How to use papaya to tenderize meats?

The most common meat tenderizer used in India is raw (un-ripened) papaya

The leaves, and green skin of raw papaya contain an enzyme called Papain. The connective tissue in the meat breaks down when it comes in contact with Papain. Papaya is preferred tenderizer for red meat (Lamb, Mutton, Goat, Beef). It can be used for fowl. The preferred tenderizer for fowl is Yogurt How to use yogurt to tenderize meats?

You should NOT discard the tenderizing paste. When the connective tissue gets gelatinized, the gelatin gets mixed with the tenderizing paste. If you discard the tenderizing paste, you will throw out a lot of flavor.

In United States, Papain is available in Grocery stores as Adolph's Meat Tenderizer. You can also buy Papain in tablet for at health food stores.

If you score the skin of a raw Papaya with knife, the fruit will exude a milky white substance known as the latex that contains Papain.

 

Preparing Papaya Tenderizer Paste

Raw Papaya

1. Peel green skin up about 1/8th to ¼" deep off the raw papaya.
2. Add ¼ teaspoon of salt per two Tablespoons of Papaya.
3. Grind to a paste. You need 2 Tablespoon of Papaya paste for one pound of meat.

Adolph's Meat tenderizer

You do not need to add salt. Adolph's meat tenderizer already has the salt. Add one teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon of water to make Papaya paste. You need 2 Tablespoon of Papaya paste for one pound of meat, it only hast 2 teaspoons of the Adolph's meat tenderizer.

Papain Characteristics

The Papain enzyme activity depends on two factors: pH factor, and the temperature.

Effect of the pH factor

pH for optimal Papain activity: 6.0-7.0

The enzyme is active when the pH factor is neutral (pH = 7) to slightly acid (pH = 6). The pH of most of the meats is neutral to slightly acid.

Effect of temperature

Temperature for optimal Papain activity: 149 °F

Inactive Papain: 170°F to 185 °F

Active Papain Range: 140 °F to 160 °F

If you just store the meat with the papaya paste in the refrigerator, it will do nothing to tenderize meat. It starts to become active at 140 °F, slows down at 170 °F, and dies at 185 °F.

How long to tenderize meat?

It depends on pH factor, temperature, type of meat (mutton takes longer than spring lamb), fat in the meat and cut of meat. It also depends on the level of tenderness sought. I use the following guide
Beef Steaks: 30 minutes
Cubed / Minced Lamb: 1 hour
Cubed / Minced Mutton: 90 minutes
Cubed / Minced Goat: 90 minutes

Methods

There are three alternate methods Stove-top, Oven baking and Electric heat pad.

Stove top

This is suitable for muscle meat.
1. Pierce every piece of meat with a fork.
2. Put the meat in a heavy bottom stainless steel pot.
3. Add just enough water so that the meat is submerged in water.
4. Add Papaya Tenderizer Paste.
5. Turn on heat at low. Warm the mixture to 149 °F

Make sure the heat does not rise above 165 °F

6. Simmer for one hour at 140 °F to 160 °F.
7. Turn off heat.

 

Bake Oven

This is suitable for minced, chopped or ground meats.
1. Add Papaya Tenderizer Paste to the meat. Knead the meat thoroughly like dough for 5 minutes.
2. Put meat in a glass container. Cover with lid.
3. Turn on oven at 350º F. After 20 minutes turn down temperature to 200º F.
4. Check the temperature of meat every 30 minutes.
Make sure the heat does not rise above 165 °F.
Bake for one hour at 140 °F to 160 °F.
It may take up to 2 hour total to get get active one hour at 140 °F to 160 °F.

Electric Heating pad

This is suitable for minced, chopped or ground meats.
1. Add Papaya Tenderizer Paste to the meat. Knead the meat thoroughly like dough for 5 minutes.
2. Put meat in a glass container. Cover with lid.
3. Wrap the glass container with a heating pad. Cover the heating pad with another throw blanket.
4. Turn on heating pad to medium. Check the temperature of meat every 30 minutes.
5. Let it rest for 90 minutes. Turn off the heating pad.

