While it might not be for the faint-heated, animal blood is an important ingredient in dishes across the world and one that has played a crucial role in the culinary ‘coming of age’ of a budding gourmand.
By Raul Dias
If you were to talk to those who knew me while I was growing up, chances are that their recollections of me would be peppered with adjectives like ‘annoyingly smarmy’, ‘insufferable little know-it-all’, and other not-so-flattering sobriquets. And they would not be off the mark! More often than not, my “over smart attitude”—as my father loved to call it—would get me into a serious spot of bother. But every now and then, it also took me down a serendipitous path of delicious discoveries.
The summer of my 10th year, spent vacationing around South East Asia was one such time. Insisting on ordering a ‘sundae’ for myself at a Korean restaurant in Singapore and paying absolutely no heed to the flustered server’s suggestion that I order something else, I gluttonously waited for my frozen treat to materialise onto the table. In its stead, the now-sniggering server plonked down a plate upon which was placed a blistered, coiled link of a dark brown, almost blackish sausage that he proclaimed with a flourish as “sundae!”. That is how I was introduced to the wonders of the delicious Korean pig’s blood grilled sausage also known as sundae.
United by Blood
Over the years, wherever I would travel, I would make it my mission to scope out dishes that—pardon the morbidity—satiated my ‘blood cravings’. And I really had extraordinarily little trouble in that quest. From imparting that unmistakable iron-y flavour to an Asian stir fry to some much-needed heft to a thin gravy or simply bestowing that rich, haemoglobic, scarlet depth of colour on to a stew, animal blood holds sway the world over. For you see, the concept of animal blood as an ingredient and dare-I-say a delicacy is firmly etched into the culinary lexicon of most countries’ food cultures for centuries.
On a college graduation gift of a safari to Kenya in the mid-2000s, I partook in the age-old Masaai tribal custom of knocking back a cocktail of bull’s blood and milk. Freshly siphoned off the beast’s jugular vein, the blood is quickly mixed with cow’s milk to avoid curdling and served warm out of a hollowed bull’s horn.
While studying for my post-graduation degree in the UK, I fell in love with the crumbly, oat-y taste of a generous slab of pig’s blood sausage called black pudding under fried eggs for my quotidien breakfast served in the cafeteria of my halls of residence. Weekend trips to next door France introduced me to their iteration of the adored pig’s blood sausage called boudin noir that is best paired with sautéed apples.
On a two-week exchange trip to Guangzhou, I saw my Chinese host family speak reverentially of what they know as congealed pig or duck’s blood tofu called xie dòufu that is the main ingredient of the hallowed, fiery stew aptly called hot pot. My blood quest would get further intensified in places like Laos and in northeast Thailand where a surprisingly fresh-tasting mountain salad called laap sees raw minced pork mixed with spices and copious amounts of pig’s blood.
On a recent, pre-pandemic work trip to Scandinavia, I gourmandised my way through the wonderfully flavoursome pig’s blood pancake called blodplättar in Sweden and veriohukainen in Finland.
India, too?
But if you were beginning to think of the use of blood as a ‘foreign’ thing, India’s vast culinary repertoire of blood-enriched dishes will bring you back to our very own desi kitchens! As long as I live, I will never forget the mixture of emotions of seeing a freshly slaughtered pig for the first time in Goa. Rushing to collect the blood spewing forth from the animal’s jugular into a hollowed coconut shell, my aunts quickly stirred the red liquid to prevent it from coagulating, they declared.
The blood would later be used in Portuguese-influenced, festive pork dish of sorpotel. As if the Kashmiri chilli’s crimson hue wasn’t enough, the pig’s blood is added towards the end of the dish’s cook to impart a bright red blush to this thick, unctuous stew that is made up of tiny bits of fatty pork and pig’s liver swimming in a vinegar-spiked gravy served with crusty brun pao.
Though it uses chicken as the main protein, another blood-based, Portuguese-influenced Goan dish is cabidela de galinha. Made very differently from sorpotel, this dish is a sort of mild stew-meets-risotto thanks to the generous amount of basmati rice in its preparation.
As my travels and work stints took me a little southeast in the Indian peninsula, I soon discovered that both the Madurai and Kongu Nadu regions of Tamil Nadu share another blood-centric dish—aattu ratha poriyal. This stir fry uses the congealed blood of a goat that is first steamed and cut into small bits. The pieces are added to spices like turmeric, ginger, garlic, chilli powder, mustard and stir fried in oil with onions and fresh coconut scrapings with plenty of curry leaves thrown in.
North by Northeast!
Interestingly, I learned that quite a few of the blood-enhanced dishes of India’s northeast are festive ones made with great pomp and ceremony, take the sacred dish of amin for instance. This one is made by the Galo tribal people of Arunachal Pradesh from the blood of a sacrificial mithun (bor frontalis) on the fourth (and last) day of the Mopin Festival of Fertility, celebrated in April ever year.
Similarly, India’s indigenous Nepalese community who mainly live in Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Darjeeling, too have a ritualistic spicy goat blood dish called rakti that is had during the Hindu festival of Dashain (Dussehra) and cooked in mustard oil over a slow fire.
Still in the northeast, the Khasis from the Cherrapunjee area of Meghalaya also known as Sohra, make a pork pulao called ja-doh that uses pig and sometimes chicken’s blood. The dish is typically eaten at breakfast during traditional Khasi festivals like Christmas and Easter.
Once again serendipity comes to the fore as I discover, while researching this piece, a dessert of all things, made with blood. Apparently, in Italy, sanguinaccio dolce is a pudding made with pig’s blood, chocolate, sugar, pine nuts, raisins and milk. I know where I will be heading to next!
SUNDAY RECIPE
Cabidela de Galinha
INGREDIENTS:
2 chicken legs (cut in quarters)
1 cup basmati rice
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup water
1 cup fresh pig’s blood
½ cup dark Goan vinegar (sur)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 bay leaves
1 small bunch fresh coriander leaves
salt and pepper to taste
METHOD:
1. Mix the vinegar with the pig’s blood and set aside.
2. In a large pan heat oil and fry the minced onion and garlic.
3. Add the chicken pieces and let them braise for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Cover and let cook 30 minutes over medium heat.
5. When the broth has reduced a little, add water to the pan and then the rice. Cover and let simmer until the rice is just about done.
6. Add the blood and vinegar mixture to the pan, stir, cover again and let cook for an additional 2-5 minutes.
7. Remove from the pan and serve with a little sprinkle of coriander leaves.
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