Pork burger, Ind • 1an s

Nothing says summer like barbecue Here's to a smoking hot grilling season!

he ba r becue cul mre is one of the first things chat all Indian expats adapt to th eir

A u ssie lifestyle. It is deep-rooted in our community to gather with fr ie n ds and family, celebrating with d electab le food. And that's what a barbecue parry i s all about - good food, good friends, good times!

It is also an extension of our love for tandoori (grill ed) Though the Au ss ie ba r becues are far from the ta11doori style of preparation, there are several s imilarities coo. Like in most Indian househo lds where the ta11rlo01· (clay oven) is usually m anned by the men, the barbecue pit is also a male bastion.

The second , and the more important re ason, is our love for grilled food. The lanrloo,is and tikkas feanire among the best loved Indian foods and there are am ple recipes, both vegetarian and non- vegeta rian

Now, let's tw ist things up a bit. Instead of grilling Oz style burgers this sum mer, let's try our hand at this hearty, indulgent pork hurger wi th an Indian tw ist

Pork a nd pineappl e is a classic comb in ation, a match made in heaven! And just to sp ice th ings up, let's incorporate so m e famili ar Indi an flavours to the dish.

The secret to a deli cious, succul ent, juicy b urger lies mainly in the quality of mea t. Instead of going for a store-bought mi nce, it is best to get good cuts of meat from your loca] butcher and ask hi m to mince it u p for you. This way you get to c h oose how much fat goes into the mince For this rec ipe, choose the pork s h o ulder and the ratio of fat to meat in the mince is 1:4.

Minced onion, aromatics and a freshly roasted and ground spice mix is add ed to the pork mince to infuse the class ic Indian flavours. The caramelised p ineapple add s a hint of sweetness and bri n gs the spices to life.

The best thing about homem ade burgers is that these are healthy, as you are i.n control of all the ingr edien ts that go in and is a great way co get your faniily to eat veggies too.

Tlii s is an extremely versari.le burge r r ecipe; if you do not eat pork, use a n y meat that you want or even t r y out a vegetari an vers ion making th e mince using niixed vegetables and potacoes

Makes about 8-1 0 patties (these freeze well so you can make batches and stock away for later use; another idea is to make meatb alls and use it the next time you make spaghetti).

For the burger:

1 kg pork mince (use any meat that you want)

1 large red on i on, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 inch ginger, finely chopped

1 large green ch i lli, finely chopped

Indian spice blend:

2 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp d r y ch ili flakes

1 tsp cumin seeds

Salt, to season

1 egg

For the final sandwich:

Burger buns

1 pineapple, c ut into thick slices

Cos lettuce, shredded

1 tomato, sliced

½ red on ion, sliced finely

A few sprigs of fresh coriander leaves

Barbecue sauce

To prepare the spi ce blend, dry roast the cor i ander and cu min seeds. Cool, add t h e chilli flakes and grind to a fine powder I used the entire b l end as I was wanted a good kick of the spices but you can add just enough to su it you r taste preferences.

If you are using a food pro cessor, throw i n all the ingred i ents for the burger i ncludin g t h e spice blend; or finely chop the onion and aromati cs and then mix all i ngr edients together for t h e burger patties.

For m the m i nce into circu l ar patti es and keep aside. Again , the thickness of the patty is entirel y u pto your prefer ences; I make thick ones and for a kilo of min ce, I got 10 patties.

Heat a grill pan, brush with oil and g r ill the patties till done;flip around after g iv ing a couple of m i nutes to each side to get those char g r illed marks. Leave them to rest fo r at least two minutes before preparing the bu rger.

Grill the pineapp le slices (make sure the grill is smoking hot to i nstantly caramelize t h e sugars which keeps the cru n ch i ntact and seals the juices i n side; on low heat, the pineappl e sl i ces go limp and soggy).

Cut the burger b u ns into half an d gri ll for that extra cru n ch.

To assemble the sandwich, p lace shredded lettuce on t h e bottom half of the bun and layer up i n the order of patty, bar becue sauce, p ineappl e slice, tomato, onions and cor iander leaves.

Gorge and get transported to burger heaven!

In our quest to find the oldest l i vi ng life forms on this planet we made some fascinating discoveries. At the risk of taking out the spoiler award, let's just say there are some ultra-centenarians, some immortal species and some millions of years old, pre-human livi ng entities st ill sharing oxygen with us!

