Pork Curry

• 2 1/2 lbs pork shoulder, sliced into 1" cubes
• 1 recipe MARINADE
• I recipe MASALA
• 2 C water
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• + salt
• + steamed rice, pão, or dinner rolls for serving

MARINADE

• 6 cloves
• 1 t whole black peppercorns
• 2" cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
• 1/2 star anise, broken
• 4-7 green chilies*, stems removed and sliced lengthwise
• 2" piece ginger, crushed
• 15 cloves (50 g) garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 medium onions, chopped into rough chunks
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 7 large Indian bay leaves (They're larger than Turkish bay leaves and have several large veins running lengthwise. If you can't find them, substitute regular bay leaves.
• 2 T coarse salt

MASALA

• 1" piece ginger, peeled and chopped roughly
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 medium onion, chopped roughly
• 1 t whole black peppercorns
• 7 cloves
• 1/2 star anise, broken
• 1 1/2 T whole coriander seeds
• 1 T cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 t black mustard seeds
• 6 Madras chilies**
• 6 Kashmiri chilies
• 6 Bedki chilies
• 1/2 t ground tumeric
• 1 golf-ball-size lump tamarind paste
• + water

1. Marinate the pork: place the pork in a large pot (you’re going to add a significant amount of liquid masala later and cook in the same pot, so make sure there’s plenty of room). Grind the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, and star anise in a spice grinder or in a mortar and pestle. Use your hands to mix together the spices and remaining ingredients with the pork, then set aside while you prepare the masala.
2. Make the masala: dry-roast your ginger, garlic, and onion in a pan over a low flame. Once they start to wilt and sweat a little bit, add the whole spices, then the chilies. When the whole mixture has become aromatic, remove from heat.
3. Let the spice mixture cool, then scrape it into a blender along with turmeric and tamarind. Add one-half cup of water as you start to blend. Continue adding water and blending until the mixture forms a smooth liquid, roughly the color and texture of tomato soup (if you didn’t manage to find the Kashmiri chilies, your liquid might not be quite tomato-red; add a few teaspoons of paprika). The idea here is to combine the spices as completely as possible so that there are no dangerously large pieces of any spice.
4. Once the masala paste is finished, add it to the pork and mix with your hands. Add water (about another three-fourths cup) to the empty blender and pulse once or twice. Add this water to the pork. (It’s okay if there’s not enough liquid to completely submerge the pork.)
5. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar and salt to taste, then cover and place over a high flame until the entire mixture comes to a boil. Once it boils, lower heat immediately and continue to simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. The curry is ready when the meat is tender. Serve with steamed rice or, even better, with pão or any dinner roll. This dish improves with time and can keep in the fridge for a week.

From lucky peach