This brightly flavored dish is another one of my all-time favorites. I often make it with leftover pork roast. I began mixing my own vindaloo seasoning a while ago. I didn’t use up the commercially prepared blend fast enough, so it was always getting too old to be flavorful. I use the individual ingredients much more quickly, so I get more flavor. Plus, I don’t have a jar of something I only use a couple of times a year taking up space in my spice cupboard. Fresh spices make all the difference. If you want even more flavor, buy your spices whole and grind them yourself. Now that I own a decent mortar & pestle, I may start doing that.

Some might argue that my version of this dish isn’t authentic, and they wouldn’t be wrong. Defining “authentic” in this case isn’t as straightforward as you might expect, though, if Wikipedia can be believed. It started as a Portuguese dish, was adapted by Indian cooks in Goa, then further adapted by the British. So I prefer to view my version as just another tweak in the long evolution of a dish that’s become popular all over the world. You’ll find a printer-friendly version of the recipe at the bottom of this page.

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon ground coriander *

1 Tablespoon ground cumin *

1½ teaspoon garlic powder *

1 teaspoon ground ginger *

½ teaspoon Penzeys or Diamond Crystal kosher salt *

½ teaspoon cinnamon *

½ teaspoon cayenne * (may substitute off-the-hook)

½ teaspoon ground cardamom *

½ teaspoon ground turmeric *

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper *

¼ teaspoon ground cloves *

1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds

1 cup (240 ml) water, divided

3 Tablespoons olive oil

5 baby potatoes, about 12 oz. (340 g) total

12 oz (340 g) cooked pork leftovers, raw pork, chicken, or lamb

1 small onion

3 oz (90 ml) plain white vinegar, about a third of a cup

* May substitute 3 to 4 Tablespoons of commercially prepared vindaloo seasoning.

Directions:

1.) Combine the first 11 ingredients (coriander through cloves, or commercially prepared vindaloo seasoning) and 3 Tablespoons of the water in a small prep bowl to make a paste. Add the hot sauce; set aside.

 

 

2.) Dice the potatoes into ¾” (2 cm) cubes. Heat 1 Tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and cook until lightly browned.Don’t try to stir too early, or the potatoes will stick to the pan.  Remove the potatoes from the pan, leaving behind as much oil as you can.

3.) While the potatoes brown, trim any fat from the pork and dice the meat into ¾” (2 cm) cubes. After removing the potatoes, add another Tablespoon of the oil and the pork. Briefly brown the pork, stirring occasionally. Remove the pork from the pan, again leaving behind as much oil as you can.

4.) While the pork browns, dice the onion. After removing the pork, add the last Tablespoon of the oil and the onion. Cook until the onions begin to soften and turn translucent, about three minutes. Add the mustard seeds and immediately cover the pan.

 

 

5.) As the seeds heat, they will begin to pop. Once the popping slows down, stir in the spice paste you made in Step 1. Cook about 30 seconds, then stir in the rest of the water and the vinegar.

 

 

6.) Return the pork and potatoes to the pan, stirring to coat. Cook until both are done, and most of the liquid is gone. Note that with leftovers, you only need to rewarm the meat, so your cook time depends more on the potatoes. Either way, this step only requires 10 to 15 minutes, as the pieces are cut small enough to cook quickly.