I've been making this dish for many years and it's my wife's all-time favorite. It's hot, it's spicy, it's complicated, and time-consuming, but it's oh, so good! Some of the spices aren't easily found in your average supermarket, but if you can find an Indian grocery shop, you can get them very inexpensively. The recipe calls for 2-3 dried chile peppers...we like it hot, so that usually becomes 4 or 5. 
Be sure to have all your ingredients measured out and ready before you start cooking.
Pork Vindaloo (Goan-style Hot and Sour Pork)
(Serves 6)
From Madhur Jaffreys Indian Cooking, 1982
Ingredients:
Preparation:
Grind cumin seeds, red chiles, peppercorns, cardamom seeds, cinnamon stick, black mustard seeds, and fenugreek seeds in a coffee or spice grinder. Put the ground spices in a bowl. Add the vinegar, salt, and sugar. Mix and set aside.
Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pan over a medium flame. Put in the onions. Fry, stirring frequently, until the onions turn brown and crisp. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and put them in the container of an electric blender or food processor. (Turn the heat off.) Add 2-3 tablespoons of water to the blender and puree the onions. Add this puree to the ground spices in the bowl. (This is the Vindaloo paste. It may be made ahead of time and frozen.)
Dry off the meat cubes with a paper towel and remove any large pieces of fat.
Put the ginger and garlic into the container of an electric blender or food processor. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water and blend until you have a smooth paste. Set aside.
Heat the oil remaining in the pot over a medium-high flame. (Add more oil as needed.) When hot, put in the pork cubes, a few at a time, and brown them lightly on all sides. Remove each batch with a slotted spoon and add them to a bowl. Do all the pork this way. Now put the ginger-garlic paste into the same pot. Turn down the heat to medium. Stir the paste for a few seconds. Add the coriander and turmeric. Stir for another few seconds. Add the meat, any juices that may have accumulated, as well as the Vindaloo paste and 1 cup of water. Stir thoroughly and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer gently for an hour or until pork is tender. Stir a few times during this cooking period.
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I serve this with plain Basmati Rice, Gujerati Carrot Salad, and Gujerati Green Beans (recipes also from the Madhur Jaffrey cookbook).
Be sure to have all your ingredients measured out and ready before you start cooking. Pork Vindaloo (Goan-style Hot and Sour Pork)
(Serves 6)
From Madhur Jaffreys Indian Cooking, 1982
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons whole Cumin Seeds
- 2-3 hot, dried Red Chiles
- 1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon Cardamom Seeds
- 3-inch stick of Cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons whole Black Mustard Seeds
- 1 teaspoon whole Fenugreek Seeds
- 5 tablespoons White Wine Vinegar
- 1½ - 2 teaspoons Salt
- 1 teaspoon light Brown Sugar
- 5 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 2 medium Onions, peeled and thinly sliced into half-rings
- 1 ½ cups Water
- 2 pounds boneless Pork Shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1-inch cube of Ginger root, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 small whole head of Garlic, with cloves separated and peeled
- 1 tablespoon ground Coriander Seeds
- ½ teaspoon ground Turmeric
Preparation:
Grind cumin seeds, red chiles, peppercorns, cardamom seeds, cinnamon stick, black mustard seeds, and fenugreek seeds in a coffee or spice grinder. Put the ground spices in a bowl. Add the vinegar, salt, and sugar. Mix and set aside.
Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pan over a medium flame. Put in the onions. Fry, stirring frequently, until the onions turn brown and crisp. Remove the onions with a slotted spoon and put them in the container of an electric blender or food processor. (Turn the heat off.) Add 2-3 tablespoons of water to the blender and puree the onions. Add this puree to the ground spices in the bowl. (This is the Vindaloo paste. It may be made ahead of time and frozen.)
Dry off the meat cubes with a paper towel and remove any large pieces of fat.
Put the ginger and garlic into the container of an electric blender or food processor. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water and blend until you have a smooth paste. Set aside.
Heat the oil remaining in the pot over a medium-high flame. (Add more oil as needed.) When hot, put in the pork cubes, a few at a time, and brown them lightly on all sides. Remove each batch with a slotted spoon and add them to a bowl. Do all the pork this way. Now put the ginger-garlic paste into the same pot. Turn down the heat to medium. Stir the paste for a few seconds. Add the coriander and turmeric. Stir for another few seconds. Add the meat, any juices that may have accumulated, as well as the Vindaloo paste and 1 cup of water. Stir thoroughly and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer gently for an hour or until pork is tender. Stir a few times during this cooking period.
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I serve this with plain Basmati Rice, Gujerati Carrot Salad, and Gujerati Green Beans (recipes also from the Madhur Jaffrey cookbook).
