Pork vindaloo

Name: Pork vindaloo
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 110 min
Total time: 620 min
Yield: 6 people
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 12 piece Dried chilli, Kashmiri, stalks and most seeds removed; 120 ml Vinegar, Goan palm vinegar, or cider vinegar; 10 clove Garlic; 30 g Ginger, peeled, roughly chopped; 1.5 tsp Cumin, seeds; 1 tsp Whole black peppercorns; 6 piece Cloves; 1 piece Cinnamon stick, broken up; 1 tsp Turmeric; 1 kg Pork, shoulder, in 3 cm cubes, some fat left on; 2 tsp Salt; 3 tbsp Neutral oil; 2 medium Onion, finely sliced; 1 tbsp Jaggery, or brown sugar; 250 ml Water

पोर्क विंदालू

Goan pork vindaloo: pork shoulder marinated overnight in Kashmiri chilli, garlic, vinegar and whole spices, then braised until sour, hot and dark red.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: पोर्क विंदालू.

Start cooking

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 1 hr 50 min
Rest: 8 hr
Total: 10 hr 20 min
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Hot
Cost: Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

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About

Goan vindaloo is a pork braise built on vinegar and garlic, with dried Kashmiri chillies for colour and heat. The chillies are soaked and ground with cumin, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, garlic, ginger and vinegar into a thick red paste. The pork, ideally shoulder with some fat on it, sits in that paste overnight, then cooks slowly with onions fried soft and a little jaggery to round off the sourness. There is no potato in it; the name has nothing to do with aloo. It should be sharp and hot rather than scorching, and it is better on the second and third day than on the first.

What you'll need

15 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 15 ready

6 servings

Paste
Curry

Ingredients

Servings

Paste

Dried chilli, Kashmiri, stalks and most seeds removed12
Vinegar, Goan palm vinegar, or cider vinegar120 ml
Garlic10 clove
Ginger, peeled, roughly chopped30 g
Cumin, seeds7.4 ml
Whole black peppercorns4.9 ml
Cloves6
Cinnamon stick, broken up1
Turmeric4.9 ml

Curry

Pork, shoulder, in 3 cm cubes, some fat left on1 kg
Salt9.9 ml
Neutral oil44 ml
Onion, finely sliced2 medium
Jaggery, or brown sugar15 ml
Water250 ml

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Soak the dried chillies in the vinegar for 30 minutes, or warm them together for 5 minutes, until soft. Blend with the garlic, ginger, cumin, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon and turmeric to a smooth, thick paste, adding a spoon of water only if the blades stick.
35 min
Step 2
Rub the pork with the salt and all the paste in a glass or ceramic bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.
5 min
Watch: Marinate in glass, ceramic or stainless steel. Vinegar reacts with aluminium and gives the meat a metallic taste.
Step 3
Heat the oil in a heavy pot and fry the onions over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes until soft and golden. Add the pork and every bit of marinade and fry, stirring, for 5 minutes, until the paste darkens and smells cooked rather than raw.
17 min
Step 4
Add the water and jaggery, bring to a simmer, cover and cook on low heat for about 1.5 hours, stirring now and then, until the pork is tender and the sauce is thick and dark red. Take the lid off for the last 15 minutes if it is thin.
90 min
Step 5
Taste. It should be sour first, then hot, then salty, with only a hint of sweetness. Adjust with salt, a splash of vinegar or a little more jaggery. Rest it at least 15 minutes, or better, a day, and serve with rice or crusty bread.
5 min
Tip: Cool it quickly and it keeps 4 days in the fridge. It gets better for the first three.

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 520 kcal
Protein: 46.8 g
Carbs: 13.1 g
Fat: 29.9 g
Saturated fat: 9 g
Fibre: 2.3 g
Sugar: 5.8 g
Sodium: 843 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

No major allergens flagged in the structured ingredients.

Dairy-free
Gluten-free
Nut-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.

Substitutions

Pork shoulder → Pork belly, or lamb or chicken thigh
Belly is richer and very Goan. Lamb and chicken vindaloos are made too, but they are restaurant habits; chicken needs only 40 minutes.
Kashmiri chillies → Mild dried red chillies plus 1 tbsp paprika
Keeps the colour without making it much hotter.

Tips

Kashmiri chillies give colour with moderate heat. For a hotter vindaloo, add three or four small hot dried chillies to the paste.
Skim excess fat from the top after resting rather than trimming the pork beforehand. The fat carries the spice.

History & culture

In Goa vindaloo is Catholic festive food, cooked for Christmas, weddings and feast days and kept in the pot for days, its vinegar doing some of the work of a fridge. It is eaten with rice, with sannas, steamed rice cakes risen with toddy, or with crusty Goan pão. The fiery British curry-house vindaloo is a separate tradition.

The dish descends from carne de vinha d'alhos, Portuguese pork marinated in wine and garlic, which settlers and sailors brought to Goa from the 16th century. Without grape wine, Goan cooks used local palm vinegar, and they added chillies, which the Portuguese had also carried, from the Americas. The name is a Goan rendering of the Portuguese one.

Traditional — Goan palm (toddy) vinegar is hard to find abroad. Cider vinegar is the closest everyday match; malt vinegar is too harsh. Some families add pork liver or a little offal, and some brown the meat before the onions go in.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Pork vindaloo take?

10 hr 20 min all in — 30 min prep, 1 hr 50 min cook, 8 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 6 people. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

Hot.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free.

What does it cost to cook?

Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

8 more questions

What equipment do I need?

Blender, Mixing bowl, Dutch oven.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 2 tsp.

How much vinegar?

120 ml (Goan palm vinegar, or cider vinegar) of Vinegar.

What can I use instead?

Pork shoulder → Pork belly, or lamb or chicken thigh. Belly is richer and very Goan. Lamb and chicken vindaloos are made too, but they are restaurant habits; chicken needs only 40 minutes. Kashmiri chillies → Mild dried red chillies plus 1 tbsp paprika. Keeps the colour without making it much hotter.

What should I watch for?

Marinate in glass, ceramic or stainless steel. Vinegar reacts with aluminium and gives the meat a metallic taste.

Any tips from this recipe?

Kashmiri chillies give colour with moderate heat. For a hotter vindaloo, add three or four small hot dried chillies to the paste. Skim excess fat from the top after resting rather than trimming the pork beforehand. The fat carries the spice.

Can I prepare this ahead?

Rub the pork with the salt and all the paste in a glass or ceramic bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.