This recipe may sound like there are too many ingredients – but once you get the spices together it is quite simple. I asked mum once why do we need all these different spices…and, as she explained, one is for colour, another for flavour, the third is good for the digestion (since pork is fatty)…etc. I should not question too much – it looks good and it tastes amazing!
Mom’s Christmas Pork Curry
Ingredients
- 3 Kg pork (with a layer of fat)
- 15 Kashmiri chillies (for the colour and flavour) and 12 ordinary red dried chillies
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 3/4 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon or 1 stick crushed
- I tablespoon tamarind
- 3 cardamoms
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 3 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
- 3 lemons
- Salt to taste
- 5 Bay leaves
- 2 sticks whole cinnamon
- 12 large onions chopped lengthwise (thick)
- One large pod of garlic (or two small ones) chipped lengthwise (thin)
- 3 inches of ginger peeled and chopped lengthwise (thin long slivers)
- 5 green chillies slit lengthwise
- 1 tablespoon red vinegar
Instructions
- Cut the pork into 1 or 1.5 inch cubes
- Marinate with lemon juice and ginger-garlic paste
- Grind all ingredients (2-11) into a thick smooth paste in a blender, adding a little water at a time
- Add the ground spices from step 3 into the marinated meat and keep aside for at least 2 hours
- Take a large pot, heat it. Add the bay leaves and cinnamon and pour the marinated meat into the pot. Leave it uncovered on high heat and for half an hour or so until the water has evaporated.
- Cover the pot with a heavy lid and let it cook for another 45 minutes
- 10 minutes before turning off the heat add the chopped onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies (ingredients 17-20) and let it cook for 10 minutes
- Add the vinegar, turn off the heat and leave it covered
- Before serving stir, check for salt and reheat
- Serve with polas (recipe will follow), crusty bread or rice
