Pork Kavabs

Every year on the day Mum passed away I make her favorite foods. It is always a labor of love, as she relished her food, making each meal memorable for the family. Her culinary adventures have been an inspiration to her children, her legacy which we pass on to ours. 

Today I make a raft of her favorites. Khichda, a chicken and dal curry. Ghada, a Pathare Prabhu standard, one she enjoyed making and eating. A potato tomato rassa. And the pork kavabs. Traditionally these Parsi kababs are eaten with dhansak. They call them kavabs, the Parsi linguistic inflection. I would make these for her when she came to visit.  The meat base is usually ground mutton or lamb. In those days both those choices were hard to come by, and she didn't eat beef, so my alternative was pork. Which she thoroughly savored. 

Ground pork is dressed with fresh mint, cilantro, onion, spices, Worcestershire sauce, egg and bread. Lemon sized portions are coated in breadcrumbs and shallow fried and finished in the oven. Savory and tasty, they remind me of Mum, of our time together.

PORK KAVABS

Serves 4-6

1 pound ground Pork

1 small Onion

2 green Chiles

1/2 cup Cilantro

1/2 cup Mint leaves

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 Egg

1 teaspoon Ginger Garlic paste

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric

1 cup fresh Breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Breadcrumbs

Oil

Place pork in a bowl.

Chop onion, green chiles, cilantro and mint finely. Add to pork.

Add ginger garlic paste, turmeric, Worcestershire sauce, egg, fresh breadcrumbs and salt. 

Mix the pork well. Keep aside for at least an 1 hour.

Form lemon size portions. 

Mound some breadcrumbs on a plate. 

Place the pork ball in the crumbs and pat gently to form a patty. Coat generously with crumbs. 

Heat oil in a saucepan. 

Fry the patties till brown on both sides. 

Place kavabs on  a baking sheet.

Heat oven to 350F/180C. 

Bake kavabs for 15 minutes.

Serve them hot.

Eating Mum's favorites is bittersweet. And yet so comforting.

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