Pork curry with green chillies and tamarind

Ingredients

For the curry

• 6 large banana shallots, sliced
• 20 garlic cloves, peeled
• 6cm/2½in ginger, finely chopped
• 6 green chillies, roughly chopped, with or without seeds according to preference
• 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 cloves
• 4cm/1½in piece cinnamon stick
• ½ tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1kg/2lb 4oz boneless pork shoulder or chops, cut into 4cm/1½in chunks
• 1 tsp salt

To finish

• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 75ml/2½fl oz tamarind liquid (see Top recipe tip below)
• 3 green chillies, thinly sliced lengthways, without seeds
• 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Recipe tips

Method

1. Put the shallots, garlic, ginger and chillies into a mini food processor with a splash of water and blend to a rough paste.

2. Fry the mustard seeds, cumin, cloves, cinnamon stick and peppercorns in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for a minute until toasted and aromatic. Add the turmeric and fry for another 20 seconds. Cool, then grind to a coarse powder.

3. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan or karahi over a medium-high heat. Add the pork, in batches if necessary to avoid overcrowding, and fry for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until browned.

4. With all the pork in the pan, add the shallot, garlic, ginger and chilli paste, the ground spices and salt, and fry for a further five minutes, adding a splash of water if the paste starts to stick. Pour over enough water to just cover, turn the heat down to low, put a lid on and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender.

5. To finish, fry the coriander seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for a minute, or until toasted, then grind to a powder. Add the tamarind liquid, green chillies and garlic to the pork and cook for a further minute, then stir in the ground coriander. Serve.