Pork Vindaloo

Pork Vindaloo or Vin d’alho is the most popular curry-style Goan/Indian dish of Portuguese origin. It literally means a sauce made from wine (Portuguese vinho) and garlic (Portuguese alho).

This pork dish was added into the Indian culinary culture with the arrival of Portuguese colonizers in the fifteenth century Portugal ruled Goa.

Greetings from my desk!

It’s early. Pre-dawn. My most favourite time as some of you already might know. Just as the twittering of early birds and before the whirring of buses and cars takes over, I begin to write down a new recipe. I have spent months (in the case of Vindaloo, 2 years) working at my desk and kitchen, to get the best version for my blog – an iconic recipe from my homeland – a recipe of three previous generations of my family.

Turning pages of my paternal Grand Uncle Isidore Coelho’s cookbook “The Chef” I had little doubt that I wanted to recreate his recipe for “Pork Vindalu” “as he called it. For the purpose of my recipe, I call it “Pork Vindaloo”.

For me, this recipe stirs many an emotion, probably because this was a curry that was quite often picked by my mother to be cooked for a Sunday family lunch but was never cooked.

Not much I can say with any clarity as to why it was never cooked except that I am grateful beyond words that my dear departed parents gifted me with their own copy of the “The Chef” before I arrived in Australia, it being gifted to them by ‘Isidore Coelho’ himself at their wedding sometime in the late 1930s or early 1940s.

The cookbook, “The Chef”, now almost an antique, holds a place of pride in my study (on my desk literally), with a collection of delicious recipes, all of which are close to my heart and will never go out of vogue. Thank you, Uncle Isidore!

Probably silly not to mention it, Grand Uncle Isidore Coelho has three special recipes for Vindalu – all using pork. I will stay well on track as I am going to use ‘pork’ as my protein choice, as an authentic Vindaloo is only ever made with pork.

I am so excited to share the best version I could come up with for my blog, that is tried and tested for over 2 years and given a tick of approval by my team of taste testers.

I would be thrilled to see this recipe being used by many kitchens in Australia and around the world – a dream so close to my heart!!

Pork Vindaloo aka Pork Vindalu is a classic, iconic Goan non-vegetarian dish. You will find different versions of it at most Indian restaurants in India and across Britain.

The taste of Pork Vindaloo is often misunderstood as it has a reputation of being spicy and fiery. In my opinion, this vindaloo is anything but fiery, as I adjust the spices to my taste.

An authentic Pork Vindaloo is almost always made with pork. I would like to say, a good vindaloo looks rich red in colour, it should be medium-hot at most, slightly tangy, rich with a concoction of blended Kashmiri chillies and aromatic spices.

The main ingredients in the Portuguese version of Pork Vindaloo are chunks of pork, red wine and garlic cooked until tender, in a chilli wine-based sauce.

The Goans adapted with the locally sourced palm vinegar (made from coconut toddy) and added a few more ingredients such as Kashmiri chillies (more for the deep red colour than heat), fresh ginger (for the zing), sugar (to temper the tang) and some fragrant sweet spices such as cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, which explain its sweet zingy flavour.

This Vindaloo is inspired by my dear Uncle Isidore, author of the famous Mangalorean cookbook “The Chef”, albeit with many of my tweaks and personal touches. It is piquant but not necessarily burning hot. What makes this curry stick out is it packs a punch but not so much heat!!

In a nutshell, this ‘Vindaloo” is a true hybrid using pork as the protein. It is cooked with lashings of vinegar, loads of garlic and spices such as Kashmiri chillies, cumin seeds, cloves and cinnamon. The taste of this Vindaloo will tingle your tongue with a little tang from the vinegar and moderate spice from Kashmiri chillies, fresh ginger and black pepper. A slight sweetness from the white/brown sugar should leave you wanting more!!

Serve the ‘Vindaloo’ with hot steamed white/brown Basmati rice. I also love it served with soft white dinner rolls (see photo below) similar to the leavened bread rolls served with Indian curries. Mangalore Sannas also make an authentic festive pairing.

I smile every time I see a ‘Vindaloo’ recipe cooked with any other meat than pork. This is probably because traditionally, Vindaloo in Goa is prepared only with pork.

I have tried various cuts of pork from loin, belly, scotch fillet, leg, shoulder and just as many combinations of these cuts, in order to come up with a curry that is not loaded with fat.

I have cooked with the most popularly sold cuts in the large supermarkets (Woolworths and Coles) known as pork loin and pork shoulder. Results: Average.

I have also used a combination of pork belly and pork scotch fillet because the marbling in both cuts keeps the meat juicy during the slow cooking. Results: Good but not best!

Not to forget, I have also cooked with just the pork belly. My taste testers felt the pork belly was too fatty for this recipe and did not give me a tick of approval. Pork belly is the richest cut of pork with heavy marbling and as the fat renders into the curry, the vindaloo gets too rich. So, please avoid cooking only with pork belly unless of course you love the taste of a fatty vindaloo. Results: Too rich and loaded with fat! I guess it’s a personal preference!

So, what cut of pork is best to make this Pork Vindaloo?

After trialling tirelessly for over 2 years with various cuts mentioned above and countless failures (too much fat, too little fat, no flavour, too expensive etc.,), I have settled for a cut known as pork scotch fillet and in my opinion, the recipe yields the best results with this cut, while being cost effective.

What is pork scotch fillet?

• It’s a boneless cut from the neck and shoulder area (aka pork neck, collar butt or Boston butt). Butt is an old English term and refers to the widest part of the pig and not the rear!!, the widest part being the shoulder of the pig!
• It’s a lean cut with more marbling than the loin and easily absorbs the delicious flavours of this Pork Vindaloo.
• It’s a succulent cut of pork and is most suitable for slow cooking/stews/braising, like in this Pork Vindaloo because the fat keeps the meat moist, and tender during slow cooking.
• It’s flavoursome due to higher inter-muscular fat content.
• It’s economical and good value for money. Sold as steaks at Woolworths and Coles for $6.00 for a 300g pack.