Roaming Rome and Walking the Vatican!

The first segment of our travelogue - Italy-cised
Moving onto our second segment!

Rome is an architectural amass of several eras. Few still standing tall and proud and the rest bowing to time. This architectural extravaganza can be thoroughly enjoyed on foot - we know it because that is what we did. (Mainly because we didn’t know where to flag down a taxi or which bus to take)

We stayed at an Airbnb accommodation which is 20 minutes by foot from St Peters Basilica. On suggestion of our Airbnb host, we decided to take a bus to Piazza Venezia and begin our adventure there. This is the only time we used a vehicle for our transportation in our two day stay at Rome! 

Piazza Venezia is located at the heart of Rome and leads to the most talked of monument in Rome - the Colosseum.

Altare della Patria

The monument of Altare della Patria

Located on the right of the Piazza is Altare della Patria which hosts a museum and the tomb of the unknown soldier with an eternal flame. This monument is dedicated to King Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of unified Italy. Unfortunately this monument is quite controversial as this monument was built compromising many medieval structures. After spending about half an hour taking in the view, we made our way to the Colosseum.

Fountain by the monument

The street that leads to the Colosseum is adorned by artists - the ones who create beautiful paintings of the historical structures, musicians, street performers and vendors. 

We were also lucky to witness a parade by the Colosseum with men, women and children dressed in flamboyant costumes of the eras gone by. Every word was spoken in Italian, hence we could make out absolutely nothing of what they said and what the parade was for!

Roma Forum, Palantine Hill and Colosseum

The ideal way to reach the Colosseum is through the Roma Forum and Palantine hills. Do your booking in advance to avoid the long queues and ensure to take audio guide! Or even better book yourself a guided tour.  Without this although you would be gaping at the architectural extravaganza before your eyes yet you would not be sure what you are looking at! Roma forum houses the ruins of public speech and trial sites, gladiator matches, ancient temples and towering above them is the Palantine hill. Wild flowers growing amidst the ruins on these hills are the remnants of the Botanical garden it was in the 1500s.  After a stroll through the hills, we headed over to the mighty Colosseum that till date was only something that decked the covers of our history text book. Now it was right before our eyes in full glory. The queue to enter the Colosseum was unbelievably long but our advance booking got us through within minutes.

The statue of Julius Caesar

Ruins at the Roma Forum

Colosseum, the largest amphitheater to be ever built stands as a symbol of the imperial Rome. It started off as an entertainment place housing on an average 60,000 spectators witnessing gladiator fights and dramas, as centuries passed by the amphitheater was rebuilt as a shrine, for housing, workshop, and fortress and later fell prey to the stone robbers as well. Yet even today the building stands as yielding memory architecture marvel of centuries ago when no technology or any of the inventions of the modern era was in place. A tour of these three places could easily take you about three hours. 

A view of the Colosseum

Another view of the Colosseum

The inside of the Amphitheater

We stopped by at a small cafeteria and gorged on sandwiches decked with fresh mozarella cheese and cold cuts of meat for lunch. 

We then made our way to the Pantheon through the winding streets. Every street is a treat to the eye with the beautiful architecture, fountains welcoming you and also the souvenir stores that are simply hard to resist. 

Pantheon (Colosseum to pantheon is about 1.7 kms)

The entrance to the pantheon

The obelisk decked by fountain on all sides in front of the Pantheon

The pantheon is a former Roman Temple.. It is the only monument in Rome that is believed to have survived the Barbarian raids.   About thirty minutes is a good enough time at this ancient Roman architecture before heading over to the next destination. Piazza Navona, a popular square in Rome known for its eateries is just 500 metres from the Pantheon. Since it was only 4 in the evening - way too early for dinner, we decided to cover the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps before calling it a day at Piazza Navona.

Trevi fountain ( Pantheon to Trevi Fountain is about 800 mtrs)

We walked from Pantheon to Trevi via Piazza Colonna which has Marcus Aurelius obelisk ( a large pillar made of stone) and a beautiful fountain. 

