Pork Vindaloo

Most people in Britain know vindaloo as the super hot curry reserved for those with guts of steel, the brave or the drunk. The dish actually has far less spicy origins though. Portuguese sailors landing in Goa brought with them a pork stew in garlic and wine called carne de vinha d'alhos and the locals duly added chillies and spices, and substituted the wine in the dish for vinegar.

The recipe I have used isn't all that spicy and I were to make this again, I would probably add more chillis both to the marinade and when cooking. Here's the recipe I used though (serves 4):

Spice mix: blend this into a fine powder and mix in a blender with the marinade ingredients until you have a paste.
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 4 cardamom pods
- 4 cloves
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 5 pepper corns

Marinade:
- 2 green chillis
- 1 inch cube of ginger
- 4 garlic cloves
- juice of half a lemon

Ingredients:
- 1 kg of pork cubed
- oil for frying
- 5 cloves of garlic sliced
- 2 onions diced
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp tomato purée
- 3 tomatoes chopped
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- a small handful of coriander leaves
- salt and pepper to taste

Wash and pat dry the pork before mixing in the marinade. Leave for at least a few hours in the fridge. I prepared this the night before to let the flavours soak in. The acidity of the lemon also helps to tenderise the meat.

Heat some cooking oil in a hot pan and pan fry the garlic and onion until brown.

Add the turmeric, chilli powder, purée, tomatoes, salt and vinegar.

Mix well and add the pork. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and then add 250ml of water.

When it comes to a boil, allow it to simmer for about 30 minutes so the sauce reduces and the meat starts to soften. Season with black pepper and more salt if necessary. Serve with the coriander for garnish.

Serve on basmati rice.

As I mentioned above, I would certainly make this much spicier for myself next time. You can do this with adding more green chillis to the marinade or using the small red birds eye chillis which are much more powerful. Equally, you can add chillis when pan frying the onions or just use more chilli powder. I also found the a bit sour and so you can add sugar to balance the flavour. Adding the pork after the tomatoes means you end up boiling the meat. I would prefer to pan fry the meat first to brown it as this helps the meat retain the juices in flavours.

Stay tuned for another recipe from this feast in the coming days...