Irachi Pola | 3 Layered Savoury Bread Beef Egg Cake | Popular Malabar Recipe
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Serves: 5 people
Ingredients
For marinating beef cubes
  • Beef- 1 lb or ½ kg (beef can be replaced with boneless chicken breasts)
  • Ginger, grated- ½ tbsp
  • Garlic, grated- ½ tbsp
  • Chili powder- 1 tsp
  • Kashmiri chili powder- 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
  • Coriander powder- 1 tbsp
  • Garam masala- 1 tsp
  • Salt- 1½ tsp
For making the beef filling
  • Oil- 1 tbsp
  • Onion, chopped- 3
  • Salt- ½ tsp
  • Garlic- 3 cloves
  • Ginger- 1-inch slice
  • Green chili- 1
  • Curry leaves- 1 sprig
  • Water- 1 tbsp
  • Cooked crushed beef
  • Cilantro, chopped- ¼ cup
For making bread batter
  • White bread, cut off the sides- 4 slices
  • Eggs- 2
  • Ground Pepper- ¼ tsp
  • Salt- ¼ tsp
  • Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
  • Water- ¾ cup
For making the top layer
  • Eggs- 2
  • Ground Pepper- ¼ tsp
  • Salt- ¼ tsp
Other ingredients
  • Ghee- 2 tbsp
  • Roasted cashew nuts- ¼ cup
Instructions
Cooking beef filling
  1. Spread all the spices mentioned 'for marinating the beef' on the beef cubes, let marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.
  2. Beef can be replaced with boneless chicken breasts diced.
  3. I've used Instant pot to pressure cook the marinated beef. You can also use a regular pressure cooker.
  4. Add the beef to the stainless steel pot.
  5. Do not add any water.
  6. Select pressure cook setting, set time to 20 minutes at high pressure.
  7. If using chicken, should be pressure cooked for 10 minutes in the Instant Pot.
  8. After 20 minutes of pressure cooking, do a quick pressure release.
  9. There will be some liquid in the pot, drain the liquid & use that for making soups.
  10. We'll be only using the cooked beef.
  11. Let the beef cool down.
  12. Beef can be cooked ahead of time & store in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer for a few weeks.
  13. In a food processor, coarsely grind the cooked beef, keep aside. Do not ground to a smooth paste.
  14. Place a wide pan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp oil.
  15. Add the onions, season with salt.
  16. In a blender, coarsely grind the garlic, ginger, green chili & curry leaves along with 1 tbsp water together.
  17. Add the ground ginger-garlic-green chili mix to the onions.
  18. Cook till onions turn light golden in color.
  19. Add the coarsely ground cooked beef. Cook for 5 minutes.
  20. Add chopped cilantro, combine well.
  21. Remove the pan from the heat, let cool down.
  22. Beef filling is ready, this can be made ahead of time & stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
Making bread batter
  1. In a blender- grind the bread, eggs, ground pepper, salt, and turmeric powder along with water to a smooth thick batter.
Making the top layer
  1. In a bowl, beat the eggs using a fork or whisk along with ground pepper and salt, keep aside.
Cooking Irachi Pola
  1. Use a medium-sized non-stick saucepan for cooking this.
  2. Place the saucepan over low heat.
  3. Grease the bottom and sides of the pan with 1 tbsp ghee.
  4. Pour the pureed bread batter onto the pan as the first layer, cover the pan with its lid.
  5. Over low heat, let the batter cook till the center has almost cooked, it shouldn’t be watery on the top.
  6. This would take around 15 minutes.
  7. After the first layer has cooked, evenly spread 2 cups of the prepared beef filling over it.
  8. Cover the pan with its lid and let cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
  9. Pour the beaten egg mixture evenly as the top layer.
  10. Garnish with cashew nuts over the egg mixture.
  11. Cover the pan with its lid and cook over low heat till the top egg layer has cooked well.
  12. It will take about 25 minutes, make sure the top egg layer is not watery, it should resemble an omelette.
  13. After 25 minutes of cooking, insert a fork into the center and ensure the center of the bread layer has cooked well.
  14. Remove the pan from the heat.
  15. Have a large plate ready.
  16. Using a knife, gently run through the sides of the pan, as the pan has been greased well the cake wouldn’t stick to the pan.
  17. Cover the pan with a plate, turn the pan upside down, and gently tap on the bottom of the pan.
  18. The cake or Irachipola will fall nicely onto the plate.
  19. Grease the pan again with 1 tbsp ghee.
  20. Using a wide spatula, gently slide the cake into the pan, the top layer will become the bottom layer in the pan.
  21. Over low heat, cook the cake for 10 minutes so that the egg layer will turn golden in color.
  22. Remove the pan from the heat, cover the pan with the plate and flip over, let the cake fall onto the plate.
  23. It will be set well and will resemble a cake with 3 layers- bread, beef filling & eggs.
  24. Cut into wedges and enjoy.
Recipe by Cooking with Thas - Smart Cooking, Smart Living at https://thasneen.com/cooking/irachi-pola-3-layered-savoury-bread-beef-egg-cake-popular-malabar-recipe/