PORK VINDALOO

S

o it's officially Fall /Autumn here. We have been having heavy rains and very very wild windy days. I sometimes feel that I might get blown away with it whenever I stand on our balcony. These things have made my 'photography' session very difficult. I somehow find time in between my cooking to take some pictures and when I come out it is so windy that everything flies away...

I juggle between holding the placemat/napkin,my reflector,camera and myself in place. And in between my hair had to fly in the wind and fall all over my face! Stupid thing! :-P Today it was real bad after which I emailed Jobin saying ' I might end up in hospital with a back pain if you don't do anything about it!' . Poor thing! What can he possibly do :-) That's okay, I just took my irritation out on him :-D

When he gets back home and see that I made 'Vindaloo', he will be very happy :-) This dish makes both of us very happy and can eat a full bowl of it.

Vindaloo is a dish originally from Goa. The term Vindaloo derives from the Portuguese dish ' Carne de Vinha d' Alhos ' which is a dish of meat, usually pork, with wine and garlic. The dish evolved into the vindaloo curry dish when it recieved the Goan treatment of adding plentiful amounts of traditional spice and using malt vingear instead of red wine. ( Source: Wikipedia)

One of my reader's Maya, requested for this recipe a few weeks ago. This one is for you Maya! So just in case you have some request, do not hesitate to contact me.

PORK VINDALOO
Recipe source: Amma




Ingredients:
Pork- 2 lbs/1 kg approx. cut into 1" cubes (try with medium fat pork and not fatless)
Onions- 2, medium
Red Chili powder-1 tbsp
Coriander powder-1 tbsp
Vindaloo Masala * recipe given below
Oil-1/4 cup
Salt to taste

*Vindaloo masala:
Cardamom-5 no.
Cloves-5 no.
Cinnamon- 5 x 1" sticks
Fennel seeds/Saunf/Perumjeerakam- 1tsp
Black Peppercorns-1 tsp
Mustard seeds-2 tbsp
Ginger- 2" piece
Garlic- 8 cloves
Vinegar-1/4 cup

Method:

• Soak the vindaloo masala in vinegar and leave aside for 1 hour.
• Grind it to a coarse paste . Do not add water or anyother liquid, vinegar will help in grinding.
• Heat oil in a pressure cooker( heavy bottomed vessel). 
• When the oil is hot, add in the ground Vindaloo Masala.
• Saute the masala till you get a very nice aroma ( take it in, it smells very good!).This masala has a tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan, so scrape the pan occasionally.
• Add in the onions and saute till they are softened.
• Add in the powders and salt and mix well for 2 mins.
• Add in the meat, mix well, close the lid and cook under pressure for 2 whistles.
• Once the pressure has dropped down and the steam has completely come off, open the cooker. You will see that there is some gravy/sauce in it.
• You need to reduce the gravy till the oil starts to separate.Make sure you stir it well, every now and then.When you taste test, if you feel there is a need for more vinegar, add it. But always start with ONLY 1/4 cup.
• We like it  dry, so that the masala is very well coated on the pieces.

Verdict:
Whenever Amma made this curry at home, I used to feel that it takes years to perfect this dish. But I was wrong...It is definitely an easy one to perfect! Just follow the recipe as is and you just cannot go wrong! Serve it to anyone and be ready to be floored with compliments.

Serve it along with Naan, Batura,Poori, Chapathi,Basmathi Rice, Ghee rice...or even just with some plain rice and curd.