We bought a TIM sim card on the way, which helped us a lot with the directions for the rest of our trip in Italy. As we near the Trevi Fountain, the streets got a little narrow and too many buildings came into sight and nothing prepared us for the beauty that is Trevi. The tourists were crowding around Trevi, yet there is a tranquility that precedes it all. It is not just a pleasure to the eyes but awakens your senses. The sound of the following water, the occasional mist of water that graces you brought by the winds - it is beyond what can be described in words. Traditional legend has it that if you throw a coin into the Trevi, you are sure to return to Rome. The Trevi was filled with coins for sure - people return or not, this is the money that is used for the upkeep of such a magnificence. We tossed in our coin to in the hope that we return to Rome!

The beauty that is Trevi

Sculptures at the Trevi

 Spanish Steps ( About 650 mtrs from Trevi)

Spanish steps facing the upmarket area in Rome

 About ten minutes from Trevi lies the 138 steps ascend to the church that faces the upmarket area in Rome which is bordered by house of John Keats on one side, the old Babingtons Tea Room on the other side. What fascinated me was the beautiful fountain at the base of the stairs in the shape of a boat. Years back after the water receded from flooding of River Tiber - a boat was left behind on this very spot where the fountain now stands.

The boat at the bottom of the Spanish steps

 If shopping is on your mind and splurging isn't an issue - you will find all possible brands here.

Piazza Navona ( About 1.5 kms from Spanish Steps)

Piazza Navona

Piazza Navona is a very beautiful square in Rome only next to Trastevere! Fountain of four rivers, Fountain of Moor and Fountain of Neptune along with a gigantic Egyptian Obelisk and countless eateries along the sides makes this square teeming with visitors.  Church of Sant'Agnese in this square is also a must visit - a serene and beautiful church that will leave you spellbound. We had our dinner here watching the fountains and the street performers. Our dinner for the night was Capricciosa pizza ( mushroom, egg, artichoke, tomato and mozarella cheese) and Spaghetti with egg and bacon. We had a good laugh over the pizza and we weren’t even sure how to eat it. The Spaghetti was very good!

The pizza we had a laugh over!

Sticking to our tradition to walk by foot, we began our one hour journey back to our stay abandoning our initial plans of taking a cab or bus. We are glad we did it because we got to take in the sights by the river Tiber, and also St Peters Basilica by night,  all lit up with no crowd in the way! The photo below says it all –

View of the Castel Sant'Angelo by River Tiber

A breath taking view of the St Peters Basilica

Since we have to leave early the next morning for the guided tour of the Vatican, we decided to stop by a resto on our way back, to buy some breakfast for the next morning. We stopped by a café named Sa. Ma Café which was on our way (near the San Pietro station) and ordered a focaccia. After waiting for quite some time, they gave us something which was thin and crisp, which left us wondering if it was really focaccia. They charged 5 euro for the focaccia, plus a 3 euro charge for take away!! That was a complete rip off. Since it was late night, we didn’t really want to argue. We took the focaccia and left. As expected, the “focaccia” tasted horrible.  We looked up reviews on this café, and they had plenty of horrible reviews too. Can’t believe our luck!

Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel and St Peters Basilica

The roof at the museum which makes
you wonder if it is painted or sculpted

Our day 2 began with an early morning jog to the Vatican museum to ensure that we were in time for the guided tour at 7:45am that we had booked through Viator. Not that we were fitness freaks, but the bus that was supposed to pass by our stop never arrived, hence the morning jog. Panting and puffing, we managed to reach on time. A very enthusiastic guide took us through the Vatican museum explaining the overwhelming architecture and paintings and how it evolved over years under different Popes to be what it is today. As history goes, Vatican City today stands on the burial site of Apostle St Peter. The tour of the museum was followed by the visit to the Sistine Chapel which stands as the testimony to the talent of Michelangelo. Michelangelo, originally a sculptor, was summoned to paint the walls of the chapel. It took him a good 4 years to complete, he swore never to return to Vatican but returned four years later to complete the Last Judgement painting! It is required to maintain complete silence in the chapel and no photographs are permitted probably owing to its sanctity. 

From here we moved on to the St Peters Basilica which was no less of an architecture marvel. It took us a good 4 hours but a well spent one. You could also climb upto the dome on an extra payment if you wish to. We skipped that part.

