Saturday, April 23, 2011

Sri Lankan Fiery Pork Curry

Yum
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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      15 comments:

      1. I'm loving this dish, I've been craving curry lately, must try this soon!

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      2. Thanks for stopping by Tiffany. I am always craving curry. : ) Hope you enjoy.

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      3. lovely! youve inspired me to use lemongrass with my curries now : j

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      4. "Our Eyes Eat first"- Yes, lemongrass is great. You wouldn't think it would be so aromatic, but it really does make your curries taste wonderful. : )

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      5. this looks great...when it comes to curry no one beats me...but i have never tried coco milk with pork. lets see how it goes..thumbs up

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      6. please tell me what curry powder you have used for this dish.

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        1. I used a roasted Sri Lankan Curry powder (my mother bought in Sri Lanka). If you have curry powder that you enjoy, you can use that. You can also try Indian curry powder. I hope to make my own Sri Lankan Curry powder from scratch soon so I can reference that curry powder in the future. If you are not familiar to curry powder try a few small samples and pick your favorite.

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      7. All of these recipes on your blog look delicious! I wish I had time to try them all =). I've never tried Sri Lankan food but with all the delicious spices it contains I'm sure I'd love it, it looks amazingly good. Great blog you have by the way!

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      8. I am Sri Lankan and have been looking for mom type of curries and i have made this multiple times!!! Love it! Thanks 4 sharing.

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        1. So glad you enjoyed it. :) Nice to meet a fellow Sri Lankan. :)

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      9. Warm regards from cobdogla in southern Australia!
        I made this curry for dinner for my bf and our housemate and it was DELICIOUS!
        Didn't have the curry leaves - and I used mustard seeds instead of fenugreek ... No matter!
        Much love x Justine

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        Replies
        1. Thanks Justine! So glad you were able to use what you had in your kitchen. Until recently we didn't have access to curry leaves either (here in the States)so we have eaten it plenty of times without. :) Have a wonderful day. :)

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      10. I cooked this 2 weeks ago. It was great! I plan to cook this again. I grew up in Malaysia love Sri Lanka and South Indian dishes.

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      11. Hi do you have a good lamprais recipe? Thanks for the share

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        Replies
        1. Lucy... I don't have a lamprais recipe posted yet. Hope to have one soon.

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