Goan Pork Vindaloo

Last year I made Indian food a lot. I mean a LOT. I don't think a month went by that I didn't make something Indian. So last year in January I made a Goan Pork Vindaloo, and here it is, May 2017, and more than a year later and I am finally getting to a blog post. I guess I put off blogging about a few really great dishes, just because since I did so much Indian cooking last year I thought I really had to get more variety in here. So this blog is about the Vindaloo, and I have a couple of other recipes, one for a pork curry from Coorg, and another is a chicken curry from Telangana. I will get to them soon, as I would love to make them again.

Goan Pork Vindaloo

As is usual with a new dish, I research it first, seeing what people do - and true to form, outside of a very few ingredients, the recipes and ingredients are vastly different from one recipe to the next. I finally came down to selecting ingredients and spices mainly from two recipes. One recipe is terribly long, and the other is terribly short. For the same basic recipe! So I look through, select what sounds good to me, discard what does not, and put together a mixture that most often turns out really great. Since all the ingredients are found in SOME version of the recipe, somewhere, I feel it is an authentic enough version of this dish.

Pork is not a meat eaten in most of India, but the state of Goa on the lower-western side of the country was colonized by the Christian Portuguese, and their foods and habits were mixed into the culture there. Thus, pork came to be eaten in this area of the country. I love pork anyway, and it is nice to see pork in an Indian recipe. I had never made a "vindaloo" before. My understanding was that vindaloo was a fiery hot and spicy dish, and this is indeed so, although if spicy heat is not your thing, simply reduce the amounts of the hot spice added to the recipe. My recipe is in no way over the top spicy, though it does have some. Other than that, I had no real clue to what constituted a vindaloo. Wikipedia has this to say:

" . . . derived from the Portuguese carne de vinha d'alhos (literally "meat in garlic wine marinade"), is a dish of meat (usually pork) marinated in wine and garlic."

Goan Pork Vindaloo

Though the Portuguese sailors' version of what made a "vinha d'alhos" (which the Indians found easier to pronounce "vindaloo) is nothing at all like what the Indianized version came to be, I really happen to love the Goan style of this dish. Once looking at the ingredients I had chosen for my vindaloo, indeed it is pork marinated in wine (vinegar) and garlic. Outside of that, I guess you'll have to give it a try and see just how delightful it is.

The dish calls for tamarind paste, which, granted, is not in everyone's list of pantry items, but I do happen to have it in mine. I have both the tamarind pods and a plastic jar of tamarind paste, which is very thick. I used the paste in this dish, and used a teaspoon if this thick stuff mixed into water to dissolve. I could have taken a few of the whole pods, peeled back the brittle outer casings and soaked them for a half hour or so, then squeezed and pressed through a sieve. Either way would work. If you do not own tamarind, add in more lime juice or red wine vinegar. The dish is meant to have a sour quality.

Curry Leaf Plant

Another ingredient that I did not have on hand at the time of making this recipe, was the curry leaves. Murraya koenigii, or curry leaf, is a bush-like shrubby plant with lots of long stemlets with leaves that run on either side of the stem. The leaves have a vaguely citrusy quality and add a lovely flavor to a dish. I found fresh leaves on Amazon (of course) and ordered them. They can be frozen, then pull out what is needed for a recipe (usually about one stemlet of leaves). They do turn slightly blackish in the freezer, but maintain their fresh flavor. Drying the leaves leaves them relatively tasteless, so they are best frozen, unless you happen to live in a more temperate climate and can grow your own. When I lived in Florida, I had a couple of good sized plants and used them often.

Goan Pork Vindaloo

Goan Pork Vindaloo

Serves 4 

2 pounds pork tenderloin, in small cubes
2 - 3 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds
2 onions, finely chopped
4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced
10 fresh curry leaves, optional
2 teaspoons Tandoori Spice
2 "Indian Bay Leaves" called Tej Patta
1½ teaspoons salt

MARINADE:
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon black cardamom seeds
6 whole cloves
10 black peppercorns
1-inch true cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon Indian pure ground chili powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder or 2 tablespoons fresh turmeric, grated
2 - 4 green chilies, minced, optional
⅓ cup red wine vinegar or lime juice
2 tablespoons palm sugar or brown sugar
1 tablespoon tamarind paste (if very thick variety, dissolve 1 teaspoon in 2 tablespoons water)
6 - 8 cloves garlic, smashed
1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced

Make the Marinade: Place the first 7 marinade ingredients into a dry skillet over medium high heat and stir constantly until the spices are very fragrant, but not smoking. Turn them out onto a plate to cool.

Once slightly cooled, pour the spices into a blender container with the turmeric and pure chili powder. Blend to a fine powder, then add in the remaining marinade ingredients and blend to a smooth paste. Combine the marinade with the pork pieces and stir to mix well, then refrigerate in a sealed container of zip-top bag for 8 to 48 hours.