Michalangelo's Pieta - depicting body of Jesus on the lap of his Mother Mary

The altar in the chapel

The dome rising high

External view of the Vatican

Another view

 Campo di Fiori  and Jewish Ghetto ( 1.6 km from St Peters Basilica)

At Campo di Fiori

We then walked to Campo di Fiori, which is the place to go if you want to shop for fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, dried fruits etc. We bought some lovely fresh strawberries from two elderly ladies, and walked across stalls with vendors trying to lure us at every corner.  The Jewish Ghetto is also close by. This area was once walled off for only the Jewish settlement and being a low lying areas it was often flooded leading to widespread epidemics. The synagogue is a must visit, somehow we missed that part. Our last agenda for the day was Trastevere, another happening square at Rome. Since it was only afternoon, we decided to explore a bit more of Rome. We walked across River Tiber and reached a small island which hosts Bartholomew Church.  We said our prayers and walked along river Tiber for quite a while till we reached Testaccio. Now, Testaccio as per google is quite a happening place but unfortunately the mood sets in only in the evenings. Almost every store and restaurant is closed at noon. Thankfully, we found one that was open and we desperately needed to rest our legs! We feasted on beef brisket, grilled chicken and roasted potatoes ( the potatoes were the best!!) before heading to Trastevere.

Trastevere

Enroute - Trastevere

Basilica di Santa Maria

 At Trastevere stands the Basilica di Santa Maria overlooking cafes and a beautiful fountain where street performers were queued up for their turns. Also an ideal shopping area for jewellery, paintings and the like. We relaxed at one of the joints and over a cup of coffee, brushcetta and panini, we sat back contemplating on the two wonderful days spent at Rome and how the city made us fall in love with its architecture.

Coffee and Panini - ending our day at Rome

Mango Mint Lemonade

Mangoes always brings fond memories of summer vacations. After breakfast, we gather around in the backyard of my mother's house where grandmother had ready for us the mangoes. We called the bigger slices mettha (malayalam for mattress) and the smaller slices talayana (malayalam for pillow). Back home in Udupi, summers began with us racing out to drive away the monkeys from taste testing the mangoes on our tree! The monkeys are ever present around the house during summers jumping from roof to tree and the dogs run under the tree hoping to catch hold of one monkey ( if only one would fall) . The monkeys are very choosy, hard to please group! They taste test several mangoes and drop them to the ground with just a single bite. Obviously that renders the mango ill suited for consumption and leaves a broken hearted mom and two children staring at the useless mangoes underneath the tree. If not consuming the mango as is the other popular use of mango were the milkshakes we made in the evening! Summers also saw us making jar full of lemonade - I remember telling my Dad years back that I am going to start a lemonade business - he laughed it off!

This summer in Dubai is killing. Despite being indoors most of the time, the heat seems to be getting the better of us. For the first time since moving here, we have started drinking refrigerated water. So it is invariable that we try out some cold drinks. So this time I combined the mango with lemonade and there we have the Mango mint lemonade.

Ingredients

1. Mango - 2 medium sized sliced
2. Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
3. Mint Leaves - a handful
4. Ice cubes
5. Sugar - 2 tbsp

Method

• Blend together the sliced mango along with mint leaves, lemon juice and sugar. (add or reduce sugar as per the sweetness of the mango)
• Pour into glass and serve chilled with ice cubes.

Check out other summer thirst quenchers on the blog - 

Orange Iced Tea

Green gram Cooler

Water - 'lemon mint cooler'

Kozhi Nirachathu / Stuffed Chicken with gravy

We first ordered Kozhi Nirachathu at a popular restaurant in the UAE. We ended up with a butterflied chicken in a spicy masala along with a side of egg roast which absolutely did not complement each other that too at an exorbitant price! After almost a year we got to taste this dish again at another restaurant. This time the egg roast stuffed inside the chicken and the chicken was deep fried - it tasted heavenly.  I was skeptical of getting a whole chicken deep fried until I read up a few recipes and saw a couple of videos. Yes, you can actually cook a whole chicken on stove top without deep frying it! It is not all that time consuming either.

Kozhi Nirachathu or stuffed chicken with gravy is a dish from Kerala that involves cooking a whole chicken with gravy and egg roast stuffed in the cavity.  Egg roast is made separately and stuffed into the marinated whole chicken before cooking the chicken in the gravy. When you want a whole chicken on table and you do not have an oven to rely on this could be your go to recipe! 

