Most restaurant vindaloo is just a very hot curry. The real Goan dish is something else: sour before it's spicy, deep red from Kashmiri chillies, sharp with vinegar and heavy with garlic. The name comes from the Portuguese vinha d'alhos, meat marinated in wine and garlic, which Goan cooks rebuilt with palm vinegar and local spices.
Pork shoulder is the right cut. It has enough fat and connective tissue to stay juicy through a long cook and soak up the masala, where a lean cut would turn dry and stringy. A pressure cooker gets it tender in a fraction of the time.
What You Will Need
From FNF:
- FNF Pork Shoulder, Boneless (1 kg block)
- For a richer curry, swap half for FNF Pork Belly (500 g)
For the vindaloo paste:
- 10 dried Kashmiri red chillies, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes
- 2 dried hot red chillies (optional, for heat)
- 12 cloves garlic
- 1.5 inch ginger
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 6 cloves
- 1 inch cinnamon stick
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ⅓ cup white or coconut vinegar
- 1.5 tsp salt
From your kitchen:
- 2 large onions, finely sliced
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp sugar or jaggery
- Steamed rice or pav to serve
Method
- Make the paste. Drain the chillies and blend with the garlic, ginger, whole spices, turmeric, vinegar and salt into a smooth, thick paste. Use more vinegar, not water, if it needs loosening.
- Prepare the pork. Thaw the pork shoulder overnight in the fridge. Cut it into 1.5 inch cubes, keeping the fat on: it melts into the gravy.
- Marinate. Rub the paste all over the pork, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.
- Fry the onions. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and fry the onions on medium heat until deep golden brown. Take your time here; the onions give the gravy its body.
- Sear the pork. Add the pork with all of its marinade. Stir on high heat for 5 to 6 minutes until the paste darkens and the oil starts to separate.
- Pressure cook. Add ½ cup water, seal and cook on medium heat for 5 to 6 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Finish. Open the cooker, stir in the sugar and simmer uncovered until the gravy is thick and clings to the pork. Taste: it should be sour, garlicky and warm. Add a splash of vinegar or a pinch of salt if it needs it.
- Rest. Vindaloo is famously better the next day. If you can, cool it, refrigerate overnight and reheat gently before serving.
Tips
- Kashmiri chillies give the colour; the optional hot chillies give the heat. Adjust the hot ones, not the Kashmiri.
- Don't trim the fat off the shoulder. Lean pork vindaloo is dry vindaloo.
- Make sure the pork is cooked through and tender before serving. Pork should reach at least 63°C, and in a curry like this it goes well past that.
New to buying pork? Read our guide to buying pork in Delhi NCR, or shop ribs, belly, shoulder and chops.
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