benazir's blog

Halal Zabiha Menudo

Yesterday I made 63. My birthday is the 23 of August. Today is my grandmother’s birthday and I miss her so very much even though I do not remember her. Pnumonia took her from me when I was very small. However this dish I wanted to try for a very long time and I finaly worked up my nerve to cook it and try it out for myself.

This is the menudo roho meaning the red menudo in Spanish. The Chilies makes it red. When I looked up on how to make it that I stumbled on a post from another blog called menudo blanco which is the white menudo. It also says it veries from one region from the next or shall I say on whoever cooks it. This is my take on it and please excuse me, my Spanish is not as fluent as my German, Urdu, Pashto, Hindko and English.

I would love to improve my Spanish, Turkish and Arabic However. When I made this menudo that it took at least 3 or 4 days to consume because it is just Mr. Riaz and me. Also take 1 lb or 1 kg of tripe and my favorite is the brown tripe because it is less fat. If their is any it is on the smooth side of the tripe itself and it is very easy to pull off. This is discarded and be sure to throw it outside because this will make the house stink.

Get a large pot of cold water and take the tripe uncut and before you put it in the water 1 large pinch of baking soda and 3 pinches of kosher salt and put it in the water and wash it in the huge pot with the water in it. Drain in a colander and fill the pot up and repeat 5 more times. Also rinse under water in between and fill the large pot up again and this time add 3 tbs of white vinegar to the water and place the tripe in it and wash and rinse 6 more additional times and the final time just leave it in the colander so you can snip it in to smaller pieces with kitchen shears.

Take the instant pot and add up to 1 gallon or 4 liters of water and the cut cleaned tripe. If you want a thinner menudo then do not add 1 to 2 lamb’s or goat’s feet. Really the lamb’s or goat’s feet is preferred because this gives menudo body and it makes it thick. In the instant pot cook unseasoned for 30 minutes on sealing.

While that is going put in a bowl some red chilies to make the red sauce. It is 1 ancho chili which is a dried red pablano and 4 other Mexican chilies which will also make it nice and spicy as well as giving it a real deep red color. If you want it white then do not add red chilies to the sauce. Then add 6 cloves of garlic and 1 chopped onion to 1/2 cup of water to make like a sauce which is a seasoning. I added 1 each of ancho, pasilla, puya, guajillo and a couple of chili d’arbol ones as well. Actually there are others too. Chop up either 1 green jalapeno or sarano chili and add this to the instant pot as well.

The green chilies can be used either with or without the red chili sauce. Add 1 pinch each of peppercorns and cumin to a mortar and pestle and grind in to a coarse powder and add to the tripe and goat’s or lamb’s feet. There must be more tripe and less goat’s or lamb’s feet. 1 pinch each of mint culantro also called espozate and cilantro. Add 3 dashes of maggi or knorr aroma, either 1 bullion cube or 5 dashes of adobo or Goya seasonador. Add 1/4 cup of dried pazole which is hominy. Close the the instant pot again with the pressure cook lid on sealing and repeat for another 30 minutes.

I have some lime juice in a bottle that I added to my portion of menudo after I dished it up in to a bowl. I had to remind myself to dig in after I have taken this picture. You can also use a fresh lime wedge to squirt the juice in to the menudo which is preffered. When I make the white menudo Inshallah I am going to upload the picture here in to my wordpress and post a side to side comparison so you can tell the difference. Actually we love it here and it is an amazing dish. Also remember if you do not want the red chili sauce added it is fine because either red or white it is delicious.

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