A Pound of Flesh....

This post is dedicated to my Grandpa. He often quoted these famous lines from 'The Merchant of Venice'. That it was mostly in non- food related context and had something to do with his fights with Granny is another story. Like the rest of the family Grandpa loved food and thanks to his travels had sampled different kinds of cuisine very early in his life. His food stories were a delight, he managed to create excitement around everyday dishes. Pish Pash was one such dish- we always thought he had made up the name till years later bro found it on the menu of a Dak Bangla( referring to the times of the Raj) buffet.

Now coming back to the dish, like I had mentioned in my earlier post those loaf tins inspired me to bake with renewed vigour. My success at baking bread made me feel confident to try out other seemingly difficult recipes.

Compared to baking bread this one is a sitter. In terms of impact a perfect 10. I just loved the way this dish looks. While I don't have a picture of the sliced loaf( the boys were busy wolfing it down and unwilling to photograph any further) the tri-color pie- mince, egg yolk and egg white looked amazing. It tasted delicious too.

Meat Loaf

Serves: 4, Preparation time: 10 minutes, Cooking time: 1 hour.

Ingredients

500 grams of Mutton mince

3 onions chopped fine

Breadcrumbs: 1/2 cup or 100 grams

Ginger garlic paste: 1 tsp

Vinegar: 1 tsp

Boiled eggs: 3

Raw egg: 1

Salt to taste

Olive oil- 2 tbsp

Method

• Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions till they turn light brown. Sprinkle some salt over them and let them cool.
• In a bowl mix the mince, raw egg, ginger garlic paste, vinegar, bread crumbs and mix well. Add the onions and mix again.
• Now take the loaf tin, line it with some oil or butter. Divide the mince mixture into two. In the tin pat one half of the mince mixture to form the bottom layer of the meat loaf. Next shell and place the boiled eggs in a row to form the middle layer. Cover completely with the remaining mince mixture. Shape and compress to get rid of any air gaps.
• Bake at 200 degrees for close to an hour. Initially with only the bottom coil on and for the last twenty minutes with both the top and bottom coils.
• Once done let the meat loaf rest for about 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and slice evenly.
• Take a bow when the accolades begin.

Ideally serve this with a clear soup and some stir fried vegetables.

Bon Apetit and Happy Cooking!