Madrak

'Mother's Flame'

This recipe was created for Astaeria by the lovely Kathadriel.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did because it certainly has my mouth watering!
If you have a Twitter account please don't forget to give Kathadriel some support, and share pictures if you give it a bash!

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Madrak: "Mother's Flame"

Eaten by hand with a dipping sauce, this dish is a commonly found street food in Astaeria.
Its colors and spiciness are meant to evoke the myth of the Mother having to cleanse this world with fire before rebuilding it. It reminds people of what might become of this world should they stray toward evil, and it is said that the spiciest of versions are quite a painful reminder.
Street vendors will often compete with one another to see who can make the spiciest madrak, though there are some who will grudgingly make mild versions for children and out-of-towners.

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Recipe Directions

Peppers

1. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds and veins. Set aside.

Rice

1. Grind half of the saffron with a mortar and pestle until it is a powder. Add the remaining saffron to the mix and then add the hot water. Let sit 5 minutes.
2. Add the rice, water, wine, saffron water, and salt to a pot over medium heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover for 20 minutes until rice is done.
3. Cool to room temperature

Meat Mixture

1. While the rice is cooking, combine all of the ingredients from the chipotle powder through the coriander into a small bowl and set aside.
2. Place a large, nonstick pan on medium heat and add the olive oil. Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds. (Note: if using fresh hot peppers, add them at this stage.)
3. Add the ground moorpig and cook, breaking it up into very small chunks, until only a little pink is showing (3-5 minutes).

4. Add the tomato paste and the Narragula] syrup to the meat and stir to combine.
5. Add the spice mix to the meat mixture, stir to combine, and let the meat continue cooking (1-2 minutes).
6. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Yogurt Sauce

1. Pour the yogurt in a bowl and drizzle the hot sauce over it.

Assembly

1. Take the small peppers and stuff a small amount of rice in the bottom. Then add the meat mixture almost until the top, then add a little more rice.
2. Sprinkle with saffron if you’re feeling fancy.
3. Serve with the yogurt sauce for dipping.

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Peppers

½ kg small, sweet Italian peppers (larger bell peppers can be used but the little ones are best for the street food feel)

Rice

¼ tsp saffron
¼ cup hot water
1 cup arborio rice
¾ cup cold water
1 cup dry white wine
½ tsp salt

Meat Mixture

2 tsp chipotle powder
1 tsp sweet or spicy paprika
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp sumac
1 ½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp Sichuan peppercorns, crushed with a mortar and pestle
¼ tsp ground white pepper
¼ tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
½ kg ground moorpig
1 tbsp double concentrated tomato paste
2 tsp Narragula syrup

Yogurt Dipping Sauce

¼ cup plain Greek yogurt Swirl of sriracha or other hot sauce

Item type

Consumable, Food / Drink