Ingredients

1. Whole chicken - 900 gm
2. Egg - 2 no.s
3. Onion  - 4 big ones finely chopped
4. Tomato - 2 finely chopped
5. Green Chilly - 2 finely chopped
6. Ginger garlic paste  - 2 tsp
7. Chilly powder - 1 tbsp + ½ tsp +¼ tsp
8. Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
9. Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
10. Fennel powder - 1 tsp
11. Garam Masala - 1 tsp
12. Curry Leaves - 3 sprigs
13. Water - ¼ cup
14. Coconut Oil

To Marinate

1. Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
2. Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp
3. Lime juice - 2 tbsp
4. Salt

Method

• Hard boil the eggs, shell and keep aside. Create cuts on the egg and roll it in ¼ tsp of chilly powder until well coated. Fry this for 2 minutes in a teaspoon of oil rotating until done on all sides
• Remove the skin, clean and pat dry whole chicken. Create deep gashes on the chicken. Make a marinade by mixing together the chilly powder, turmeric powder, salt and lime juice.  Rub this well onto the chicken and the cavity too. Let it rest on counter top for about an hour.
• Heat oil in a deep pan ( use extra oil than you would use for normal chicken curry). Add onions into the pan and saute till transparent.
• Add ginger garlic paste, curry leaves and green chilly. Let it cook down.
• At this point,separate 4 tbsp masala into another pan. Add ½ tsp of chilly powder to this and cook well.  Add 2 tbsp of chopped tomato and let it melt.  Add the fried eggs and coat the masala. Let it cook for another minute. Turn off the flame and set aside.
• Meanwhile, add the remaining chilly powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, fennel powder and garam masala into the main pan. Let the masala cook before adding tomato. Mix well and keep it covered until the tomato melts.
• Add salt and water to this bring it to boil and turn off.
• Stuff the egg masala into the cavity and using a twine tie together the legs of the chicken to close the cavity so that the masala stuffed in does not seep out. Tie together the wings as well. 
• Place this in the deep bottomed pan. Spoon masala over the chicken and let it cook on high for 5 minutes. Reduce the flame and let the chicken cook. Flip over the chicken once a while ensuring that the chicken is always well coated in the masala. It takes about 30 minutes to an hour for the chicken to cook completely. Uncover and cook the chicken for the last ten minutes. The masala reduces and begins to change color to brownish red.
• Transfer to a serving dish and serve it with choice of bread or rice.

You may also note - 

• Turning over a whole chicken may be difficult, use two spatulas to support while turning it over.
• Keep pouring spoonful of the gravy onto the chicken top and let the flavor seep in.
• There are chances that the chicken may stick to the vessel and burn. So make sure to turn it over frequently!

Koshari - a popular dish from Egypt

With the MENA cooking club giving a free reign to cook something traditional to any of the MENA countries, the ball was completely in our court this month! I kept mulling on it for a few days and then my husband decided to ask one of his Egyptian friend from office - he gave us a list of popular items that included Kousa mahshi, Cabbage mahshi, Koshari and Hamam Mahshi which were popular during Ramadan. The same friend had once suggested a restaurant to try out the Egyptian cuisine. We had feasted on Koshari, Fattayer and kebabs that day. So when this came about, we only thought it was fitting to try out Koshari - an Egyptian dish; as traditional as it can get!

Koshari is a popular Egyptian folk food and a look at the dish will definitely reveal the way it has come. Koshari comprises of lentils, rice, pasta, chickpea, crispy fried onions and a tomato based sauce. The influence of rice and lentils is believed to be from Indian cuisine. The pasta and the sauce reflect Italian influence as well.It was a popular food cart dish before it made its way into the restaurants. The dish is usually vegetarian but sometimes comes topped with chicken. This dish although comprises of various components is easy to make and assembled only while serving.

