Sour Citron Pork Cakkalikās
Sanskrit
अथवा मातुलुङ्गस्य सुपक्वस्य च केसरैः । सूक्ष्मैरार्द्रकखण्डैश्च केसराभैर्मनोहरैः ॥ १४४० ॥ चूर्णितं मरिचं राजिसैन्धवैर्मिश्रयेत्ततः । हिङ्गुना धूपिताः साम्ला हृद्याश्चक्कलिका वराः ॥ ४१ ॥
English
Or else, with the pulp-filaments of a well-ripened citron, and with fine pieces of fresh ginger, delightful and cut to look like those filaments, he should then mix in powdered pepper together with mustard and rock salt. Perfumed with asafoetida smoke, sour, and pleasing to the heart, these cakkalikās are the best.
Ingredients
- 500 g cooked skinless roast pork belly, chilled
- 20 g ghee, for frying
- 50 g citron or lemon pulp, chopped
- 10 g fresh ginger, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp rock salt
- Pinch of asafoetida
Method
- Slice the chilled pork belly into pieces about 3 mm thick and 5–7 cm long.
- Crisp the pork slices in the ghee over medium-high heat.
- Mix the citron, ginger, mustard, pepper, rock salt, and asafoetida. Toss with the warm pork and serve immediately.
Notes
- The text doesn’t say whether the pork for the sour version is fried first. I fried it in ghee, as in the sweet version, and it worked well.
- Citron is hard to find; lemon pulp with a little finely grated peel is the closest substitute.