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Goan pork vindaloo curry

Course Main Course
Cuisine India
Keyword Pork
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 800 g pork leg cut into bit sized pieces
  • 2 - 3 tbsp ghee
  • 1 head garlic cloves cut into slivers
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds brown or black
  • 10 curry leaves fresh
  • 2 onions finely chopped
  • 3 tomatoes finely chopped, about 400g
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 2 Indian bay leaves *
  • 1 lime

For the vindaloo marinade

  • 3 red chillies dried
  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp cardamom seeds black
  • 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 5 cloves
  • 3 cm cassia bark stick **
  • 10 peppercorns black
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 4 green chillies finely chopped
  • 75 ml red wine vinegar plus more if needed
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar soft
  • 1 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 2 tbsp garlic paste
  • 2 tbsp ginger paste

Instructions

  1. Start with the marinade.
  2. Place all the spices except the turmeric in a dry frying pan over medium heat and roast until they become fragrant and warm to the touch but are not yet smoking.
  3. Transfer to a plate to cool slightly and then pour the spices in a food processor with the turmeric and blend to a fine powder.
  4. Add the chillies, vinegar, tamarind paste, brown sugar, garlic and ginger and blend to a smooth vindaloo paste.
  5. Put the pork in a large bowl with the marinade and stir well to combine.
  6. Leave the pork to marinate for eight to 48 hours.
  7. When ready to cook, heat the ghee or oil in a saucepan, large frying pan or wok over low heat.
  8. Add the garlic slivers and allow to cook gently for about 10 minutes. It is important not to burn the garlic so watch carefully. The garlic should be soft and only lightly browned.
  9. Remove the garlic from the saucepan and set aside.
  10. Using the same ghee/oil, heat you pan over medium high heat until the oil is beginning to shimmer.
  11. Add the mustard seeds and when they begin to crackle, stir in the curry leaves. Fry for about 15 seconds until the curry leaves are very fragrant and then toss in the chopped onions.
  12. Fry for about 5 minutes over medium high heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Sprinkle a little salt over the onions. This will help release moisture from them.
  13. Add the chopped tomatoes, chilli powder, bay leaves and the pork with its marinade to the pan and then pour in just enough water to cover.
  14. Leave to simmer for about an hour until the pork is very tender. (You may need to add a drop more water while simmering).
  15. When the meat is tender, adjust spicing adding more salt if needed and more chilli powder if you want.
  16. Stir in the cooked garlic, squeeze the lime juice over the top and serve.

Recipe Notes

* Indian bay leaves are about twice as long and wider, usually olive green in colour and have three veins running the length of the leaf. Culinarily, Indian bay leaves are quite different having a fragrance and taste similar to cinnamon (cassia) bark, but milder.

** You can substitute 'true cinnamon' for cassia bark, but be sure to use less of 'true' cinnamon, as it has a stronger flavour. Ground cinnamon also tends to be stronger than whole cinnamon or cassia, so again, caution in substitutions is recommended.

 

Recipe and photography by https://greatcurryrecipes.net/