Fiery Pork Curry (I didn't name this ok!)

As the name suggests, it's really spicy! So you might need to reduce the amount of chillies that go into it. Unless, you're one of those types that can eat a whole cili padi and not cry.

Anyway, I got this recipe from D's mum who has spent some time trying it out and tweaking it to perfection (except for heat level). The method is pretty straightforward although there is quite a bit of waiting around (30mins here, another 30 mins there...).

The ingredients might seem a bit tricky to acquire at first BUT I managed to find them ALL at Waitrose (sigh... my fave place!) so no worries there! Furthermore, most of the ingredients needed are of the store cupboard kind so you could always make this pork curry again whenever you feel like it! :)

Okay, enough bla-bla! Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the Paste:

20 dried chillies

1 tbsp coriander seeds

½ tbsp black pepper

½ tbsp cumin

125 ml (1/2 cup) water

For the curry:

500 g pork with some fat (lean belly), diced

2 peeled onions, cut into chunks

3 green chillies, sliced

2.5 cm knob ginger, peeled & sliced

5 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced

1 stick cinnamon

5 pods cardamom

5 cloves

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp vinegar (I left this out since I don't have it. Still tastes good!)

3 bay leaves

250 ml (1 cup) water

2 stalks curry leaves (Waitrose, not an Asian supermarket, was the ONLY place that sold them. Even then, it was the freeze dried version which can still be used.)

Method:

1. First, prepare the paste. In a dry wok, roast dried red chillies until smoky but not burnt. Remove. Roast coriander seeds, pepper and cumin briefly until seeds are hot. While still hot, grind spices with roasted chillies and water until very fine. Grind preferably with mortar & pestle. I used a blender so it wasn't as finely ground.
2. Use pork that has some fat content so that the final dish will not be too hard and dry. Cut it up into small bite-sized pieces. Mix pork with ground paste, onions, chillies, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, salt, vinegar, oil & bay leaves. Set aside for 30 minutes.
3. Add water and mix well. Cook over medium heat until water begins to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Test meat using a fork. The fork should pierce through the pork easily. Once pork is tender, adjust seasoning to taste. Plunge curry leaves in and set aside for another 30 minutes before serving with rice. (I didn't bother setting it aside for 30 mins after plunging the curry leaves in; probably 5-10mins.)

Meanwhile, for those of you who might find the paste a bit too labour-intensive to make, D's mum has even provided a 'lazy' substitute!

Substitute for paste:

Marinate the pork with:

2 tbsp meat curry powder

1-2 tsp chilli powder, to taste.

(Taste as you marinate. Just don't swallow the stuff!)

And there it is, fiery pork curry! Try it out and let me know :)

x Dedicated to YMW who has asked for it to be put up x