Delightful pork dish is a balancing act

Andre Burgener has been immersed in all things food since she took over the making of the family's lunch box sandwiches aged eight (her mom could make a mean creme brulee and a staggering souffle, but could never butter the bread all the way to the edges.

ONE FOR THE BOOKS

MY COPY of the famous Indian Delights, by Zuleikha Mayat and the Women's Cultural Group of Durban, has yielded many great dishes - flatbreads, curries, pickles, puddings and more.

There is a good reason this is the country's best-selling book on Indian cooking. First published in the 1960s, it's a distinctly South African Indian book, and one which every household should have.

Other groovier Indian cookbooks crowd the shelves now, but don't overlook this one, published by Women's Cultural Group of Durban, 1961 to 2007.

The one curry recipe I often crave that Mayat's book doesn't have, though, is pork vindaloo.

This is to be expected - it is a strictly Goan dish. For those unfamiliar with Goan history and cooking, the notion of a pork curry within Indian cuisine is quite alarming. It might give one the same feelings as a recipe for pork latkes.

But 450 years of former Portuguese occupation have left a big mark, which makes Goan cuisine so fascinating.

PORK VINDALOO

This recipe is a slight adaptation of one from Madhur Jaffrey, the elegant matriarch of Indian cooking.

It is, like many traditional vindaloos, not blindingly hot. The word vindaloo comes from the Portuguese vinho e alho, referring to a marinade containing wine and garlic.

Vinegar is often substituted. The essential thing about a vindaloo is arguably not blistering heat, but the correct balance of sourness to spice and sometimes sweetness. I'm imagining you'll take the effort to find some well-farmed pork for this (get fierce with your butcher or supermarket about getting hold of some).

Vindaloo for four

Need: 150g onions, chopped / 5 garlic cloves, slivered / 1 thumb fresh ginger, grated / 2tsps mustard seeds / 1 tsp whole cumin seeds / 2 tsps whole coriander seeds / 3 cloves / 2 tbs cider vinegar / 1 chilli, finely sliced / salt and freshly ground black pepper / ½ tsp turmeric / 500g boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1- inch cubes / few tbs corn oil / 350g waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks / sugar to taste.

How: Grind all whole spices and seeds in spice grinder. Mix ground spices with the garlic, onion, ginger, vinegar and remaining spices and seasoning in a bowl. Rub this all over the pork pieces. Refrigerate for anything from 30 minutes to a few hours.

Heat the corn oil in a pot. Add the pork, plus its marinade, cover, and cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add 700ml cold water and the potatoes and sugar. Stir up, cover, reduce heat to low and cook for an hour, or until meat and potatoes are tender.

Eat with stacks of coconut basmati rice.