I love the Goan pork curry at Badmaash. It haunts me with its complex, sweet-savory, meaty depth. I’ve requested a doggie bag even when there’s only been an ounce of sauce leftover, the dish is so good you want to hoard every last drop. I would love to have the recipe from Badmaash.
Kim Ha Burbank
The complexity and depth of Badmaash’s Goan pork curry, created by Pawan Mahendro and his sons Nakul and Arjun, comes from three distinct stages of cooking. None is hard and all are worth the minimal effort. Start to finish, the dish takes two days. But you’re only actively cooking for a half hour or so. And then you can enjoy this dish for many meals, especially since the layers of spice, sweet, sour and heat become more nuanced over time.
Advertisem*nt
Food
Off Menu: Eating chicken tikka pizza and masala dosas with the boys from L.A.’s Badmaash
Food columnist Lucas Kwan Peterson goes to Artesia with Arjun and Nakul Mahendro and their father, Pawan, to try some of the best Indian food in the city. The Mahendros own a modern Indian restaurant, Badmaash, with two locations in Los Angeles.
Toasting and blending your own spice mix ensures a fresh fragrance in the resulting curry. The aromas intensify when mixed with fresh chiles, garlic and ginger in a tangy marinade that soaks into fatty chunks of pork shoulder and belly over a day or two. After a long simmer in a caramelized onion and tomato sauce, the meat becomes tender enough to cut with a fork. Serve it with lots of basmati rice to soak up all the sauce.
Serve the curry straight from the pot.
(Mariah Tauger/Los Angeles Times)
Culinary SOS: Badmaash Goan Pork Curry
About 4 hours plus marinating time. Serves 10 to 12.
You can buy all the spices, including curry leaves, jaggery and tamarind paste online or at Indian markets.
Ingredients Spice Mix
1 tablespoon broken dried red chiles, such as chiles de arbol
Make the spice mix: Heat a large, heavy-bottom skillet over medium-low heat, add the dried chiles, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cinnamon stick, black peppercorns and cloves. Toast, stirring frequently, until very fragrant, about 3 minutes. Cool completely and pulse in a spice grinder until very finely ground. Pulse in the turmeric and cayenne.
Marinate the pork: Combine the spice mix with the serranos, garlic, ginger, jaggery, molasses, tamarind and red wine vinegar in a large bowl and stir until well mixed. Add the pork shoulder and belly and mix well with your hands to evenly coat the pork. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24 to 48 hours, the longer the better.
Make the curry: Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until golden and caramelized, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the bay leaves, mustard seeds, and curry leaves and stir well for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic and stir vigorously and constantly until the garlic begins to turn golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the marinated pork with its juices and 2 tablespoons salt.
Raise the heat to high and cook the pork, stirring frequently, until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer, stirring frequently and adding water if the sauce seems to be drying out, until the pork shoulder is tender but not falling apart, 1 ½ to 2 hours.
Stir in the tamarind paste and season with salt. Garnish with the sliced red onion and serve hot.
Make ahead: The pork can be marinated for up to 2 days before cooking. The cooked curry can be refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Advertisem*nt
Adapted from Pawan Mahendro.
More to Read
One of L.A.’s 101 Best Restaurants expands to Atwater with line-worthy Thai food
Feb. 23, 2024
A spicy Thanksgiving? Pass the mala stuffing, with Fly by Jing founder Jing Gao
Nov. 9, 2023
The best way to eat matzo ball soup? Turn it into Korean mandu
Pork shoulder will generally be your best bet. New Zealand pork shoulder is a flavoursome cut with nicely marbled meat which becomes more succulent the longer it's cooked, making it perfect for curry. An alternative is scotch fillet which is prized for its marbling.
First, cook pork alongside onions, garlic, ginger, and a few spices like ground turmeric, ground coriander, garam masala and red chili powder. If you love coconut, add about a cup to make this curry more delicious. It also adds a beautiful crunchy texture to the curry which I really love.
