Goan(ish) Pork Vindaloo Curry

Pork vindaloo is a hot and sour Goan curry; my version is influenced by British Indian flavours, delivering succulent meat in a fiery sauce.

This delicious curry may take a while, but it is easy to make and cook. Just blend a marinade, then chuck stuff in a pan and cook it for a couple of hours and drink in that gorgeous aroma!

Goan Pork Curry

My site is littered with curry recipes inspired by my love of British Indian curry houses.

I have everything from lamb madras to the ever-popular chicken tikka masala.

This pork vindaloo joins a beef variant on my site, and the choice of pork and beef, to some extent, is both fairly "unusual".

However, the use of pork harks back to this curries Indo-Portuguese origins. It hails from Goa in southern India, just like my chicken xacuti recipe. It was originally a take on Portuguese pork that would have been preserved in wine and garlic.

Over the next 500 years, it has become a host of different dishes, and mine is another take on a take. The ever-changing nature really is everything that I love about food!

When it comes to curry recipes, I firmly believe that the sauce should be tailored to match the protein it is served with. So this vindaloo sauce is not identical to the one I use for my beef vindaloo.

I scale back the tamarind slightly and increase the vinegar as the sour element, and also switch to cider vinegar as an ode to the pork.

The fenugreek disappears in this recipe and instead is replaced with fennel because fennel and pork are a match made in heaven.

Frequently Asked Questions

What sort of pork is best to use?

If you can get your hands on it, some pork blade is the ideal cut of meat as far as I am concerned. It is quite a fatty cut from the top of the shoulder. It is the cut that country ribs come from for my US-based readers.

However, pork shoulder is also wonderful, and you can buy a big old chunk in the supermarket for £3-£6 a kilo, which is a bargain!

If you like an even fattier cut of meat, then you could make this with rindless pork belly, which I use in my Sri Lankan influenced pork belly curry.

Can I cook this in another way?

Yes, you could leave it simmering on the stovetop for 90-120 minutes on a low heat.

You could also throw it in a slow cooker for 5 hours on low or 3 hours on high, but you will need to add more water. This will lead to a slightly wetter curry with a less punchy sauce.

Finally, you could cook it in a pressure cooker or Instant Pot.

Again, more liquid will be needed, but you can reduce this after the cooking process. Cook on high pressure for 35 minutes and then allow the pressure to release naturally.

Can I use tamarind concentrate?

Yes, but tread carefully! All concentrates have slightly different strengths, and getting it wrong can fundamentally change a dish.

Add a little to begin with and have a taste before adding more.

Serving Suggestions

Pork vindaloo cries out for rice and bread to help balance that chilli heat.

For me, as is so often the case, that means some tandoori style naan bread, although chapatis work well too.

When it comes to rice, I tend to err towards serving with a plain boiled or steamed rice. Mainly because I think that Indian inspired dishes have more than enough flavour to carry neutral rice.

However, you could serve this with a good pilau rice or even something like onion fried rice.

If you wanted something a little different, then how about some potatoes?

Both my fenugreek potatoes (aloo methi) or my roasted Bombay potatoes would work wonderfully.

Equipment Used

I only name-check brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Hob/Stovetop.
• Oven.
• 20cm or 8" saucepan with a lid.
• Chopping board.
• Kitchen knife.
• Small bowl to soak tamarind.
• Fine mesh sieve.
• A bag or tub for marinating pork.
• A combination of weighing scales and or measuring cups and or spoons.
• Mini blender.