KANCHA-LONKA METE: GOAT LIVER WITH GREEN CHILIES

I had just about finished writing my post on Delhi-wala Matar Paneer and was enjoying an adda with S, (a girl friend of mine). We usually catch up with each other, almost every alternate day, post 5pm, and indulge in a lil bit of girlie banter.Somehow its now become a routine for us, and I guess, we both look forward to it. What I love about S, is that she is always so warm and she is always there for me, in whatever way she can. Moreover its an added bonus that she tolerates all my ravings and ranting about very possible thing,almost every second day. She has a magic touch, I guess, as she always brings a smile on my face, on days when I am down and out. She is the ideal mix of the elder sister I never had and a close girl friend. Any time spent with girl friends is super special, as these are almost our sources of sustenance. Hence every girl friend, is super important.  Did I mention, what a brilliant chef S, herself is. She cooks up a storm on a regular basis. There is simply loads to learn from her. So when S mentioned that she was looking for a goat liver recipe, I knew I had to contribute my two cents to it. Had she not stayed so far from me, I would cooked up a batch for her, and dropped it off home. But since that is not possible, over this weekend, as hubby has a backlog of work, so we cannot drive over to Columbia, to meet and greet her with some Bong style liver.

When cooking with liver two things are to be kept in mind. Firstly the liver needs to be marinated for at least an hour, in some ginger-garlic paste, to rid it off its minerally flavour.Secondly, if liver is over cooked, it turns chewy.Hence some caution is to be exercised while cooking with liver. The Kanch Lonka flavour in this dish, is totally courtesy my mom's East Bengali roots.The level of heat can be totally adjusted to suit one's taste. My husband is not much of a garam masala fan, and hence I tend to skip it at times, while making this dish. However for some, its a sacrilege, if a goat meat dish is not finished off with a dash of garam masala. I am not being a fence sitter here, but somehow I can never bring myself to take sides in this debate of garam masala and goat meat. Coming back to the liver, here is how it goes. I am sure, many of those who have East Bengali Blood in your veins, especially that of Syllhet, will find this dish, uncannily familiar.

KANCHA-LONKA METE: GOAT LIVER WITH GREEN CHILIES: 


Ingredients: 
Goat Liver: 1 lb: cubed
Potatoes: 1 large Yukon Gold/Idaho Gold: cubed
Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp
Green Chilies: 2-3 made into paste: 4-5 more, slit longitudinally
Ginger-Garlic paste: 2 tbsp
Vinegar: 2 tbsp
Onion: 1 large: blended
Cayenne Pepper: 2 tsp
Garam Masala: A pinch (Optional)
Mustard Oil: 3-4 tbsp
Peas: 1/2 cup

Procedure:  
Marinate the liver in vinegar, ginger-garlic and chili paste for a few hours.

Coat the potatoes with some turmeric powder and fry them lightly in oil,till they start to caramelise around the edges. Keep them aside. 

 In the same oil, add the onion paste and fry it lightly, till it starts to change colour.  

  Add in the marinated liver, along with the marinade in the fried onion paste. Make sure that the onion paste does not get burnt when you are cooking it, as onion paste has a tendency to get burnt very easily.

Keep stirring frequently, so that the liver does not get burnt. When the liver has started to caramelise, add in the fried potatoes and the cayenne pepper powder and mix well.

Cover and cook, till the potatoes are almost done. Then add in the slit green chilies and the peas.Cover and cook for another 5 minutes or so.

Finish off with a pinch of garam masala and serve hot. It goes well with both steamed rice as well as Rotis/Naans/Parathas.

Here's hoping S enjoys it as much as we did !

Bon Appetit !