Pork Vindaloo

  
Indian food and I share an amar prem. That's Hindi for hunka hunka burning love. When I decided to start eating meat again, and discovered that it didn't make my digestive system explode, almost the first thing I did was trot down to the local Indian lunch buffet to sample all those mysterious dishes I'd been bypassing.

Tandoori chicken! Goat curry! The classic tikka masala! But alas, they weren't serving the dish I was most curious about - vindaloo. Famous for its spice levels, vindaloo sounded irresistible to my chile-loving palate.

But according to Rhagavan Iyer in 660 Curries, vindaloo need not be mouth-meltingly hot. He says its most essential characteristic is vinegar, not chiles. Bit of trivia: authentic vindaloo is  made with palm vinegar, an ingredient that's difficult to find outside of Goa, let alone outside of India. Iyer recommends malt or cider vinegar.

Iyer must be a vindaloo fan, because 660 Curries has several recipes for vindaloo, including this non-traditional one that includes coconut milk. The combination of rich, cooling coconut and hot, assertive chiles makes a sublime synthesis. Even though I was out of fresh cilantro, this dish was a winner. The pungent aroma, complex background of flavors, and sneak-up-on-you chile heat were perfect.

quarter cup cider vinegar
1 T chopped fresh ginger
1 t cumin seeds
6 large cloves garlic
1 red onion - half rough chop, half finely chopped
2 dried red chiles
2 fresh green chiles
1 t salt
quarter t turmeric
2 T oil for frying
one pound bonelss pork loin, cut into strips 1 inch wide and quarter inch thick
2/3 cup coconut milk
2 T minced fresh cilantro for garnish

In a blender, make a paste of the vinegar, ginger, garlic, coarsely chopped onion, and chiles.  Doesn't it smell amazing? Stir in the salt and turmeric.

Saute the finely chopped onion for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Stir in the paste and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes. You want the vinegar to evaporate and the paste to get fairly dry.

Add pork to the pan and cook until seared, about 2 minutes.

Pour in the coconut milk, give a good stir, and cover. Turn heat down to medium low and simmer for ten minutes. That's it!

One note: I don't know if it was something about the pork, my temperatures, or me still adjusting to eating meat, but I thought the pork could have been more tender. Next time I'll let it simmer for 15 or 20 minutes.

I served this with a quick salad of tomatoes and avocados, which reminded me that rich creaminess of avocados also blends well with chiles and got me thinking about my next meal.

What's that, dear? Oh, don't be like that, Indian food. I'll always come back to you.

Khoresh Fesenjan

This rich Persian stew marries chicken with walnuts and pomegranate. It's one of those dishes I've been meaning to try making vegetarian, ever since I bought a bottle of pomegranate molasses on a whim last year. I found a bunch of recipes online and they differed quite a bit. In lieu of a Persian auntie to educate me, I cobbled this together:

1 cup walnuts
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
2 T butter
about 2/3 cup pomegranate molasses
half cup water or stock
about a pound of chicken breasts
1 teaspoon salt
half teaspoon pepper
quarter teaspoon turmeric
dash each of nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom

Pulverize the walnuts and toast them. I toasted them in an unoiled pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, for about 90 seconds. They smelled wonderful. Transfer the nuts to a plate.

Melt some butter in the pan and saute the onions for about 2 minutes. Add garlic and saute another couple minutes.

Add chicken to the pan and drizzle with the pomegranate molasses. Then cover with the spices and walnuts, add stock to the pan, and cover. Let simmer 20 minutes, then flip over the chicken and give it another 20 minutes.

When the chicken is tender, remove from the pan and cut into bite size pieces. Return it to the pan, give it a good stir, and you're done.


Almost every fesenjan recipe I found included 2 or 3 tablespoons of sugar to balance the pomegranate's tartness.  I can't imagine how sweet those turn out - the pomegranate molasses was much sweeter than I expected. The stew was delicious, but I think I'll save the recipe for special occasions. It's a bit rich to eat regularly.

Tamarind Beef

You have to understand: I was vegetarian for 16 years.

A few nights ago a friend came over to lend kitchen expertise, moral support and a bottle of wine, and talked me through a turkey chili recipe. But now I'm on my own, with about a pound of beef chuck. Yikes.

I turned to one of my favorite cookbooks, Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries, and found a recipe for Tamarind Beef. Okay. I can do that.

Tamarind Beef with Shallots and Mango
(Moppalah Gosht Rootan)


2 T ginger paste
1T garlic paste
1/2 t turmeric
1 lb stew meat in 1" cubes
2T coconut oil
1 t mustard seeds
1 cup thinly sliced shallots (I had 3 shallots on hand, so that's what I used)
4 dried chiles
2 T ground coriander
1.5 t salt
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 t tamarind paste
1 unripe mango, rock firm, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
12-15 fresh curry leaves
2T chopped fresh cilantro for garnish


Mix together the garlic paste, ginger paste and turmeric. (To make garlic or ginger paste, just puree with a little bit of water or oil. You can also buy jars of the stuff for a song at Asian grocery stores, but fresh is always better.) Coat the beef with this mixture and let marinate for at least a few hours. I let it sit overnight.

It didn't look very appetizing the next day, but I tried to think positive thoughts.

Melt oil in a pan on medium high. Throw in the mustard seeds and let them pop. Have a lid handy in case the seeds are feeling extra energetic. You need to keep an eye on them anyway, as they can burn fairly easily.

Add the shallots and chiles and fry about 3 or 4 minutes. The shallots should be brown on the edges.

Add the beef, coriander and salt. Cook 10-15 minutes, until the beef is seared and light brown.

Meanwhile, mix together the tamarind paste and coconut milk. Add to the seared beef and deglaze. Toss in the mango and curry leaves. (Curry leaves make a subtle impression - if you can't get any, don't let that stop you.) Reduce heat and cover. Let it simmer, stirring occasionally, until the meat is tender.

The verdict: This was pretty good. I didn't love it, but I liked it. I was expecting the green mango to be tart, but it was more earthy. I would have liked the tamarind flavor to be more pronounced. Next time I will definitely use more tamarind paste, and maybe a ripe mango.