Vaṭimaka Meat Cakes
Sanskrit
आमं मांसं सुपिष्टं तु केसरादिविमिश्रितम् । वटकीकृत्य तैलेन तप्तेन परिपाचयेत् ॥ ८६ ॥ आणके च क्षिपेत्तज्ज्ञस्तापयेद्वा विभावसौ । नाम्ना वट्टिमकं तत्तु त्रिप्रकारमुदीरितम् ॥ ८७ ॥
English
Raw meat, very finely ground and mixed with saffron and the rest, he should form into vaṭakas and cook through in hot oil. Or one who knows that art may put them in the pan, or heat them at the fire. That, vaṭṭimaka by name, is declared to be of three kinds.
These meatballs are colored with saffron, which causes them to go golden in color when they’re fried. The recipe doesn’t say which spices to use, but I’ve suggested pepper, cumin, and asafoetida, as these are pretty commonly called for in similar contexts in the book.
Ingredients
- 500 g finely minced pork, lamb, or goat
- Large pinch saffron, ground in a mortar and then soaked in 1 Tb warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp asafoetida
- 20 ml Indian sesame oil or neutral cooking oil
Method
- Grind or process the meat very fine — supiṣṭaṃ — then work in the saffron water, salt, pepper, cumin, and asafoetida until sticky.
- Form 15 small, flat cakes.
- Shallow-fry them in the oil over medium heat, 3–5 minutes a side, turning once, until browned and cooked through — 71°C in the centre.