#257 Re-kindling memories of home at the Holidays- Kerala Roast Beef Sliders

Happy Holidays to all Keralites out there.....dish up this old time favorite to re-kindle beautiful memories from the past!! A Kerala Beef Thoran style shredded beef stuffed into mini buns and serve it up like the all popular Roast Beef Sandwiches.

Today, we've all come out of our comfort zone from eating those familiar foods that we were raised on and moving on to International cuisine, embracing some healthy versions of new ingredients from all over the world. Don't you think loaves of white bread, pasta, bisquick and mayyonnaise will soon be disappearing from supermarket shelves?  More and more pantries are being hoarded with cans of chick peas, dry quinoa, bags of flaxmeal, spiceracks are stacked with tandoori, asian, mediterranean and mexican spices on the quest for eating the healthiest of meals. While that is happening, some home-grown heirloom recipes like Roast Beef Sandwiches are becoming a thing of the past and once in a while it's nice to bring some of these back to life just so that we can keep in touch with the food that people have been eating for generations.

I'm no food artisan but I'm merely trying to preserve a time-honored culinary tradition of bringing together two flavors and combining ingredients into one such recipe.  One with no particular roots blending the east and west in a conventional way. Spicy shredded beef sliders!! I have a partiality to whole wheat bread and an inclination to go for anything whole grain but this one calls for sweet mini dinner rolls to offset the spice drenched shredded beef.

To the normal spices I've added a heaping spoonful of Chipotle chilis in adobe sauce for a nice added kick, caramelizing onions right in the sauce with the beef at the end of the coooking time, and served it on a sweet Hawaiian roll topped with a cucumber onion salad?  Another artery clogging heap of deliciousness for the season before I start on my healthy hike.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb Chuck Roast
6 cloves garlic sliced
1 Tblspn paprika
1 tspn cayenne/regular chili powder
1/2 tspn black pepper
Chipotle peppers in Adobo Sauce-2 Tblspn
Garlic slices-5
Garlic paste-1/4 tspn
Ginger paste- 1 Tblspn
Chopped curry leaves- 1 stem
2 Tbslpsn of Adobo seasoning
Eastern Curry Powder-2 Tblspn
1 large onion
1 large hot green pepper
1/4 cup beer
1/2 tspn mustard seeds
1 Tbslpn Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbslpsn White Vinegar
1/2 tspn of Fennel seed powder
Salt as needed.
Hawaiin Dinner Rolls.
Cucumber, Tomato and Onion relish in yogurt.

Directions:
1. wash and wipe the meat with a paper towel.
2. Using a sharp knife make gashes in the meat about 1 inch deep. Insert the garlic slices into each one.
3. In a small bowl combine the paprika, curry powder,chili and pepper powders,
Rub this over the meat
4. In a seperate bowl,combine beer, vinegar, worcestershire sauce, chopped Chipotle peppers and the adobo sauce and mix well.
5. Place the meat in a slow cooker and pour the liquid mixture over it. Cook for about 2-3 hours turning over after every hour.
6. add the sliced onion and green pepper to the slow cooker. Taste the gravy and adjust seasonings. Add more curry powder and chili if needed. Add 1/2 tspn of Fennel seed powder.
7. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on medium setting for about another hour until the meat is cooked well enough to fall apart with a knife.add water or beef broth if it gets dry. Shred beef with two forks and
8. Serve inside a slider bun with a salad of tomato, cucumber and onion.