Here we go -

Ingredients

1. Brown lentils - 1/2 cup
2. Basmati rice - 1 cup
3. Macaroni - 1 cup ( you could use any type of pasta)
4. Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
5. Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
6. Chickpea - 1 cup boiled
7. Onions - 2 thinly sliced
8. Vegetable oil
9. Salt to taste

For the sauce

1. Garlic - 1 tbsp chopped
2. Tomato sauce - 1 cup
3. Onions - 2 tbsp fried
4. Vinegar - 1 tsp
5. Cumin powder - 1 tsp
6. Sugar - 1/2 tsp
7. Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Paprika - 1/2 tsp

Method

• Soak the lentils in water for 2 hours and the rice for about 1/2 an hour. Rinse and clean until water runs clean.
• Take oil in a pan and once hot, add the finely sliced onions. Fry them until brown and crisp. Set aside on kitchen towel to drain excess oil.
•  Into the same pan add the cinnamon and cumin powder. Add the rice along with lentils and let the rice crackle. Pour in 3 cups of hot water to this, add salt and let the rice cook covered.
• Cook the pasta separately until al-dente. Take off heat, drain the hot water and run it through cold water. Sprinkle salt , 1 tsp of oil and give it a good mix.
• For the sauce: Heat oil in a pan and add the garlic. Cook until the raw smell disappears. Add the onions, cumin powder, pepper powder and paprika, Stir for a minute before adding the tomato sauce along with vinegar. Finally add the sugar and bring it to a boil before turning it off.
• Serving - Layer the bottom of the plate with the rice and lentil mix. Top that with pasta. Drizzle the sauce over this. Top it with chickpea and finally the fried onions goes on top. End it with a cup of hot black tea!

You may also note - 

• Make sure not to overcook the rice. Once the rice is done, transfer to an open plate and fluff using a fork help it release the heat, making sure that the heat does not cook it further,
• Coat the onions with a 1/2 a tsp of corn flour to help it get real crisp.

An InLinkz Link-up

Irachi Petti - Malabar Iftar recipe

I always knew of Ramadan but it is only after moving to UAE, I realised how religiously it is observed and what iftar and suhoor mean! The world of blogging introduced me to a lot of Malabar snacks mostly fried but really mouth watering. I tend to stay away from deep fried stuff, primarily because I have pimples popping on my face as soon as I relish on anything fried. Since it is shorter office timings during Ramadan, my husband one day happened to come home with some snacks that he picked up from the local Kerala cafeteria for our evening tea together (that is a rarity too - happens only during Ramadan). It was all deep fried stuff and I could not resist it - pakoda, samosa, irachi petti, chatti pathiri, mulagu bajji, ulli vada. It was all there. I waited for two days after we had this - Yay! No pimples and that made my resolution to prepare a fried malabar snack stronger.

That is how I ended up making irachi petti with the minced meat I had in the fridge. Irachi means meat and petti means box. So basically this dish has meat filling that is sealed in a box made of crepe!
So here is a recipe to try this Ramadan!

Ingredients

For the filling

1. Minced meat - 400 gms (beef, mutton or chicken)
2. Onion - 3 medium finely chopped
3. Ginger - 2 tbsp
4. Garlic - 2 tsp
5. Green Chilli - 3 finely chopped
6. Pepper powder - 1 tsp
7. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
8. Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
9. Garam masala - 1 tsp
10. Lime juice - 1 tbsp
11. Salt to taste
12. Oil

For the crepe

1. All purpose flour - 1 cup
2. Egg - 1 beaten
3. Salt to taste
4. Water as needed

For coating

1. Egg - 1 beaten
2. Bread crumbs
3. Oil

Method

• Heat oil in a pan. Fry the onions until it softens and add the ginger, garlic and green chilly. Saute till the raw smell disappears.
• Add the turmeric powder, corriander powder and pepper powder. Cook the masala and add the minced meat. Mix it well to coat.
• Add salt and keep it covered until it is cooked. Adjust salt if need be and add lime juice. Turn off the flame.
• Prepare the crepe batter by mixing together the flour, egg, water and salt in a bowl. Add water as needed to form a runny batter.
• Heat a tawa and pour a laddle full of batter onto the hot tawa. Ensure that the flame is on medium and prepare the round crepe by running the laddle in a circular pattern on the batter.
• Flip over once and cooked gently. Do not let it get crisp as it might break open while placing the filling.
• This batter makes around 8 crepes.