Coconut milk is a vegan option for all curries. You can also try adding a splash of milk, if that's all you have to hand. Milk contains a protein called casein which actually breaks down capsaicin and makes it less spicy – both full-fat and skimmed do the trick nicely.
A curry can be sweetened by adding honey, syrup, or sugar. These ingredients add flavour and balance to a sour or bitter curry. Add around one tablespoon of either ingredient to your curry while cooking and taste. Continue to slowly add syrup, honey, or sugar to the dish until a sweet flavour is achieved.
Due to various religious and cultural differences (and that it's quite a fatty meat), pork doesn't seem to feature too frequently on an Indian menu. That being said, there are a number of areas throughout India where pork is consumed regularly.
Rib Chop: Cut from the rib section of the loin, these chops have a relatively high fat content, rendering them flavorful and unlikely to dry out during cooking. They are a favorite in the test kitchen. These chops are easily identified by the bone that runs along one side and the one large eye of loin muscle.
If your curry comes out thin, you can thicken it with a cornstarch slurry. Simply mix cornflour with water until it's clump-free. Then, add the slurry to the curry and let it simmer for a few minutes.
Tofu is a great source of protein that contains no animal products – just soybeans. Also known as bean curd, tofu is made from soy milk curdled into a solid block, like a sort of soy cheese. Tofu is great in any curry sauce, as an alternative to either paneer or meat.
The primary ingredient in most Indian curry powders is bright yellow turmeric. Turmeric is earthy, musky, and warm, and delivers great depth to curries with no heat. Indian curry spices are usually a blend of: Kashmiri Chile Powder – this chile has a terrific, rich flavor without much heat.
Coconut is a common ingredient in many curry recipes, but it is not essential. There are many alternative ingredients that can be used to add flavor and thickness to the curry sauce, such as tomatoes, yogurt, or heavy cream.
Coconut milk or water both give the dish different tastes and consistency. Coconut milk as a curry sauce base makes the dish creamy, sweet and give it a thicker consistency. The sweetness of the milk reduces the sharpness of spices and heat making the dish a little mild.
Coconut milk and cream are mostly interchangeable in recipes such as curries and soups. If you prefer a richer flavour and texture, try coconut cream or vice versa. However, be careful when substituting coconut milk and cream in baked goods.
The easiest way to fix a bland and tasteless curry is by adding spices like red chili powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala, curry leaves and turmeric. Just make a quick tempering and pour over the curry to give it a nice punch of spices and herbs.
The actual sweetness and creaminess of such curries meanwhile, usually comes from fried onions and either cashews and/or dairy products. Instead of (or in addition to) onion, ground coconut may be used. White poppy seeds and/or watermelon seeds are also used in some creamy sauces.
Your curry can taste bitter if the spices and garlic are burnt or if you've added too much fenugreek to the dish. You see, the secret to cooking a delicious curry recipe is to create a spicy paste and slowly cook it before adding your meat.
Beef stew meat: Stew meat, often a mix of cuts like chuck and round, provides tenderness and a wonderful ability to absorb flavors, making it an excellent choice for curry. Short ribs: For a luxurious touch, short ribs add both succulence and a deep, meaty essence to your curry.
Chuck is juicy, flavourful, and versatile with the fatty juices providing a rich, delicious curry. Plus, the chuck steak is easy to cut into small pieces, so it cooks quickly and evenly.
Speaking of the loin region, the tenderloin cut also comes from this area. The tenderloin is the most tender meat found on the pig and is exceptionally versatile. Tenderloins are boneless, making them easy to cook whole or break down into pieces. Tenderloins can overcook easily, so ensure you have your thermometer.
Address: Suite 461 73643 Sherril Loaf, Dickinsonland, AZ 47941-2379
Phone: +2678139151039
Job: International Administration Supervisor
Hobby: Dowsing, Snowboarding, Rowing, Beekeeping, Calligraphy, Shooting, Air sports
Introduction: My name is Catherine Tremblay, I am a precious, perfect, tasty, enthusiastic, inexpensive, vast, kind person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
