Pork Vindaloo

Name: Pork Vindaloo
Prep time: 55 min
Cook time: 95 min
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: indian
Ingredients: 12 pcs dried Kashmiri chilies, stems and seeds removed; 2 tsp cumin seeds; 1 tsp black peppercorns; 8 pcs cloves; 5 cm cinnamon stick, broken into pieces; 1 tsp brown mustard seeds; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 12 clove garlic, peeled; 4 cm fresh ginger, peeled; 1½ dl palm vinegar; 800 g pork shoulder, cut into 3 cm cubes, with the fat cap left on; 2 tsp salt; 3 tbsp sunflower oil; 3 pcs onions, thinly sliced; 1 tbsp palm sugar, grated; 3 dl water; 400 g basmati rice; 7 dl water; 1 tsp salt

A Goan pork stew with Portuguese roots — toasted spices pounded with garlic and palm vinegar give it its sharp, sour bite.

🍽️ 4 servings⏱️ 2 h 30 min (55 min active)indian

The spices become a sharp, aromatic paste that works its way into the pork overnight, before onions, meat and paste are built up in the pot. While the vindaloo simmers to tenderness, the rice cooks, and at the end the dark sauce is pulled together with the last of the vinegar and a reduction. The long, perfectly gentle simmer is what decides whether the pork turns meltingly tender.

Ingredients

The vindaloo paste

12 pcs dried Kashmiri chilies, stems and seeds removed
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
8 pcs cloves
5 cm cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
12 clove garlic, peeled
4 cm fresh ginger, peeled
1½ dl palm vinegar

The curry

800 g pork shoulder, cut into 3 cm cubes, with the fat cap left on
2 tsp salt
3 tbsp sunflower oil
3 pcs onions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp palm sugar, grated
3 dl water

The rice

400 g basmati rice
7 dl water
1 tsp salt

How to make it

Toast the dried Kashmiri chilies, cumin seeds, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon stick and mustard seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes. Stir constantly, and take the pan off the heat as soon as the spices smell toasted and the mustard seeds start to pop. Burnt spices will make the whole paste bitter, and that flavor can't be cooked away again.
Chef's tip Tip the spices straight onto a cold plate the moment the mustard seeds pop — a heavy dry pan holds enough heat to carry them from nutty to acrid after the burner is off.
Pound or grind the toasted spices finely together with the turmeric, and work the garlic and ginger into the mixture. Add 1 dl of the palm vinegar a little at a time, until the paste is smooth and falls heavily off the spoon.
Toss the pork cubes and the salt thoroughly through the vindaloo paste, so every piece is fully coated. Cover the bowl and refrigerate it (see advance prep), so the vinegar can work its way into the meat.
Heat the sunflower oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat and cook the sliced onions for 10-12 minutes. Stir regularly, until they've collapsed completely and turned deep golden without any dark edges. ⏱ 10 min
Chef's tip A pinch of salt on the onions early pulls water out so they stew down and collapse rather than crisping at the edges. They should sigh and soften, never crackle.
Turn the heat up to medium-high, and add the marinated meat with all the paste to the pot. Cook for 8 minutes, stirring, until the meat has lost its raw color and the paste smells toasted instead of sharply of vinegar.
Chef's tip Cook until the oil starts to separate out around the paste — that's the sign the vinegar's water has cooked off and the spices have bled into the fat. Stop before that and the sauce will keep tasting raw and sharp.
Add the water and palm sugar, and scrape the bottom clean with the spoon so the browned bits settle into the sauce. Bring it to a boil, cover with a lid and let the meat simmer over the lowest heat for 70-80 minutes, until the cubes fall apart under light pressure. ⏱ 1 h 10 min–1 h 20 min · passive
Chef's tip You want a bubble breaking the surface every second or two, no more. A rolling boil squeezes the muscle fibres dry long before the connective tissue has time to soften into gelatine.
Rinse the basmati rice in cold water until the water runs clear. Meanwhile, bring 7 dl of water to a boil with the salt for the rice in a separate pot. The rice is salted in its own water, since the sour sauce can't season it from the inside.
Add the rice to the boiling salted water, cover with a lid and cook over low heat for 12 minutes, until the water is absorbed and small holes appear on the surface. ⏱ 10 min · passive
Chef's tip The lid stays on, and the rice mustn't be stirred along the way: every time steam escapes you're short of cooking water, and stirring releases starch. The holes in the surface show that the steam has found its way up through the grains.
Take the rice pot off the heat and let the rice steam, covered, for 10 minutes, until the grains are whole and separate. Fluff gently with a fork. ⏱ 10 min · passive
Remove the lid from the vindaloo, add the last 0.5 dl of palm vinegar and let the sauce reduce over medium heat for 10-14 minutes. It's ready when it's dark and thick and the oil separates out as small red beads along the edge. Season to taste with salt. ⏱ 10 min–15 min
Chef's tip The last splash of vinegar goes in late so its bright aroma survives — the vinegar cooked in for 80 minutes has given depth but lost its lift.
Divide the rice among deep plates and spoon the vindaloo alongside with plenty of sauce. Put the pot on the table so everyone can help themselves to more sauce. Eat with a spoon, so the rice can soak it up.