How to fill the crepe and fry

• Take one of the crepe and place two spoonful of filling on the center of the round crepe. Using the same spoon adjust the filling to form either a square shape or a rectangle shape. This is done just to make the irachi petti hold the shape.
• In order to cover the filling, first fold over one side towards the top of the filling, such that the bend in the fold is at the point where the filling ends.Repeat the same with the opposite side.
•  Now fold the other two ends one at a time thereby sealing the filling in ( may form a square or a rectangle shape). It is always better to have larger crepes made so that the folding is easy and it stays. Smaller folded flaps tend to open up while cooking.
• Place this on a plate with the folded flaps facing down. Repeat the same with other crepes.
• Heat oil in a pan,  Dip each of the petti in the beaten egg and coat it with bread crumbs. Then place the petti in the pan with the flap side facing down. Cook till it browns well on one side and then flip over.
• Serve hot !!

You may also note

• You may add corriander leaves to the meat filling.
• Once the crepe has been folded always place it with the flap facing downward so that the weight tends to hold the flap in place.
• I prefer shallow frying but you may also deep fry it.

Kerala style beef ellu curry / Kerala style beef (with bones) curry

India is in the middle of a beef debate and this post is in no way a protest against the ban. I just happened to make beef curry exactly on the day beef ban was declared in India. Yet, if the government of my country decides to ban beef I am liable to obey it, if it were only for the right reasons! Doesn't my country have so many other pressing issues that need attention? Hinduism reveres cows, but doesn't Hinduism and every other religion hold human beings in high value? Aren't Goddess' also worshiped? Then why on earth aren't women in our society held in high regard? Sexual harassment cases are on an unprecedented high and the culprits walk free or are meted with special treatment in jail. But it is ok to take law in hands when someone decides to transport cow? Even if it was not for slaughter? Don't we women deserve a bit more respect in the society and severe actions taken against those who wrong us? Despite all this, fear of punishment will hold us back from eating beef in India. I dream of a day when fear of punishment will stop people from committing atrocities against women. I envision a day when women in the society can walk as free as the cows do now! This is the least the government can do for our country! If the men who go out of their way to find out who is slaughtering cow and punish them could take a little of their time to ensure that country is a safe place for women, India would have been a much better place. Do we not deserve even so much? These are purely my thoughts and am not on for a debate on the ban:)

Having placed my thoughts on the beef ban, let me move to the recipe. This is from my family kitchen - when I say family, I have seen my mom and aunt make it and mostly served with puttu/steam cake. So that is what I did too - so here is the recipe for beef ellu curry.

Ingredients

1. Beef with bones - 1 kg
2. Potato - 1/2 kg diced
3. Tomato - 2 medium sliced
4. Onion - 3 medium sliced a little thick
5. Green Chilli - 5- 6 slit
6. Ginger - 1 tbsp grated
7. Garlic - 1 tbsp grated
8. Garam masala - 1 tbsp
9. Coriander powder - 2 tbsp
10. Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
11. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
12. Coconut milk - 1/2 cup thick
13. Coconut milk - 1 and 1/2 cup thin
14. Cinnamon - 1 inch
15. Green cardamom - 2
16. Cloves - 3
17. Curry leaves
18. Shallots - 2 tbsp
19. Peppercorns - 1 tbsp
20. Salt to taste
21. Oil

Method

• Heat oil in pressure cooker and add the whole spices - cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. Saute till fragrant.
• Add the onions and saute till transparent. Tip in the ginger, garlic and green chilli. Cook until done.
• Add the masala powders - turmeric, corriander, chilly and garam masala one at a time, Stirring it well to combine and cook.
• Add the beef, potato and the tomato. Stir well to combine the masala. Pour in the thin milk of coconut and pressure cook until the beef is done. The cooking time may vary according to the beef used.
• Release the pressure of the cooker. Add salt and the thick milk of coconut. Let it simmer for 2 minutes and then turn off  the flame.
• In a mortar and pestle, crush the chopped shallots ( alternatively onions) and pepper corn coarsely.
• Heat oil in a separate pan , add the crushed pepper and shallots. Fry till the color of the shallots begin to darken and add curry leaves.
• Garnish the beef ellu curry with this and serve hot with puttu.

You may also note

• Do not boil the gravy once you add the thick milk of coconut.
• You may make this with boneless beef as well but with the bones it gets more flavorful.