Sri Lankan Fiery Pork Curry

My Mother makes the best Sri Lankan Spicy Pork Curry that I know.  So I had her by my side as I made this dish so I could make sure I got the best cook giving me the best advice on how to get it right.  Well, it worked because this curry turned out wonderful.   Now, it's my turn to share it with you. 

I used 2lbs of lean pork loin for this recipe that I cut into 1 inch cubes. The first step is to marinate the pork for 30 minutes or up to over-night.  I just marinated it for 30 minutes and the flavors were still really great.  You will marinate it with:

• 2 Tbs of Cider Vinegar
• 2 Tbs of Red Chili Powder or to taste **(see note below)
• 2 Tbs of Roasted Curry Powder
• 1 tsp of Turmeric
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbs of grated garlic cloves
• 2 Tbs of grated ginger

**Note:  When I mention red chili powder it is powder from dried red chilies and available at your Indian Grocers if you are in the US.  Do not use chili con carne "chili powder" used in Texas style chili.

Now gather other aromatics:

• 2 stalks of lemongrass bruised
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 20-30 curry leaves
• 1 large onion chopped
• 2-3 green chilies (serrano) chopped
• 1tsp of fenugreek seeds
• 6-7 cardamom pods
• 6-7 cloves

 Heat 3 Tbs of oil in a large pan or pot on medium-high heat.  Once oil is hot, fry your onions, lemongrass and other aromatics until onions soften a bit.

Now add the marinated pork and fry with the aromatics for 3-5 minutes until the pork browns.Keep stirring so nothing burns.

We decide (just by the color) that it did not look spicy enough for us so we added another 1Tbs of red chili powder.  This step is of course optional.  The red chili powder gives you the reddish color to the dish.  If you have a very strong brand of chili powder  and need to you less chili powder, you may have a more brown dish, but it all tastes good. : )

 Add 1/2 cup of water to the pan and allow to simmer on medium heat for 15-20 minutes with a lid on.  Stir occasionally.  The pork should produce more liquid, if it does become too dry you can add a little more water.








Once the pork is cooked through and a "reddish-brown" color, add 1 cup of coconut milk or regular cow's milk and stir well.  Taste for seasoning here.  You can adjust the salt if necessary.  You can also add more chili powder.   ** if the dish happens to be too spicy for you, you can add more milk to dilute some of the spiciness.

Simmer for another 5 minutes and give your final taste for salt and seasoning.  If you adjust anything here, simmer for another few minutes.   If not, you can turn off the stove at this point.  Your pork curry is done.

Serves 6-8 people.  Serve with white/brown rice and mild lentil curry or other vegetable curries.  You can also serve this with fried rice, roti, chapathi, naan etc... Enjoy.

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