Making the Vindaloo: Heat the oil or ghee in a large skillet. Add in the brown mustard seeds and cook, stirring and swirling the pan until the seeds begin to pop. Add in the onion and minced garlic with the curry leaves and cook until onions are soft and translucent. Add in the Tandoori Spice and Tej Patta with the salt and stir for a few seconds, then add in the pork with its marinade and add just enough water to make a stew-like consistency. Bring to boil, lower heat, cover and simmer until the pork is cooked through, about 20 - 25 minutes for tenderloin meat. If using other pork meat, simmer for 45 to 50 minutes. Serve with a squeeze of lime juice if desired. 



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Curry Leaf is Great in Indian Cuisine

Ah, Curry Leaves. I do miss them. In Florida I had a plant that grew beautifully, giving me the ability to run out and pick them as needed. I just love the flavors and aromas imparted when using them in a dish. The first time I saw this plant I had no idea what it was. When living in Louisiana, we had Indian acquaintances, and Priti had a plant in her yard. It was not until much later that I found out what it was and got a plant of my own. I was so glad I did, as I used it very often. Once I learned the flavor, I added it to many of my Indian meals.

Curry Leaves - Murraya koenigii

The plant easily self-sows, and I soon had a second plant growing alongside the first. I figured it could be my backup, in case something happened to one. At the time I owned the plant, I had no idea that the seeds were also edible, and never even took photos of them, though they were abundant.

Not to be confused with the European Curry Plant, Helichrysum italicum, Curry Leaves come from the Curry plant, Murraya koenigii. It is a tender, evergreen shrub reaching up to 20 feet tall in its native southwest Asian habitat. It grows in the foothills of the Himalayas, southern India and Sri Lanka, and is cultivated in many Indian gardens. The leaves are a mid green in color and grow about 16 to 20 on each small stalk. The small, star shaped white flowers grow in clusters in summer, followed by edible, peppery tasting black berries. It is best to use the leaves fresh as they have little flavor once dried. A handful of dried leaves are needed to take the place of just a few, if fresh.

Closeup of Flower of the Curry Leaf Plant

The leaves have the flavor of a curry dish, and lend this flavor where used, along with a slight citrus-like scent. The whole leaf stalk may be added to a dish and removed later. The leaves may be fried quickly at the beginning of cooking to release flavor into the oil being used. Curry leaves are an ingredient in Madras curry powder, and are often used in dishes with brown mustard seeds and dried red chiles. This Indian dish using curry leaves is one of my favorites, though the photo is not my own:

Fragrant Lemon Rice

Serves 6 - 8

Fragrant Lemon Rice

6 cups cooked basmati rice (2 cups raw makes
6 cups cooked)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
½ cup raw peanuts or cashews
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
20 - 30 curry leaves (2 - 3 sprigs)
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup water, if needed

If rice has just been made, cool completely first, stirring often. Put in refrigerator and stir occasionally until cool.

Mix together the ginger, garlic, sugar, turmeric, curry leaves, salt and lemon juice. Set aside.

In large frying pan, over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the mustard seeds, saute until they turn grey and start sputtering, about 30 seconds. Make sure not to burn. WARNING: Mustard seeds can sputter out of the pan very easily!

Add the peanuts or cashews and saute until light brown, about two minutes. Add the spice mixture and saute for an additional two minutes. Add the rice and mix well with the spices, mustard seeds and peanuts. Continue stirring until everything has been mixed together and the rice is heated through. This dish is best served hot or at room temperature.

Closeup of Curry Leaves

This Fragrant Lemon Rice recipe is easily made with leftover white rice, and also makes a good Indian breakfast meal. While the Curry leaves really add wonderful flavor to this dish, the dish can easily be made without them. The leaves, with their slightly resinous and citrus-like flavors enhance the lemon flavors, but are by no means completely necessary to make this lovely and fragrant dish. If you have access to curry leaves though, you must give them a try.

Growing this plant is very rewarding

Curry Leaves

Grow this plant as a small shrub outdoors in temperate climates, or in a container to bring indoors. This is a great way to keep curry leaves available for all your Indian and Asian cooking. The small tree has elegant foliage and a unique aroma. Botanically it is so closely related to citrus that it can serve as a rootstock for grafting lemon trees. The plant needs moist, rich soil and full sun to part shade and a temperate climate. It can be grown from seed or cuttings in summer. Plants grown in cool areas or under too much cover tend to attract aphids, scale and red spider mites, so keep the plant in sun. The curry tree will be far smaller, if grown in a container. If you are so fortunate as to find this plant, do try growing it. The rewards of having this marvelous flavor at hand are great.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.