.

sangeeta said...

thanks for the white gladioli !!

and you are no more a great cook as you shared a well kept secret here ....:)

with liver i dunno why i always had a problem n wanted to mask the liver flavor always....A likes liver n so i cook it but with an induced flavor always....i feel this one recipe has a pleasant flavor of green chillies n kaalo jeere n can be fun for me too...

also, i cook liver for longer duration.....for many reasons , but one of them being i dint know it cooks so fast ( i am a fairly new meat eater )...chokkhu khule gelo!!

Sharmistha Guha said...

Goodness!! Telepathy!!
1/2 kg of liver is sitting in my freezer and tomorrow I'm planning to make liver....
1/2 ta diye apnar recipe korbo & the other half...the usual ada-peyaj-roshun!

my ma makes amazing 'niramish' mangsho. ami kokhono try korini...but have been thinking of doing it for some time!

Namitha said...

ha ha that sure is funny...veg liver :D Never tried liver fry at home...Thanks for the flowers :-)

Unknown said...

Hello ushnish,
Haha...Love your style of writing Wow..Liver fry makes me drool...Even i saw liver masala in sangeeta blog..Now in ur blog..:) so i am tempted to prepare lever fry and this recipe is calling my name..but same story here i don't get mutton lever..I will not eat beaf...hmmm..:)Will satisfy by seeing ur liver fry..:( Thanks for a such beatuiful flower.

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Sharmistha
What a coincidence..you will try my recipe and I am going to try Sangeeta's recipe with liver which she had posted few days back.
Please get Niramish Magsho recipe from Mom ASAP..I have one (other than Kashmiri) but dont want to try it...

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Sangeeta
I am going to cook your recipe with liver..it is very different.
As you may not like liver aroma, be ready with rescue operation..in case u need
I boil or fry liver for longer because I don't like that soft texture generally. In most places where you see soft and nice liver, it is added at the last. Typical case is Keema Kalejee, if you want to keep the kalejee very soft, it is added just 3-5 minutes before finishing.

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Sangeetha
Hey..if you dont get liver where you stay..just forget it.u r not missing any great dish..ha ha
I am going to try Sangeeta's recipe today, It wil come out nicely I am sure.

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Sayantani
I feel good that it took you to some good memory. I am sure you have your version of the mete ChachoDi, when you cook please post. mine one is at the bottom line of the ChachDi Business.
Bhalo theko

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Gulmohor
I feel good that you like the funny part of the writing. Actually I try to make it bit humorous to break the monotony of reading Ingredient , cooking process etc.
Have a good time

Sharmila said...

Barite kosha mangsho theke mete tule amader deya hoto ... gorom gorom jhal jhal ... yes it cooks very fast I guess. Ami nije konodin mee rana korini. That was a good write up on veggie non veg. Purono diner lokeder hypocracy ... how else would a brahmin pujari enjoy mutton? :-)

My cooking experiments said...

Hi my first time here.A cool blog!will be coming in more often!

Vrinda said...

Nice one..Its really healthy especially to those who r anaemic..i had tried this couple of times to increase my HB count...Thanx for sharing...

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear all
Many thanks for your appreciation and feed backs
Ushnish

Malar Gandhi said...

Dear Ushnish,

Wow, once again nostalgic memories after seeing this recipe...like goat liver so much, but hardly find them here:( I have to try this recipe, sounds too good (without strong spices) and like the addition of green chilies, looks appealing. And thanks for the flowers:)

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

I love liver fry - but without garlic - onions, I have never tried... Again I dont make here, since I dont get it fresh...
Wonderful post, reminds me of school days too...

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Malar and Somoo
Many thanks
Contrary to popular belief, meat sold in India as goat meat is mostly lamb meat, except in small villages and small towns. This is simply because enough goats are not reared.
However, Indian lamb doesn't carry a typical smell in fat, which you may sometimes find in much prized NewZealand or Australian lamb..
SO try if you wish ..
:-)

Sreelekha Sumesh said...

Thanks alot for visiting my blog and the lovely comments.U got a wonderful blog.Liver fry..yumm..mouthwatering pics.

Nandinis food said...

Mutton liver is my dad's favorite! My mom used to make this with garlic, onions and spices. But whenever she makes this dish, I always stay out of the kitchen for a long time!
My dad would be very happy to see this post!

Siddhi Shirsat said...

hi,
nice recipe..but we done eat any other meat except chicken.Thnx for ur suggestion in my blog...but i hav 2 post the recipe pic before somw hours of posting the whole recipe as have 2 adjust my widget with it.Specialy dishes with multiple pics if posted directly will create probm for my widgets.But i try to post full recipe as soon as pos whn i get free, it mite tak max 1 day not 5 days.

Urmi said...

Thanks a lot for this wonderful recipe of lever. But in Townsville only lamb is available and not mutton so it will not be possible to get mutton lever. I liked the way you have presented with mouth watering picture. Lever looks delicious and I feel like having it.
Regarding my salmon fish recipe thanks a lot for your lovely comment. Actually in Townsville Salmon, Tuna, Sardine etc all types of sea fish is available. But you can prepare it with Bhetki fish as it will be perfect.

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Babli
If you eat lamb liver, go ahead, in fact most mutton sold in India is lamb meat and not goat. The liver that I have used here under all probability was lamb liver although the butcher claimed it as goat :-).
When I was in Korea we only used to get Australian Lamb, yummy, imported by a pakistani for our subcontinent people.

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Nandini
Ha ha I can understand your plight when liver is cooked!! If you don't like it, you are really not missing out anything. Personally I rarely eat liver.

Dolly Sharma said...

Looks absolutely yummy and tempting. YOu are making me hungry now.

Thanks for visiting my blog. Got a chance to check out your space. Pretty impressive. You have a good writing style as well.

And keep posting ur flowers too at the end of the recipe.I love flowers..

Ushnish Ghosh said...

Dear Dolly
I feel good that you visited my blog and thanks a lot for your appreciation...Please do visit again.
best wishes

Fathima said...

That Veg Liver is so tempting! Love ur story as well!

PreeOccupied said...

I hear you when you say vegetarian meat! On Navami, we used to eat mutton which was sans garlic and onions.

The Kashmiri Rogan Josh too is almost "vegetarian" by our rules!

Thanks for sharing the mete charchari recipe. I have to try this.