Pork burger, Ind • 1an s

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

The barbecue cul mre is one of the first things chat all Indian expats adapt to their 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 Aus sie ba r becues are far from the ta11doori style of preparation, there are several similarities coo. Like in most Indian househo lds where the ta11rlo01· (clay oven) is usually mann ed 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 th ere are ample recipes, both vegetarian and non- vegeta rian

Now, let's tw ist things up a bit. Instead of grilling Oz style burgers this summ er, 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 Indian flavours to the dish.

The secret to a deli cious, succul ent, juicy burger lies mainly in the quality of meat. Instead of going for a store-bought mince, it is best to get good cuts of meat from your loca] butcher and ask hi m to mi.nee 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 uld er 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 added to the pork minc e to infuse the class ic Indian flavours. The caramelised pineapple add s a hint of sweetness and bri n gs the spices to life.

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

Tliis 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 vegetarian vers ion making th e mince using niixed vegetables and potacoes

Makes about 8- 10 patties (these freeze well so you can make batches and stock away for later use; another idea is to make meatballs 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 onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 inch ginger, finely chopped

1 large green chilli, finely chopped

Indian spice blend:

2 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp dry chili flakes

1 tsp cumin seeds

Salt, to season

1 egg

For the final sandwich:

Burger buns

1 pineapple, cut into thick slices

Cos lettuce, shredded

1 tomato, sliced

½ red onion , sliced finely

A few sprigs of fresh coriander leaves

Barbecue sauce

..

To prepare the spice blend, dry roast the coriander and cumin seeds. Cool, add the chilli flakes and grind to a fine powder. I used the entire blend as I was wanted a good kick of the spices but you can add just enough to suit your taste preferences.

If you are using a food processor, throw i n all the ingredients for the burger including the spice blend; or finely chop the onion and aromatics and then mix aJI ingredients together for the burger patties.

Form the mince into circula r patties and keep aside. Again, the thickness of the patty is entirely upto your preferences; I make thick ones and for a kilo of mince, I got 1O patties.

Heat a grill pan, brush with oil and grill the patties till done;flip around after giving a couple of minutes to each side to get those char grilled marks. Leave them to rest for at least two minutes before preparing the burger.

Grill the pineapple slices (make sure the grill is smoking hot to instantly caramelize the sugars which keeps the crunch intact and seals the juices inside; on low heat, the pineapple slices go limp and soggy).

Cut the burger buns inte half and grill for that extra crunch.

To assemble the sandwich, place shredded lettuce on the bottom half of the bun and layer up in the order of patty, barbecue sauce, pineapple slice, tomato, onions and coriander leaves.

Gorge and get transported to burger heaven!

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CANCER June 21 - July 20

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VIRGO Aug 23 - Sep 22

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