pepper Archives | The Indian Foodie

Sunday was our day for pepper water. Plain boiled rice and pepper fry. Mama had a fixed menu for each day of the week which she would vary every now and then. Pepper Fry is what went with pepper water, a South Indian specialty. The Pepper Fry is made out of goat meat chops, potatoes, and onions. I find it easier to make with stew meat. This is a very versatile and simple dish that can accompany Indian or Western meals.

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Pepper Meat Fry

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 5

Servings 4

A very versatile and simple dish that can accompany Indian or Western meals.

Ingredients

1 lb stew meat (beef, goat, or lamb )
1 large onion
2 medium potatoes (peeled and sliced as thick as the onions)
½ tsp coarsely ground whole pepper (you could add more if you like)
1¼ tsp salt
3 tbsp cooking oil
Water (as needed)

Instructions

Wash and drain the meat. Pound the meat pieces with a meat mallet a few times.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl add the meat, pepper, and salt. Rub together well so that the meat is nicely coated.
Heat oil on medium heat in a wok or broad skillet.
Add the meat, pepper, and salt. Sauté the meat until it has a nice glaze. Do not brown it.
Add 2 cups of water, cover, and cook till almost done. Approximately 30-35 minutes.
Add additional water if it is drying out while cooking. Test the meat with a fork or skewer. The meat should be tender and almost done. Turn off the heat.
Uncover the meat and arrange a layer of the sliced potatoes on top.
Now add a layer of the sliced onions. You will need at least half a cup of water remaining. If not, add an additional half a cup of water to the meat to cook the potatoes.
Cover and cook on medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are done.
Stir a couple of times carefully during cooking to ensure the meat is not sticking to the bottom of the pan and the potatoes are not overcooked.
Serve the pepper fry with pepper water and rice.
You can use it in a wrap or a main dish with salad and bread.

Notes

1. When buying the meat make sure the pieces are more or less even size .

2. I wash and drain the meat.

3. To save on cooking time you could pressure cook it manually or in an electric pressure cooker and follow the instructions. Do a quick release of the steam. (Carefully!)

Course: Main Course, Non-Vegetarian

Cuisine: American, Indian

Keyword: beef,, pepper

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Sunday was our day for Pepper Water, a South Indian dish called Dal Rusum. Mama being from the south and Father from the North, coupled with the fact that we traveled all over the Indian subcontinents as Military brats, gave us a whole range of Indian cuisine to sample. Further, my husband being in the Indian Air Force enhanced that culinary adventure further for me.

Rusum was one of our favorite meals growing up. Cook would fix a whole lot of it under Mama’s tutelage. It was served with plain boiled rice and pepper chops. The combination was just plain yummy!

When fixing rusum, be sure to have two 5-6 quart pots and a sieve handy to strain the rusum. Also keep a large skillet or frying pan nearby for tempering. You will need them when boiling the lentil and when tempering it.

Cooking rusum can be tricky when making it the first time. To make things easier for you, have all your ingredients ready before you start. Separate the ingredients in steps 1-4. It will make things less confusing for you.

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Dal Rusum (Pepper Water)

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Servings 6

Rusum (Pepper Water) is a South Indian dish made from crushed pepper, tamarind, lentils, and spices.

Ingredients

1½ cups toor/arhar dal (pigeon peas)
1 tsp tumeric powder
1 heaped tsp tamarind paste
1 small pod garlic (or 8 large flakes)
20 whole peppercorns
1½ tsp whole cumin seeds
3 cups fresh cilantro (loosely packed cups)
2 medium dried red chilies (broken into bits)
1 tsp black mustard seeds
8 curry leaves (add more less to taste)

Instructions

Step 1: Preparing the Dal Water

Boil the dal in 6-7 cups of water with salt and turmeric until the dal is tender. Approximately 35-40 minutes.
Strain the dal through a sieve, pouring the dal liquid into another large pot. Set strained dal aside.

Step 2: Adding the Tamarind Paste

Add the tamarind paste to the dal liquid. Taste for tartness and salt. It should be tangy but not sour. Bring to boil for about 5-10 minutes. Turn heat off.

Step 3: First Tempering / Tadka for Dal Water

Coarsely grind the garlic flakes, cumin, fresh green cilantro, pepper corns, and turmeric powder. You can use your chopper, blender, or pestle.
Heat about 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a fairly large saucepan or skillet.
Add the coarsely ground mixture and sauté for about a minute or until you can smell the aroma. It doesn't take long! Make sure to stir it often, so it does not burn.
Pour this into the dal water. Put the pot back on stove and return to boil. Let it boil for about 10 minutes.
Now strain the water again into the other empty pot, making sure to squeeze all the juice out of the tadka mixture so the essence of it is not lost. Your rusum is ready for the second tempering.

Step 4: Second Tempering of the Rusum

Heat oil, and add ¾ teaspoon of mustard seeds. Be careful, as they splutter. Now add the 2 dry red chilies and the fresh curry leaves. Stir for about 10 seconds and then pour it over the pepper water.

Tempering / Tadkafor the Dal

Same as the rusum. Heat the oil and add the remainder of the mustard seeds, red chilies, and curry leaves. Stir for about 10 seconds and then pour over the dal. Toss gently into the dal.
Serve the rusum/pepper water and dal along with meat pepper fry and plain boiled rice.

Notes

To make your own tamarind paste: Take a golf-sized lump of freshly peeled tamarind, place in a cup of warm water, then extract the tamarind juice by squeezing the pulp out into a bowl, and then strain the thick juice.

Since different brands of Tamarind vary in tartness, start with a little less than the tamarind called for. If it’s not tangy enough for your taste, then adjust to your liking. If by some chance it gets too sour, don't panic. Just boil a half cup more of the lentil and add it to the Rusum.

I now prefer to add the strained dal back into the rusum after I strain the first tadka. That way, I do not have to temper the dal separately.

You may want to set the table with soup bowls and spoons for easier handling of the pepper water and rice.

You can also drink this as a spicy soup-especially when you have a cold or recovering from a bout of flu. The tanginess, garlic, cilantro and pepper takes care of any residual yukiness !! I remember mom used to have Cook fix it anytime we were recovering from being sick. It tasted so good!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, South Indian

Keyword: pepper, rusum, tamarind

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