Pork Pandi Curry

The dish is a local favorite and can be popularly found in the town of Coorg which is located in Madikeri district, Karnataka, India. Coorg is known as the coffee plantation hub of India and is also famous for its spices, in particular whole black pepper corns. I got a lot of suggestions to try out this curry when I visited Coorg and post that, this curry has not only stuck to my tongue but also been close to my heart.

I just knew that I had to recreate this dish at home and after a few trials and errors, with a special twist of my secret cooking skills, I managed to replicate this beautiful curry at home. My friends who have tried this are die hard fans of the curry and I urge you to be a part of this cult as well :p

There are 2 ways to cook this curry, the easy short way which takes about 1.5hrs of cooking time and the long way which takes about 4-5hours of cooking time. I personally prefer the longer cooking time as it infuses more flavor into the meat, but if time is not on your side, go for the shorted method.

The Building Blocks:

For the Curry:

500g Pork
2 medium sized potatoes (large cubes)
3 Small / 2 medium sized onions (sliced)
1 tbsp Mustard Oil or Pork Fat (I prefer using pork fat as it adds a beautiful flavor)
1/4 tsp. Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Red chili powder
1 whole star aniseed
2 bay leaves
7-8 Curry leaves
2 tsp Coorg spice Powder (details below)
Coorg Spice Paste (details below)
2-3 cups Water
2 tsp tamarind extract
1 Tsp. Salt to taste

Coorg Spice Powder:

1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 tsp whole Coriander seeds
1.5 tsp whole black Pepper (around 25-30)
1 inch cinnamon (dalchini)
(Dry roast and then grind all the ingredients to a coarse powder)

Coorg Spice Paste:

1/2 inch Ginger
12-15 Garlic Cloves
15-18 Fresh Curry leaves
4 Small green chilies
1/2 bunch of Fresh Coriander leaves (1 cup)
(Grind all the ingredients to a paste. Add 2-3 tbsp water if needed)

Putting it all Together:

There are 2 ways to cook the pork. You can choose the quick way or the long but tasty way. For the quick way refer to the notes after this recipe:
Take a heavy aluminum or cast iron pot with a lid that fits well. Once the pot is warm, add the pork fat cubes to this (use mustard oil if you do not wish to use Pork Fat).
Once the fat breaks down and release substantial oil, add the bay leaves, star aniseed and curry leaves. Saute for a minute.
Next drop in the sliced onions and potatoes. Continue to sauté this till the onions turn slightly translucent.
Drop in the chopped pork pieces and turmeric powder, red chilly powder and 2 tsp of the Coorg Spice Powder we made earlier.
Mix well and cook on a high flame for 5 mins. Next add salt, little water if needed and then cover and cook for 10 minutes on low flame.
Now add in all the Green Coorg Spice Paste we made earlier and mix it well. Let this come to a boil.
Add 3 cups of water, then cover it with a lid and let it cook for 3-4 hours on a very low flame. Keep stirring the pot every 30 mins to avoid it burning from the bottom and sticking to the pot. If the curry starts to run thick, add 1/2 to 1 cup of water and continue to cook.
After 3-4 hours, check if the gravy is of the desired consistency (it is usually Not too runny). Next check if the pork pieces have completely cooked and now become soft. Use a spoon to check if the meat break apart easily. If the meat is still tough, give it another hour of cooking with the lid on.
Once the meat is cooked, add 2 tsp of tamarind extract and mix it well. Cook for a minute.
Garnish with fresh curry leaves and enjoy it hot with steamed rice or Neer Dosa.

The Quick Way:

If you do not have the time (and patience :p) to cook this for 4-5 hours, I would suggest you use the quick method. Only drawback of this method, (apart from the extra utensil to be cleaned) is that the pork pieces will not infuse with all the flavors of the spice powders and paste we made earlier. Slow cooking ensures that all the pieces absorb the spices and flavor as they break down, which does not usually happen on a pressure cook.
So speaking of pressure cook, Take a pressure cooker and add 2 cups water to it.
Add in the pork pieces, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 star aniseed, 1 tsp salt, 5-6 whole black pepper corns.
Cover the lid of the pressure cooker and let this pressure cook for 2 whistles on a high flame and then on a low flame for 1 hour.

Once 1 hour is complete, let the cooker release the pressure on its own.
If you want to keep the water feel free to, else just discard the water.
Now repeat the steps from Step 3 to Step 10 above and Just Skip step 8 and 9!! Add 1 cup of water and Only boil this gravy for 30 mins.
Enjoy it hot.

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Pork Pandi Curry