Pork Vindaloo
Where to start with the Vindaloo, the much-maligned curry that is linked to drunks on a Saturday night ordering the hottest curry. This pork Vindaloo bares little resemblance to the mismatch of curry house sauces with added chillies to create the Vindaloo.
Unlike takeaway vindaloo which is just a bastardised curry sauce with extra chillis, authentic Goan vindaloo does have heat but it is the depth of flavour from the spice mix and the vinegar that creates this curry. The word vindaloo is a garbled pronunciation of the popular Portuguese dish Carne de vinha d’alhos (meat marinated in wine vinegar and garlic), which made its way to India in the 15th century along with Portuguese explorers.
INGREDIENTS
1 tsp. cumin seeds.
1 tsp. coriander seeds.
5-10 dried red Kashmiri chillies (or 3–6 hotter dried red chillies).
6 black peppercorns.
3 green cardamom pods.
4 cloves.
2cm cinnamon stick.
Thumb sized piece of ginger.
1 bulb garlic.
1 tsp mustard seeds.
1 tsp fenugreek seeds.
1 tsp fennel seeds.
10 curry leaves.
3 tbsp. good-quality white wine vinegar, or to taste.
400 g pork shoulder with some fat, in 1″ cubes.
Salt to taste.
4 tbsp of ghee.
2 large onions finely chopped.
400g tin chopped tomatoes.
Method
In a heavy-bottomed pan add the dry spices and warmly toast, this releases the oils and intensifies the flavour. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. I use my old cast casserole pot, melt the ghee and add the onions, garlic and ginger and on low heat saute until caramelised, you do not want to burn the onions as this will give an acrid taste to the curry.
Once the dry spices have cooled they need grinding down, either in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder, I use a coffee grinder. Grind to a powder, add to the onions and saute for a further five minutes. Add the diced meat that has been marinating in the vinegar and half the garlic cloves and coat well with the spice and onion mix. Pour in the tomatoes and half a tin of water to cover the meat, stir well cover and place in a preheated oven at 160c for two hours or until the pork is tender. For some, they add potatoes in for the final thirty minutes of cooking.
Serving
Serve with rice or bread, the addition of potatoes to the final cooking time takes away the need for rice. A cold beer goes well with this curry.
