Goan Pork Vindaloo

What do you do when the craving for vindaloo hits you? I have yet to find a restaurant that serves it in my region, which is smack dab in the middle of the U.S, a very long way from Goa!

I lived in India for a number of years and came to love the food. Vindaloo is one of my all-time favorites! Since I now live in small-town Kansas, usually the only way to satisfy that craving for Indian food is to make it myself.

Many people are intimidated by Indian cooking and vindaloo is not an "everyday" dish, even in India. I have seen so-called "simple" recipes for it and, of course, you can buy ready-made vindaloo paste at Indian grocery stores or online, but sometimes you want the real deal. That's the recipe I'm going to show you here and it is SO worth the effort!

American cooks may find their eyes glazing over when they first see all the steps involved in making real vindaloo. But, trust me, it's not difficult and you can do it!

Photo by heytoto.

Ingredients you'll need

2-1/4 lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch cubes

1-1/2 tsp. salt

6 Tlb. red wine vinegar (you may need more)

FOR THE SPICE PASTE:

4-10 dried hot red chilies

1 Tlb. paprika

1/2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 (2-1/2 inch) cinnamon stick, broken up into smaller pieces

10-15 cloves

1/2 tsp. black peppercorns

5-6 cardamom pods

10-12 garlic cloves, peeled

1 (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:

3 Tlb. vegetable oil

3-4 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed

3 medium-sized onions, peeled and finely sliced

2 large tomatoes, chopped

6 fresh hot green chilies, sliced lengthwise in half

1 tsp. sugar

Wash the pork and cut it into 2-inch cubes. Sprinkle the pork with 1 teaspoon of salt, then add half of the vinegar (3 tablespoons). You'll need to rub the salt and vinegar into the pork pieces, but then you're finished for this stage of the recipe. Put the pork in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.

Now we're going to make the spice paste (masala). In India you would use a Mixie to grind your spices, but here in the U.S. I find that a coffee grinder will do the job for dry spices. Just be sure that it's clean!

Put these ingredients in the coffee grinder: the red chilies, paprika, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns and cardamom pods. Grind to a fine powder.

Next we will do the wet grinding, using an electric blender. Put the following ingredients in the blender container: 10-12 garlic cloves, ginger root, 2 tablespoons vinegar, and turmeric. I use the small container that came with my blender for this.

Blend well. You may need to add more vinegar to make it a paste consistency.

Add the ground dry spices to the wet garlic paste in the blender container and blend to mix.

Rub the pork with one-half of the masala paste. Cover with foil and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Put the remaining masala paste in a covered container and put it in the refrigerator, too.

You're finished for the night!

You will need to heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet (I use an electric skillet) over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in 3-4 cloves of garlic and saute just until they start to change color. Don't over-brown the garlic--it will turn bitter!

Add the thinly-sliced onions and saute until browned.

Add the chopped tomatoes, as well as 3 green chilies.

Stir all of this for about a minute, then add the remaining masala paste from the refrigerator, sugar and the last tablespoon of vinegar.

Stir this over medium-high heat until the paste begins to brown, then add the meat, along with any masala and vinegar marinade that is still in the pan.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook while stirring until the meat starts to put out its own liquid. At that point you need to add 1-1/4 cups water, plus the last of the salt from the ingredient list. Bring it to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cover.

Simmer for about 40-45 minutes or until the pork is tender and the gravy has thickened up. You may need to increase the heat towards the end to get the gravy to the consistency that you prefer. Add the last of the sliced green chilies and remove your vindaloo from the heat.

I add chopped fresh cilantro to my vindaloo before serving.

Serve it with rice (basmati would be nice) and a simple raita (yogurt salad). If you want to add a dessert, a simple kheer (rice pudding) or flan would be perfect.

Here's the pork vindaloo with basmati rice and a serving of raita on the side. My mouth is watering!

Photo by heytoto.

Well, I wanted one of each of these--they're just so appealing! They would make lovely gifts for a house warming, a bridal shower or a student moving into their own apartment for the first time.