Sunday, April 10, 2011

Mete Chorchori, Quick Liver Stir-fry, the Bengali Way

I was a very thin kid. I have photographic evidence to prove it. Like most mother’s of the previous generation, mine too thought that a chubby kid is a healthy kid. Mine, a first-time mother at 25 took things in her own hands and started with a project of her own – liver juice for her toddler (me). She thought she could transform a scrawny kid and add blobs of protoplasm by feeding me spoonfuls of raw liver juice. Liver – a storehouse of nutrients is indeed good when it comes to  proteins, vitamins and also packed with saturated fat.

But then raw liver juice revolted with my highly developed palate (at three years), and I would vehemently refuse to have it. Not surprisingly, what did go down well with me was this spicier version of Mete Chorchori for adults.

IMG_1903This is the first time in many years that I have cooked liver. And mostly out of taste memory of how my Mother does it. It was too late to call India and wake Mum up. So I went ahead and did it sans her long-distance help.

Ingredients for Mete Chorchori are:

300 grams liver (I only use kid goat’s)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
5-6 baby potatoes, peeled (use 1-2 regular, cubed if you don’t have them)
1 tablespoon green chili paste
1 tablespoon ginger paste
1 tablespoon garlic paste
Half tablespoon black pepper powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
Half teaspoon garam masala, coarsely ground (I used cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg)
1-2 bay leaves
3-4 tablespoons mustard oil
Salt

Cut the liver into bite-size pieces. My butcher had thrown in a heart too, which you can see in this picture.
IMG_1887 IMG_1889 
In a bowl, mix together the liver pieces, green chili, ginger and garlic paste, turmeric, and a couple of tablespoons of mustard oil. Keep for an hour.
IMG_1891 
Heat the remaining oil in a thick pan and sauté the potatoes till they are lightly browned. Remove with a slotted spoon.
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In the same oil, throw in the bay, coarsely ground garam masala and the chopped onions.
IMG_1893 IMG_1898On medium heat, sauté the onions till they are golden-brown. With the spatula you are cooking, line the onions to the sides and expose the pan’s base. Now add the marinated liver and turn the heat up to high.

IMG_1899 Its important you cook the liver on high heat so that it gets browned nicely. Keep stirring continuously so that the wet spices do not stick to the pan. Once the liver is lightly browned, introduce the potatoes.

IMG_1900 Add the black pepper powder and keep frying everything.
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Towards the end, I did cover the pan to turned the heat on low to cook the potatoes. This should be done for about five minutes. Add salt and check the taste. Remove from heat.

IMG_1905 The Mete Chorchori is now ready to be eaten with phulko ruti or paratha.

IMG_1904

17 comments:

Hamaree Rasoi said...

Liver stir fry looks amazingly tasty dear. Wonderful clicks.
Deepa
Hamaree Rasoi

Satrupa said...

Looks delicious ....

GB said...

Looks wonderful ! Where have you been? Good to see you back on the circuit again..........keep blogging, we missed you!

Seema said...

Pree,

Mete is my favourite. I always dig into any chicken / mutton curry to hunt for the lone piece of liver among meat pieces. If I am cooking, I keep the liver aside or better still gulp it down without risking the chance of anyone eating it. A bowl with only metes in it is a treasure for me. The dish looks very inviting, lovely clicks as usual.

I have a Mete Kochkochi Do Pyaza recipe in my blog. Do check and try it out if you wish. It's truly amazing too.
http://amchi-bong-konnexion.blogspot.com/2010/05/chicken-liver-cum-kidney-do-pyaza.html

Regards,
Seema
amchi-bong-konnexion.blogspot.com
seemabbas.blogspot.com

sulagna said...

pree talking of mete, is uddenly remembered maansho chorbir bora..dont know if you have heard of this. babas family has strong bangladeshi ties , so my pishi used to make thsi for us whenw e visited her during school vacations. so the starter was the bora with ghee bhaat and then mangsho kosha with shada bhaat :)

jaanish ki kerom kore banate hoye ? or will ask mum to make it and revive my cooking blog :)

sangeeta said...

This looks really yummy .. especially to me who doesn't like liver much. I have been making liver stir fries in many variations as i have been prescribed to eat liver ...this one will be a nice curry.

BTW , never heard about the raw liver juice , that doesn't sound appetizing to me too ;)

Priya Suresh said...

Mouthwatering here, delicious liver fry..

Suman Singh said...

Wow, this looks simply delicious and yummy..love the recipe..will surely gonna try this soon..thanks for sharing, Pree!

vinayak said...

Raw liver juice ! disgusting !! what a torture for a 3 yrs old ! anyway recipe is nice :)

Kuntala said...

amar mete khete durdanto lage, kintu amar beshirbhag bondhur lagena. tomar sathe eikhanta milechhe dekhe khushi holam Pree. ar ranaata dekhei bojha jachhe amar moner moto hoyechhe, besh jhal jhal......uff barir kotha mone pore gelo.

Sayantani Mahapatra Mudi said...

Shubh nababarsher priti o shubhechha nio. ektu deri oe gelo. bhalo ako.

Anonymous said...

what a lovely mete stir fry, clicks are highly tempting.
anek din khayni...

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Mandira said...

this looks fabulous! love the recipes on your blog.

Anonymous said...

Raw liver juice- Really? Was your mum trying to get rid of you or something? Someone's obviously never heard of salmonella poisoning! (Rolling eyes) I can't believe somebody would do that to a human child...

PreeOccupied said...

Anonymous, wait till I tell you how I drank glassfuls of blood! Human child, who me?

Ptenisnet said...

very nice & descriptive ... thanks a lot for sharing :)

Healthytips said...

Thanks for sharing such beautiful information with us. I hope you will share some more information about liver.Please keep sharing.
Health Is A Life