10. Oldest planted tree

The oldest surviving fru it tree planted by man with an ident ified planting date is a fig tree in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka The Jaya Sri Maha Bod hi is t he sacred t ree grown from a sapling of the Bod h i Tree under which Lord Buddha received enl ightenment. Planted in 288 BC, this ancient tree is well prot ected by authorities and is revered by Buddhists all over the world

9 . Oldest living woman

Born on 5 March 1898, Japanese super centenarian, M i sao Okawa, is the world's ol d est living woman At 1 16 years old , Misao is verified as t h e oldest ever Japanese person, the oldest perso n born in Asia an d the sixth o ldest perso n ever Alth o ugh M isao now resi d es in a nursing home, she was ab le to do leg sq uats until the age of 102 and walk u naide d until 110 She currently uses a wheelcha ir b ut i s stil l able to prop el herself

8. Oldest shrimp

The horseshoe shri mp hol ds t he titl e of t he oldest livi ng spec i es on ea rth that has exi sted unchanged for 200 milli on years. Pre-historic fossils of an animal exactly like it confi rm that the little creature has been unmarred by evolution. During dry spells, when the water in pools where they l ive dries up, the adu lt shrimps die, but the ir eggs have the ability to survive in the sand for up to twenty years. This survival technique could be the key to the unevolved longevity of this species

7. Oldest tortoise

Born in 1832, Jonathan, the Seychelles giant to rtoise is the oldest living reptile in the world. Jonathan belongs to the government of Saint Helena and resides in the grounds of the Governor's House He was brought to the i sland in 1882 along with three other tortoises at the age of 50. At 182, Jonathan is still goi ng strong and could possibly break the record set by Adwaita, the giant tortoise from Kolkata, India who, at 255 years, was among the longest living ani mal s on the planet until his death in 2006

6. Oldest bacter ia

Over 250 million years old and still alive! That 's Bacillus 2-9-3, a bacteria that was found trapped in suspended animation inside pre-historic salt crystals buried almost 2000 feet below ground in a cavern in New Mexico. The American scientists who managed to revive them claim they are the world 's oldest l iving thi n gs. Bacteria are equipped with the ability to combat harsh conditions and exist in suspended animation for long periods of time by forming resistant structures called spores.

5. Oldest bird

Wisdom, a Laysan albatross turned 63 this year, making her the o l dest known wild bird in the world Studies show that Laysan albatrosses don't usually live beyond their 30th birthday which is why Wisdom, who gave birth to a chick recently on Midway Islands, has been perplexing scientists with her unusual age and the abi l ity to give birth so late in life She was tagged in 1956 and has since flown more than three mill i on miles.

4 . Oldest living man

Super centenarian, Sakari Momoi of Japan has been verified by Gui nness World Records as the oldest man living Born in 1903, Momoi turned 111 this year He was born a day after Alexander lmich who, also 111, held the t itle of the oldest living man until his death earlier this year. Momoi told reporters last year that he wished to live for two more years.

3. Living fossils

Living things continually evolve through the ages and how most of them look like today is very d ifferent from what they started out This makes the horseshoecrab a unique creature as it has remained virtually unchanged for over 445 million years They are considered 'living fossils' and one of the oldest li ving animals on the planet. Thought to be from the Ordovician period, the crabs live near shallow ocean waters where their population is now being threatened by human activity.

2 . Immortal jellyfish

Turritopsis dohrnii, a tiny jellyfish discovered in the Mediterranean Sea in 1883, can age backward from a mature stage to a baby, qualifying as being immortal. Normally the dohrnii reproduces and dies like other mortals, but if faced with life threatening conditions lik e starvation, instead of dying it can transform into a baby, time and time again! It turns into a cyst which develops into a polyp, the first stage in jellyfish life. Then, through asexual reproduction, it can produce hundreds of clones of its adult self. This unique abi lity is helping the Turritopsis dohrnii spread in oceans all over the world in swarms

1. Oldest tree

A Great Basin bristlecone pine named Methuselah, growing in the Wh ite Mountains of lnvo County, Californi a is said to be 4846 yea rs old It was reputed to be the world's oldest known living non-clonal organism until 2013 when t he t itle was clinched by another 5056 years old bristlecone pine discovered in the same ar ea. Methuselah, however, continues to fascinate scientists and the public, and i n order to prot ect it the Forest Services keep its exact location a well- guarded secret.

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