TANDOORI CHICKEN - KHANA KHAZANA

TANDOORI CHICKEN - KHANA KHAZANA  Chicken marinated in yoghurt and spices and slow cooked in a hot clay oven or an electric oven.  Preparation Time : 4-6 hours Cooking Time : 10-15 minutes Servings : 4

INGREDIENTS Chicken , whole 800 grams Kashmiri red chilli powder 2 teaspoons Lemon juice 3 tablespoons Salt to taste Yogurt 1 cup Ginger paste 2 tablespoons Garlic paste 2 tablespoons Garam masala powder 1/2 teaspoon Mustard oil 2 tablespoons Butter to taste Chaat masala 1/2 teaspoon Onion , cut into rings as required Lemon, cut into wedges as required

METHOD Make incisions with a sharp knife on the chicken breast, legs and thighs. Apply a mixture one teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder, one tablespoon lemon juice and salt over the chicken and set aside for half an hour. For the marinade, tie up yogurt in a piece of muslin and hang over a bowl for fifteen to twenty minutes. Remove the thick yogurt into another bowl. Add the remaining Kashmiri red chilli powder, salt, ginger paste, garlic paste, remaining lemon juice, garam masala powder and mustard oil. Rub this mixture over the chicken and marinate for three to four hours in a refrigerator. Skew the chicken onto a skewer and cook in a moderately hot tandoor (clay oven) or in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6 for ten to twelve minutes, or until almost done. Baste chicken with a little butter and cook for another four minutes. Remove and set aside. Sprinkle chaat masala powder and serve with onion rings and lemon wedges.

KADAI CHICKEN

Chicken cooked in a red gravy  Preparation Time : 5-10 minutes Cooking Time : 20-30 minutes Servings : 4

INGREDIENTS Chicken, 10-12 pieces 1 kilogram Coriander seeds 2 teaspoons Cumin seeds 2 teaspoons Black peppercorns 6 Whole dry red chilli 6 Ginger 2 inch piece Garlic 15 cloves Ghee 2 tablespoons Oil 2 tablespoons Onion , chopped 1 large Tomatoes, chopped 4 large Salt to taste Fresh coriander leaves, chopped 2 tablespoons

METHOD Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds and black peppercorns and grind to a coarse powder. Grind red chillies, ginger and garlic to a fine pasteHeat ghee and oil in a kadai, add onion and sauté till lightly browned. Add half the coarsely ground spice powder and red chilli-ginger-garlic paste and continue to sauté for three to four minutes. Add tomatoes and salt and continue to sauté till the tomatoes become soft. Add chicken and stir. Add coriander leaves and the remaining coarsely ground spice powder and mix. Add half a cup of water and stir. Cover and cook on medium heat till the chicken is done. Serve hot.

ANDHRA CHILLI CHICKEN

A shallow-fried spicy chicken dish from Andhra Pradesh.  Preparation Time : 4- 5 hours Cooking Time : 20-30 minutes Servings : 4

INGREDIENTS Chicken 1 medium Salt to taste Lemon juice 4 tablespoons Ginger 2 inch piece Garlic 6-8 cloves Curry leaves 8-10 leaves Whole dry red chillies 8-10 Rice 2 tablespoons Yogurt 1/2 cup Oil 1/4 cup Refined flour (maida) 1/4 cup Fresh coriander leaves, chopped 2 tablespoons

METHOD Cut chicken into four pieces - two legs and two breasts. Make four to five half-inch deep slits on the chicken pieces. Apply salt and two tablespoons of lemon juice and keep aside. Grind ginger, garlic, curry leaves, whole red chillies and rice to a smooth paste with the remaining lemon juice. Add this paste to yogurt and whisk well to a smooth consistency. Add salt to taste. Apply this yogurt mixture liberally on the chicken pieces and leave to marinate for four to six hours, preferably in the refrigerator. Heat oil in a pan, roll the marinated chicken in refined flour, shake off the excess flour and shallow fry. Cook for one minute, turn over the chicken pieces and cook for another minute. Reduce heat and cook for five to six minutes, turning the chicken pieces frequently for uniform cooking. Remove and drain. Transfer the chicken to a shallow pan and keep on medium heat. Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves, two tablespoons water and cover with a fitting lid. Reduce heat and cook for five minutes on low heat or until the chicken is completely cooked. Serve hot.

