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Pork Vindhalo

Pork Vindhalo is a traditional Indian recipe for a Goan Portuguese-influenced curry of pork cooked in a spicy and vinegary base gravy. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Pork Vindhalo.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

120 minutes

Total Time:

140 minutes

Additional Time:

(+3 hours marinading)

Serves:

4-6

Rating:

Tags : CurryPork RecipesIndian Recipes

Vindhalo is a Goan curry typically made with pork or prawns (it also works with paneer cheese). Duck and pheasant versions are also fantastic. The cooking style was introduced by the Portuguese carne de vinha d’alhos or meat cooked in wine vinegar and garlic. A proper vinhhalo (or vindaloo) is a complex blend of spices, chilli heat, vinegar sourness and sugar sweetness, not the one-dimensional heat of the British curry house vindaloo. A proper Goan vindhalo uses palm sugar vinegar. Though this is virtually impossible to obtain outside Goa. You can get palm sugar vinegar from the Philippines; but it’s not as complex in flavour as the Goan version. Typically, I would use a blend of tamarind juice and good quality raw cider vinegar with jaggery for the sweetness. As well as the more typical pork, the complex flavours of a true vindhalo goes very well with duck too. Indeed, it’s reported that when the British first encountered this style of curry they preferred it prepared with duck.

Ingredients:

75ml (5 tbsp) cider vinegar
700g (1 3/5 lbs) pork shoulder, cut into 3cm (1 in) chunks
4 tbsp ghee, neutral or coconut oil
500g (1 lb) onions, finely sliced
60g (2 oz) tamarind pulp
10 garlic cloves, finely sliced
5cm (2 in) thick length of ginger, cut into slim matchsticks
4 ripe tomatoes, diced
2-4 small green chillies, chopped
10 curry leaves (optional)
1 tbsp jaggery or palm sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black mustard seeds

For the masala:
2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder or paprika
Seeds from 8 green cardamom pods
1 tsp black peppercorns
8 cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp turmeric
5cm (2 in) length of cinnamon stick

Method:

For the marinade, grind together all the ingredients for the masala, then stir in the vinegar to form a paste. Rub this into the pork then set aside in the refrigerator for three to four hours.

Heat the oil in a wide, lidded pan (eg a cast iron casserole) over a medium-low flame, and fry the onions until soft and golden (about 6-8 minutes). Meanwhile, soak the tamarind pulp in 120ml of hot water for 15 minutes, then gently rub any remaining pulp from the seeds and strain off the liquid, discarding the solids.

Stir the garlic and ginger into the onions and cook, stirring, for another five minutes, then add the tomatoes, chillies and curry leaves, and cook until the tomatoes start to break down.

Add the pork and marinade to the pan and turn the heat up to medium high. Stir well, add the jaggery, salt and mustard seeds, followed by the tamarind liquid. Bring to a simmer, cover tightly, turn the heat right down and cook gently for an hour.

Partially remove the lid and cook for a further 30 minutes, or until the meat is very tender and the sauce has thickened to your liking.

Serve accompanied by rice and rotis.