Pondicherry Pork Curry Recipe
Enjoy a South Indian dish with Eagle Brae and our Pondicherry Pork Curry. Pondicherry is a coastal town on the south-east coast of India giving this curry a south Indian twist of citrus flavours. While guests at Eagle Brae can enjoy the convenience of ordering our delicious homecooked meal, ready to pop into the oven, you can now recreate the experience at home with our Pondicherry Pork Curry recipe.
Ingredients (feeds 4)
- Boneless diced pork ((slow growing rare breed pork is best)
- Tomatoes(6pcs, chopped finely)
- Button mushrooms150g (quartered)
- Red pepper 1 medium size (chopped in small pieces)
- Onion (1 large, chopped finely)
- Garlic (6cloves, crushed)
- Ginger (half a thumb’s worth, chopped very finely)
- Chilli flakes (1/2 tsp)
- Pork stock (half litre)
- Coconut milk (2 cans)
- Cumin (half tbsp) seeds and ground cumin (1tsp)
- Turmeric (2tsp)
- Coriander seeds (half tbsp) ground
- Garam masala (2 tsp)
- Olive oil (3 tbsp)
- Salt (to taste)
- Black Pepper (half tsp)
- Lemongrass (2 sticks)
- Kaffir lime leaves (3 or 4)
- Fresh chives finely chopped
- Lemon juice (half lemon)
- Lime juice (half lime)
Method
The Berkshire Pork
The first job is to brown your pork. This should be done as quickly as possible. Use your largest non-stick frying pan and heat the oil on full heat. Brown the pork in small batches and remove to a separate dish with a lid to keep moist and warm once browned. Do not put too much pork in the pan at once or the pan will become crowded, the temperature will drop too low and the pork will leak juiciness which you don’t want! Turn the heat down in the pan in preparation for the next step. If there is a fair bit of water/oil combination left in your pan after drying the meat, let it bubble on and reduce till only oil remains again.
The Curry Torka (Sauce)
The curry sauce is the most important part for most curries and it’s no different for Eagle Brae’s Pondicherry Pork Curry.
Using the same pan on medium heat adding more oil if needed, gently fry your onions. After 10 mins when the onions are golden and softening, add the chopped ginger, followed by garlic. Fry on gently for another few minutes.
Add all your ground spices chilli flakes and garam masala together (this is an important part of the cooking–do not burn the dry spices) and fry for another 2 minutes stirring all the time.
Add your tomatoes and gently cook with the lid on for 5-10 minutes or so until all tomatoes are softened and losing their form (you can use a potato masher to help this process along)! You must fry your tomatoes on low heat for long enough for them to be fully cooked and become fully assimilated sauce or until you see a layer of oil starts to separate on the outer edges of your torka.
Turn the heat off and let it cool down a bit. Blend the entire contents into a fine paste using a food processor. Set aside to cool.
The Final Stage
Take a new pan, add olive oil and put on a moderate heat, add a teaspoon of cumin seeds and fry for 30 seconds until the oil smells nice. Stir for a minute or two until combined. Now here’s the messy bit! With moderate to high heat, pour in your blended paste. You need to fry this paste and keep stirring; it should bubble like molten lava and will spit and make a mess. Watch your hands (might want to wear gloves) as you can get very hot splashes on the hands during this phase! Keep stirring until it cools a bit, then turn the heat down a bit and let it bubble away with the lid on. Add your pork and stir. Add diced mushrooms. Cook it for a minute or two. Add coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass sticks, lemon juice, lime juice and the stock (do not add it all at once as the sauce may end up being very runny). Stir well, add salt and pepper to taste. Add some water if it looks too thick. Stir and simmer until all is nicely combined and then put in the oven for an hour at about 180 degrees checking halfway if water needs to be added in case it’s drying out. Equally, if too runny cook with the lid off to thicken up. Add your diced peppers on the halfway check too. Just before serving sprinkle the chives over it.
Serving The Pondicherry Pork Curry
As with many stews and curries, our pork curry can taste even better on day number 2 so if you are making it to eat with guests feel free to prepare it the day before and just reheat when required. Serve on a bed of basmati rice with chopped coriander, yoghurt, Indian pickle and fresh green chillies for those who like them.
Enjoy!
For more delicious Eagle Brae dishes, see our other home-cooked recipes.