Pork Vindaloo

Goa trip with my buddies had finally happened in July this year and along with it came a big surprise. One of my friends who is least experimental with food and sticks to north Indian cuisine all the time was coaxed (or forced, as he would say) into trying Goan cuisine. And he actually liked something! Pork vindaloo. Needless to say, once we were back to the traffic and routine of Delhi life, all he could talk about was the pork vindaloo. As the only one who cooks in the group, I felt I could perhaps re-create the Goa mood by trying my hand at the dish. And so I did...successfully.

(This pic was taken when the pork was still cooking on dry heat [no gravy at this point] and the lighting was awful. Sorry folks!)

Here's how you make it:

1 Kg Pork meat (meat with fat trimmed)
2 Big Onions
Salt as per taste
15 Kashmiri Chillies,
6-8 Garlic flakes,
1" Ginger
2 Teaspoons of Jeera,
3/4 tsp Haldi,
1" piece of Cinnamon
6 Peppers
6 Cloves
Vinegar

1. Grind the chillies into powder, add just enough vinegar to make a paste and keep it aside. Lets move on to prepping the pork.
2. Wash the Pork pieces well and then chop them up into nice bits.
3. Drain the moisture from the pork. You can do so by using a cloth to absorb all the water.
4. Add some salt and keep it aside. This step should help dry the pieces even more.
5. Now grind all remaining ingredients into a fine paste.
6. Add the ground masala (don't forget the chilly-vinegar!) to the pork pieces and mix well. Ensure that all pieces of pork are evenly coated with the masala. Add a little vinegar to the meat, mix it up once more and store it overnight in the fridge.
7. The next day, blend the onions to add to the marinated pork.
8. Heat a pan and on dry heat, transfer all the ingredients on to the stove.
9. Fry the meat till it starts to seal, that is, the color of the meat should have changed from pink to a pink-brown. Add 1.5 cups of water and let it cook on a slow flame.
10. Check the pork vindaloo in intervals. Once the meat is cooked and the gravy reaches the consistency that you like (the gravy is ideally not thick but is flavorful even when thin so adjust the water accordingly), your Pork Vindaloo is ready!

TIP: Like most Indian dishes that have masalas, Vindaloo always tastes better the next day as the meat gets properly marinated.