CHICKEN KURMA RECIPE

1 kg chicken
1 cup onions ( pyaj) (sliced)
2 tblsp poppy seeds (khuskhus) (khuskhus)
1 tblsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 cup coconut (narial) (scraped)
1/2 cup yogurt
2 cloves garlic (lasan)
2 tsp ginger (adrak) paste
3-4 green cardamoms
3 tblsp oil (tel)
salt (namak) to taste
6 red chillies whole
1/4 cup fresh cream (malai)

How to make chicken kurma:

• Clean, wash and skin the chicken. Cut the chicken into 12-14 pieces.
• Soak poppy seeds in 1 cup warm water for 10 minutes.
• Grind soaked poppy seeds with de-seeded red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, garlic, green cardamom and scraped coconut.
• Heat oil in a pan. Add sliced onions and cook till they are translucent. Add ginger paste and stir for 15 seconds.
• Add chicken pieces and cook on high heat for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Make sure the chicken does not brown.
• Stir in the ground paste and add 1 cup of water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add beaten yogurt. Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Finish with fresh cream.

Biryani Nawabi Recipe

Ingredients:

750 grams Basmati rice
1 kg Mutton
5-6 medium Onions
1 tblsp Ginger-garlic paste
2 tblsp Garam masala
6 nos. Red chillies
1 cup Curds
2 nos. Cinnamon
6 nos. Cardamom powder
1 tblsp Shahjeera
10 nos. Black peppercorns
1 tblsp Turmeric powder
2 pinches Saffron
1/2 cup Milk
10 nos. Apricot
1 tblsp Almonds
1 tblsp Cashew nuts
1 tblsp Sunflower seeds
1 tblsp Raisins

How to make biryani nawabi:

• Heat 5 tbsp ghee and fry the almonds, cashewnuts, chironji, raisins, apricots (halved) till light brown in colour.
• Fry the onions till crisp.
• Grind the fried onions and chillies to a fine paste.
• Marinate the meat in beaten curds, ginger-garlic paste, onion-chilli paste, turmeric powder and salt for 1 1/2 hours.
• Heat 2 1/2 tblsp ghee and saute the marinated meat till it is dry and oil leaves the sides of the pan.
• Heat 2 tblsp ghee and fry the cinnamon, cardamom, shahjeera and black pepper till the seeds start spluttering.
• Add the drained rice and saute for 4-5 minutes.
• Add warm water. The level of water should be 1 1/2 inches above the rice level.
• Add salt as per taste. Cook till rice is done.
• Spread on a plate and remove the cinnamon, cardamoms and cloves.
• To Assemble
• Take a heavy bottomed pan and line it with ghee.
• Add the prepared mutton and sprinkle garam masala over it.
• Cover with cooked rice and dot with ghee.
• Make deep holes in the rice and add the saffron (soaked in 1/2 milk) and sprinkle fried nuts and onions.
• Cover the pan and seal the edges with dough.
• Heat a tawa and place the pan on top and cook on a very low flame for 20-25 minutes.
• Mix and serve hot garnished with chopped mint leaves.

Kachchi Biryani Recipe

Ingredients:

1 kg Chicken legs
600 grams Basmati rice
4 medium Sliced onions
10 grams Ginger paste
12 grams Garlic paste
8 grams Red chilli powder
1 bunch Coriander leaves
1 bunch Mint leaves
4 nos. Green chillies
5 nos. Cardamoms (green)
6 nos. Cloves
2 inches Cinnamon
5 grams Peppercorns
3 grams Mace
200 grams Curds
3 tblsp Lemon juice
100 ml Milk
2 grams Saffron
100 ml Oil
30 ml Ghee
As per taste Salt

How to make kachchi biryani:

• Pick, wash and soak the rice for 30-40 minutes. Heat oil in a pan and fry the sliced onions till golden brown. Keep aside.
• Finely chop the coriander and mint leaves. Grind the green chillies to a fine paste.
• Soak the saffron in warm milk. Grind mace, green cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon and peppercorn to a fine powder.
• In a bowl, mix together well beaten curds, red chilli powder, salt, ginger-garlic paste, green chilli paste, mint and coriander leaves, lemon juice, powdered spices and fried onions (crush the onions before adding them).
• Rub the chicken legs with this marinade and marinate it for 2 hours.
• Boil atleast 5 ltrs of water with a little salt.
• When the water starts boiling add the soaked rice.
• In the meantime, transfer the marinated chicken into a deep bottomed pan which has a tight lid.
• Once the rice starts boiling, drain the water and layer the rice over the marinated chicken in the deep pan.
• Sprinkle the saffron-milk mixture over the rice and chicken. Add the ghee.
• Cover the pan with the lid and cook on a high temperature till it just starts steaming.
• Then cook on a medium flame till the chicken is tender and all the moisture is absorbed.
• Transfer the contents gently into a serving dish. Serve garnished with mint leaves and ginger juliennes