Kerala Style Beef Ularthiyathu

We are on a mallu food trip here on the blog, and it is now the turn of the Malayalee's pride and joy; the brilliant beef ularthiyuthu. We are not on a roll because we are doing it for the sake of the blog. or because there is a dearth for beef ularthiyu recipes on the internet (it is anything but that). The beef ularthiyathu is ubiquitous to the Malayalee' kitchen. and in his heart. No blog repertoire or Mallu home would be complete sans this star dish, or their own version of it. So we thought it appropriate to share our love for this universal dish, one that binds the parotta lover and the red rice fan, the dish that binds the humble thattukada and kitchens of the fanciest restaurants, the beef ularthiyuthu!

Our version keeps changing every time we try it. but one of the constants is, we are not overly enthusiastic fans of coconut as-is in our food, and hence do not add the classic coconut chunks/slices to our beef. We also make sure our beef ularthiyuthu goes a dark dark brown and that is achieved with the help of pepper and dry roasting the spices with the onions. As it turns out, this particular time, we did not do that. Another lesson learnt: always add the turmeric to the beef when pressure cooking it, and not at the dry-roast-the-spices stage. As the blooming pictures are proof, we got a slightly yellowish brown color as a result of these bloopers, but the taste was pretty bang on.

So without any further ado, here we go!

You will need:

Beef (cut into chunks) - 1 kg

Shallots (thinly sliced) - 10

Onions (thinly sliced) - 2 medium sized

Garlic cloves (chopped) - 6

Ginger (chopped) - 1/2 inch long

Garam Masala - 3 teaspoons

Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Green Chili (thinly sliced) - 4

Black Pepper - 1 teaspoon

Fennel seeds -  1/4 teaspoon

Coriander powder - 2 1/2 teaspoons

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Salt to taste

Vegetable oil to sputter/sauté in (Coconut oil works best for the authentic flavor)

Procedure

-Pressure cook the beef in the turmeric powder, 2 teaspoons of coriander powder and 2 teaspoons of the garam masala till fully cooked.

-Strain the stock and keep aside.

-In a pan, sputter the mustard and curry leaves in coconut oil. Add the thinly sliced onions and sauté till golden brown.

-Add the chopped ginger & garlic and sliced green chilis to the above mix and cook for 5 minutes. Keep aside.

-In the same pan, sauté the shallots and fennel until brown. Tip the beef in and stir and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt.

-Into this, add the remaining garam masala and coriander powder along with the ground pepper. Cook for 5 minutes, or till the masala is cooked.

-To the beef, add the sautéd onion-green chili mix and move it around a bit. This lets the flavors come together. Stir and cook together for another 5 minutes. and Viola! You have your beef ularthiyuthu ready! Garnish with curry leaves.

P.S: Tastes best with hot rotis and a side of thick yogurt or with piping hot rice and moru kachiyathu.

P.P.S: You can use the stock to make a flavored pulao. or even a beef curry.

Holy Cow! Burger

Eat beef, not Grief!

Burgers! A true extravaganza with meat galore.

You don't order burgers to eat the buns or the veggies. Those of you who would like to orger a veg burger, shoot yourself. I mean, that's such an oxymoron. Veg burger??? In short, it’s all about the meat.

 A free piece of advice: Please, never try those ready made patties. That ain't exciting. 

 

So, here we go...your criteria to reach food heaven.

Ingredients:

Patty:

Minced beef – ½ kilo

Pork with fat – ¼ kilo

Pepper – 2 tsp

Oregano – ½ tsp

Cumin powder – ½ tsp

Egg – ½ an egg, beaten

Cheese – Parmesan / cheddar / Mozzarella

Salt to Taste

Filling:

Burger Buns – The bigger the better

Tomatoes – 2 nos

Onion – 2 Nos

Lettuce – 6 crunchy leaves

Mustard sauce

Mayonnaise

BBQ sauce

Preparation:

While making the patty, its always advisable to use a meat mincer rather than a food processor. You want the meat to be nice and fluffy and not smudged, cause this will make the burgers a cutlet and that’s the last thing you want.

Use beef or lamb and mix in a little pork with fat for the juiciest burgers.

To the minced meat, add pepper, oregano, cumin powder and half an egg and mix well. I always prefer adding the salt just before cooking and not while marinating as that will keep the burgers moist and juicy. Leave the meat either over night or even couple of hours would do. Just make sure that they are at room temp when you cook them.

Cooking:

Scoop out a hand full of meat and roll them into a patty. Be generous and you wont regret it. Don’t pat them into a flat patty. Thicker the better, I usually make them 4 ½ inches in diameter and nearly 2 inches thick. The fat and meat is going to melt and reduce in size, so don’t pop your eyes out looking at the specifications.

You could either use a charcoal grill or a simple Tava on gas for cooking. I would not recommend a non stick pan, because there is nothing to beat the taste of the burnt edges on a patty.  

Cook the meat for 5-6 min on either side. At this stage add salt to the meat.

Place the cheese of your choice on the meat during the last 1 min to have them melt and coat the patty.

Have the buns coated with mayonnaise and top with the veggies per your choice. I would suggest you go less on the veggies. Make sure you use onion rings and not julien, you could also caramelize them a little to enhance those flavours.

Top the patty with some BBQ sauce and take a messy, enormous bite of heaven.

Tips:

Add a fried egg layer just to give it an extra edge.

Remember, do not season until you start cooking.

Use the natural fat that comes from the meat and you don’t need to add extra cooking oil.

Improvisation holds the key... beef, pork, lamb, veal and mutton are some of your options that can be combined.

After all, we live to eat. And don't eat to live!