Sri Lankan Black Pork Curry
Serves: 2–3 people
Spice: 🌶🌶🌶🌶/5
Significance of the Dish
There are many curries that put Sri Lanka on the culinary map. One that is truly distinctive from other curries around the South-Asian region, and happens to be a personal favorite from the grand repertoire of my grandmother’s cooking, is Sri Lankan black pork curry.
Spicy, tangy, and deeply rich in flavor, this black pork curry gets its name and slightly sour taste from the use of garcinia, a sour-flavored fruit similar to tamarind in taste. The slow-cooked pork belly, which is first marinated for 24 hours in spices, and then simmered with chilies, roasted curry powder, curry leaves, lemongrass, and pandan, makes this an unforgettable and unique curry like no other.
Ingredient Guidance
Roasted vs. Unroasted Curry Powder
This is the essence of meat curries in Sri Lanka. While vegetable and most fish curries are made using an unroasted yellow curry powder, the deep, rich, and spicy flavor that makes Sri Lankan meat curries stand out from other cultures comes from the dark roasted curry powder.
The spices and amounts needed to make the roasted curry powder are as follows:
- 5 cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick (about 5 cm long)
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 3 tbsp coriander seeds
- 5 cloves
- 10 dried red chilies
- 1 tsp fenugreek
- ½ tbsp fennel seeds
- ½ tsp black mustard seeds
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- Optional: 2 tsp basmati rice (for a slightly nuttier, smokier flavor)
On a low heat, make sure to roast the cumin, coriander, fennel seeds, fenugreek, and rice separately, as they have very different roasting times. You want to take the spices to a dark brown color, but do not burn them. Place them on a tray to cool down, then roast the remaining spices and chilies together until fragrant. They do not need to get as dark as the other spices. Let all the spices cool down to room temperature and then grind in a spice mill or mortar and pestle.
Garcinia and Tamarind
This black pork curry can be made with either. The use of garcinia results in a deeper, darker color and adds a more sour tang to the curry. However, it is harder to source if you are not living in a country where it is readily available. If you are using garcinia, I recommend using double the amount of the tamarind, soaking it in hot water, but adding it to the marinade of the pork instead of directly into the curry. In this case, you can also forgo the vinegar in the marinade.
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 700g pork belly, cubed
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder
- ½ tbsp ground black pepper
- 30ml (2 tbsp) white vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic
- ½ tbsp minced ginger
- 1 tsp salt
For the Curry
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 10–15 curry leaves
- 3 x 10cm pieces of pandan leaf
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
- 4–5 cloves of garlic
- 1 lemongrass stalk
- 1 ½ tbsp roasted curry powder
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3–5 green chilies
- 1 tsp jaggery or brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp tamarind, deseeded
- 1 tsp salt
Mise en Place
For the Marinade
- In a bowl, combine the chili powder, turmeric powder, ground black pepper, white vinegar, and salt, and mix together.
- Finely mince the garlic and ginger, and add them to the bowl with the other marinade ingredients.
- Cut the pork belly into bite-sized cubes, roughly 4cm x 4cm, and add them to the marinade bowl. Mix well and let it sit for a minimum of 4 hours, or ideally overnight.
For the Curry
- Mix the tamarind together with about 2 tbsp of hot water to soften. Let it sit for about 20 minutes.
- Strip the curry leaves from the stems. Peel and mince the garlic and ginger.
- Crush the lemongrass stalk with the back of a knife to release the flavor without completely breaking it apart. You want to keep it intact so that it’s easy to remove at the end of the cooking process.
- Dice a red onion into small cubes.
- Cut off 3 pieces of pandan leaf that are about 10cm long.
- Slice the green chilies in half lengthways and deseed the chilies.
Methods & Procedures
Sweat the Aromatics — Heat a pot on medium and add the coconut oil. Once the oil is hot, add the red onions and sweat them. Once they begin to color, add in the pandan, lemongrass stalk, and curry leaves, and mix until fragrant. Add in the green chilies.
Build the Base — Next, mix in the ginger and the garlic. Once you can smell the garlic, add in the pork belly.
Spice and Deglaze — Sprinkle the curry powder on top of the pork and toss it through. Let the pot come back to temperature before deglazing with the tamarind water (Note: corrected from "turmeric water" based on your prep steps!). Season with salt.
Simmer — Add enough water to cover the pork along with the jaggery/sugar and bring it to a simmer. Let it simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours. You can choose to skim the fat that comes to the top as the curry cooks and the pork renders down.
Pairing
This dish is normally served with a variety of side dishes. From different rice preparations to rotis and breads, the black pork curry can be enjoyed in a multitude of different ways.
Storage and Reheating
This curry, like most, tastes even better on the second day as the ingredients have had longer to mingle together. Heat in a pot on low heat with a splash of water until simmering. It can be stored in a freezer for 3 months.
Co-founder of Snout & Seek. Born and raised in Sri Lanka, Arnold's passion for food stems from both his Dutch and Sri Lankan roots. A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa, Arnold's career in the culinary industry has brought him from the Netherlands to Canada, where he now teaches at a cooking school.
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