Pork Padre

[Wooie1958]

Serves 6 - 8 ( allegedly ) ................ i think it`s more like 4 - 6 .......... lol


1.5 kg ( 3lb ) pork forequarter, boned ...................... i use pork leg then trim and dice it myself.
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cummin
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 large onions, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
rind of half a lemon ( zested )
2 teaspoons chilli powder ............................... i use Tesco Hot Chilli Powder and i`m up to 6 teaspoons :scared:
12 curry leaves
1 stick cinnamon
1/4 cup ( 2 fl oz ) arrack or whisky
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 teaspoons salt
2 cups ( 16 fl oz ) thick coconut milk
1/4 cup ( 2 fl oz ) tamarind liquid
1 cup ( 8 fl oz ) water



Cube the pork and set aside.
Roast the coriander, cummin and fennel ( or use a dark roasted Ceylon curry powder ).
Put spices into an electric blender together with onions, ginger, garlic, lemon rind ( zested ), chilli powder and curry leaves.
Add a cup ( 8 fl oz ) of water and blend into a smooth paste.
Put blended mixture and pork into a saucepan and add 1 cup ( 8 fl oz ) of the coconut milk, cinnamon, pepper, salt and tamarind.
Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 50 minutes.
Add sugar and arrack or whisky and simmer until the pork is tender.
If more liquid is needed, add a little hot water.
Towards the end of cooking time add remaining coconut milk and simmer, uncovered, until thick.
Serve with rice and accompaniments.



Note,

DO NOT use the light brown very sickly sweet tamarind liquid you can buy in supermarkets.

The stuff you want is a jet black paste and is beyond belief in sourness ( if you try a bit make sure it is only a bit ) and only sourced from Asian shops.

1 teaspoon added to 2 fl oz of boiling water is the right quantity for this recipe.

The one i use is called Tamicon, Panipuri Paste, Tamarind Concentrate.



If you make it and like it i guarantee the next time you`ll say .................... i`ll just put a little more chilli powder in :scared::lol-049:

 

[Robmac]

Thanks Graham.

Printed and passed to the boss!

I think I now have to go out and get the Tamarind paste.

 

[Robmac]

Can real Chillies be used Graham.

My son grows some rather 'special' ones. (Can cause death!).

 

[Wooie1958]

I don`t see why not Rob but i`ve no idea on quantity.

After all a recipe is just a guideline and you can alter and play about with the ingredients for personal taste and gratification.




I forgot to put the little note that the author puts on every recipe .........

I notice that in Sri Lankan cookery, whenever a curry has that ` secret ` ingredient, arrack, it becomes a padre curry.
Perhaps this was the padre`s only opportunity to imbibe !
Whisky may be used instead of arrack which is a spirit distilled from coconut palms.

 

[Channa]

Can real Chillies be used Graham.

My son grows some rather 'special' ones. (Can cause death!).

Fresh chilli can be used, in a lot of curries the chilli is balanced by powder and fresh.

Add to taste really.

If you can buy fresh curry leaves, not expensive, freeze in a plastic bag what you don't use. If you use dried you will need a bigger quantity for the same flavour.

Whenever I can I always buy seeds and grind myself the intensity of the flavour is far better, equally with this dish I personally would make the paste and marinade the pork overnight in a bowl covered with cling film a trick I learnt with vindaloo.

Whilst at the shop , put it in this or save for other curries buy a box of Kasoori Methi .(dried fenugreek leaves) add a teaspoon to a curry gives a real nice flavour. again a little tip ,,,,rub in the palms of your hands to again intensify the flavours

Channa

 

[Robmac]

Fresh chilli can be used, in a lot of curries the chilli is balanced by powder and fresh.

Add to taste really.

If you can buy fresh curry leaves, not expensive, freeze in a plastic bag what you don't use. If you use dried you will need a bigger quantity for the same flavour.

Whenever I can I always buy seeds and grind myself the intensity of the flavour is far better, equally with this dish I personally would make the paste and marinade the pork overnight in a bowl covered with cling film a trick I learnt with vindaloo.

Whilst at the shop , put it in this or save for other curries buy a box of Kasoori Methi .(dried fenugreek leaves) add a teaspoon to a curry gives a real nice flavour. again a little tip ,,,,rub in the palms of your hands to again intensify the flavours

Channa

Yes Andy, we usually make our own Curry pastes. I think we will stick with the original recipe the first time and adjust as we go along in future.

We were fortunate in that we had all of the ingredients for this dish bar the Tamarind paste and the Pork. We now have those.

Guess what's for dinner tonight!

 

[Wooie1958]

The recipe i put on here is word for word straight from the book.

I would suggest the first time to make it that way then any subsequent batches can be tweaked according to personal taste.

I roast my own corriander, cummin and fennel seeds in a dry frying pan as i prefer that to a dark roasted Ceylon curry powder.

The curry leaves i buy from the Asian shop as a bunch, the remainder gets dried and goes into an airtight glass jar for next time.

I don`t use the full amount of coconut milk but that`s a personal thing.

Because i make a large batch i bring everything together in a 32cm Pardini Stewpan like this

Then cook the curries in the oven for several hours in 2 X Pearsons of Chesterfied dutch ovens like this

The rest is then portioned up, put into foil containers and froze.

 

[Robmac]

Well, that was pretty damn excellent.

We went for the 6 spoons of extra hot chilli straight away. Very good indeed. Served with Rice, Naan Bread, Poppadoms, Mango chutney and Lime pickle. My son's a bit of a curry nut, and he loved it, as did I.

Thanks Graham

 

[Wooie1958]

If you`ve any left Rob freeze it then after a week or so heat it up and try it again. I swear it matures and tastes even better after it`s been frozen :tongue:

 

[trevskoda]

Did not know you were allowed to cook a irish priest/padre.:scared: