I was not that big of a pork fan till I somehow ended up making a pork fry once. The meat was so tender and it tasted so damn good, I made it again and again....but just that one preparation and that too with pork shoulders and none of that immensely greasy pork fat which I despise, and Ro loves. Its the same case with my mom as well. She makes yummy pork curries and stir fries, but has only the gravy. So the other day we were casually talking and then she suddenly blurt out that she'd made this amazing Pork Vindaloo and it was so good even SHE ate it. That was a revelation and so I decided to give it a go as well. I took down her recipe but got side tracked and came up with a more complicated recipe but the outcome was simply marvellous.
The stir fried rice noodles also kinda happened by fluke. I have this bad habit of grabbing things at the supermarket and piling it up in my cart with the intention of making something with it, but the moment I get home I forget and end up throwing it out once other life starts growing on it. Yes these noodles were once part of that scenario, but this time Id done proper research on what to do with it and so it didn't get chucked. They came already cooked in these small packets (one of the reasons I picked it up in the first place) and all you need to do is stir fry it with whatever veggie or meat you want for 2 minutes and you're good to go. I decided to do a South Indian version (upma as its called). But once I tasted it, I wasn't too impressed. Its alright, not out of this world. So that's not really gonna make its way back into my kitchen that often, but the pork vindaloo..definitely a YES and strangely the combo was a good one.
Stir fried rice noodles (rice noodle upma)
(loosely adapted from here)
Rice noodles- 300 gms (cooked as per instructions)
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Dry red chillies- 3
Urud/ chana dal- 1 tsp
Onion- 1 small, chopped into tiny pieces
Green chillies- 3, slit lengthwise
Ginger- 1/2 inch piece, thinly sliced
Frozen green peas- 1/4 cup
Oil- 1/2 tbsp
In a wok heat the oil and splutter mustard seeds.
Add the curry leaves, dal and dry red chillies and sauté for 5 seconds.
Add the onions, green chillies and ginger to this and saute on medium heat till the onions turn a little brown. Not too much though.
To this add the frozen green peas, salt and cooked rice noodles and on medium- high heat stir fry for a few minutes, making sure the masala is evenly coated.
Take it off the heat and serve hot with any curry of your choice.
Notes: You can add any veggie of your choice..carrots, beans etc.
I cut the long cooked strips of noodles randomly so i got smaller easier to handle strips before throwing it into the wok.
Pork Vindaloo
Diced pork shoulder or any cut you please- 450 gms
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt- to taste
To grind:
Cumin seeds- 1/2 tbsp
Cinnamon sticks- 1/2 inch piece
Cloves- 2
Cardamom seeds- from 3 cardamom pods. Lightly crush them and take off the seeds
Dry red chillies- 4
Whole black peppercorns- 1/2 tsp
Black mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp (I only had fenugreek powder so used about a 1/4 tsp)
Onion- 1 large, roughly chopped
Ginger paste- 1 tbsp
Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
White wine vinegar- 2 tbsp
Brown sugar- 1/4 tsp
Oil- 1 tbsp
Marinate the cleaned pork cubes with pepper powder and enough salt. Keep aside.
Grind together all the ingredients under the 'to grind' section. Mix the white wine vinegar and brown sugar to the ground spices. Keep aside.
In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and sauté the onions on medium heat till they become slightly brown. About 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove with a slotted spoon and keep aside to cool slightly.
Once cooled, combine it with the spice-vinegar mix and blend to a smooth paste like consistency.
In the same pressure cooker, add some more oil if required and sauté the ginger and garlic paste till the raw smell goes.
Add the coriander powder and turmeric powder and stir for a further 2 minutes.
Finally add the ground spice-onion mix and sauté on medium heat till the oil starts separating.
Throw in the diced pork, salt and give a generous stir, making sure the masala coats all the pork cubes well.
Add about 2/3rds of a cup of water, give one more stir and close with the lid.
Once the steam appears, place the weight and cook for 3 to 4 whistles.
Wait till the steam releases on its own and then open the lid. Do a taste check, add salt if required.
There will still be some liquid left. Either leave as it is or if you want it dry, transfer the same to a frying pan and fry till you get the required consistency.
I paired it with the rice noodles and so I preferred some gravy.
Notes: You can make the same with beef, lamb or even chicken.
The curry was extremely spicy and I think the next time I'll reduce the red chillies to 2.
Its one of those curries that taste extremely good the next day.
