A good curry is to boiled rice, what a lead guitar is to a rock band. One cannot exist without the other. And without a good curry, boiled rice is just that. Bland and boring. Which is why a good meat curry is always a good thing to have in your arsenal. I’m not the biggest fan of pork by the way. Bacon? A thousand times yes! Pork? Not as much. It would have to be cooked a certain way for me to even want to try it. For example, pork roast – if cooked properly with lots of flavour, yes but not much. Twice cooked crispy pork belly – yes but no leftovers please (unless the belly is made crisp again). Devilled pork (a very Sri Lankan dish) – yes to leftovers too. Having said that, my absolute favourite way to eat pork is this dish right here. Spicy Sri Lankan Black Pork Curry! With big and bold flavours, this tastes phenomenal! Coming from someone who doesn’t like pork much, that means something!
(PIN IT FOR LATER)
The name “black pork” comes from the colour of the final product, as you may have guessed. And that colour comes from the dark roasted curry powder that’s used to prepare this dish which is mixed with tamarind paste and black pepper. I did add some cayenne pepper purely for Mr K’s benefit, because his threshold for heat is the same as that of a fire breathing dragon. But feel free to leave out the cayenne pepper for less heat.
As for the photos of the black pork in this post, I’m really not sure they do this dish any justice. There are some foods/dishes where photos just don’t convey how incredibly flavourful they are, no matter how much you twist and turn your body to get that perfect shot or perfect angle. This was one of them. So just take my word for it. If you like a good meat curry, this will be a staple in your house.
Tamarind is a crucial addition to this recipe. I have made a variation of this curry using lemon juice instead, and while it’s still delicious, it’s just not the same thing. You should easily be able to find tamarind paste in your local Asian/Indian grocery store and even on Amazon.
Tamarind and another type of “fruit” called goraka are regularly used in Asian cooking. They both add distinct sour notes to curries and even a hint of sweet/fruity taste too. Tamarind is more popular as it’s used in numerous dishes and there are a few different types of tamarind too. There’s one type called velvet tamarind, which I particularly like and is delicious. It’s something I used to snack on quite a lot when I was little, and I remember collecting the shell of this fruit because they had a really fun velvety skin (hence the name), and for a time I thought they used those shells to make velvet. True story.
And the best part about this spice mix is that you can use it for any type of meat curry – chicken, beef, lamb, whatever.
You can get Sri Lankan roasted curry powder from Sri Lankan or Indian Specialty stores, or make it yourself with my easy Sri Lankan roasted curry powder recipe.
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Sri Lankan Black Pork Curry
Ingredients:
- 1.5 lb pork loin chops or shoulder - a pork cut with some fat is preferable for this curry
Marinade
- 4 tsp black pepper whole
- 6 cardamom pods seeds crushed (only the seeds)
- 1 heaped teaspoon of Sri Lankan Roasted Curry Powder recipe link available above
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper optional
- 3 tsp tamarind paste
Curry
- 2 jalapeno peppers sliced (or 2 serrano peppers if you prefer more heat)
- 1 inch of peeled ginger minced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ medium onion chopped finely
- 1 tbsp lemon juice optional
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp sugar
- More salt to taste
Instructions:
- Cut the pork into ½ - 1 inch cubes. If the pork chops have bones you can add those to the curry as well, as they add more flavour.
- Crush the cardamom pod seeds into a powder and mix it with the black pepper, curry powder, salt, cinnamon, cayenne pepper. Next, crush and mix all of this together using a mortar and pestle.
- Add 2 tbsp of this spice mix, the tamarind paste, and 1 tbsp oil to the cut pork and mix to coat. Leave to marinate for a few hours (up to 8 hours/overnight)
- The next day, bring the meat to room temperature before cooking.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the bay leaves and ginger and onions, and saute till the onions become translucent. Add the garlic and sliced jalapeno peppers and saute for another 30 seconds.
- Add the marinated pork and sugar and stir to mix well. Add about ½ cup of water and bring this to a boil.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 1 hour. Check on the curry, and add extra water if it dries out.
- Taste and add more salt and some lemon juice - only if needed.
- You can serve this curry immediately, but it tastes better after it has rested for a little while. Even better the next day!
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
The reason why I love this curry so much, is the balance of flavours. If you’d like to increase that beautiful peppery heat (and the colour), just add a little more black pepper. The addition of tamarind paste give this curry a delicious sour note that complements the heat really well. And since it’s a meat curry, you can pair it with a number of side dishes like salads, vegetable curries, lentil curry etc. Our favourite way to eat this however is with a side of coconut sambol (a traditional Sri Lankan dish) or green pepper coconut sambol (pictured below).
This is a curry we love eating no matter what protein we choose to make it with. Pork seems to work best though, because of the texture and the flavour of the meat. And it’s one of Mr K’s ultimate comfort foods.
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Glenda says
I am just going to cook this curry when do I add the tamarind juice?
Also do I grind the pepper after I make the curry powder?
First time trying so just want to get it right.
Thanks
Dini says
Hi Glenda
As per the instructions, the black pepper is crushed in a mortar pestle with other spices.
The tamarind is also added to the pork marinade as per the recipe.
Hope that helps
David says
Hi, Dini:
Do you think this recipe would work ok with goat meat/mutton? What changes, of any would you make for goat? Thanks!
Dini says
Hi David
We have used this recipe to make wild boar, chicken, lamb and goat as well, and they all work really well!
Goat can take longer to become tender, so just keep an eye on the curry and cook it longer and top with liquids as needed.
I hope that helps!
Chris says
So, you don’t brown/seal the meat before cooking?
Dini says
Hi Chris
Meat is very rarely browned in curries, because there is no need to. Browning meat is mostly a western concept and grandmothers in Sri Lanka never had to do this with curries.
You are welcome to brown the meat if you prefer. But this is an authentic black curry recipe and they way my grandmother (and mother) made it.
Kirsten says
Unbelievably delicious! Super easy to make, my Sri Lankan partner’s eyes rolled into the back of his head when he tasted this, lol. 5 stars!!
Kasun Madushanka says
This is a fantastic dish, I also love the black pork curry. And first, thank you for bringing our Sri Lankan dishes for international.
Pragya Senanayake says
Hello Dini,
I’ve been a fan of your recipes since the quarantine started. I always follow your recipe as the core of Sri Lankan dish. I do make slight changes according to my own culinary skills and taste.
Today I was searching for a Pork recipe. As usual I checked yours first. Yours was the only recipe that did not include coconut milk and oil. All hail the queen!!! 😀
Mark B says
What do you do with the leftover curry mix, once you’ve used 2 tbs for the marinade ?
Dini says
Hi Mark B
I use the spice mix for other marinades for curries.
Hope that helps
SP says
Could this be made in the slow cooker?
Dini says
Hi SP
I haven’t made this in a slow cooker before, but you should be able to.
Alison says
If I substitute lemon juice instead of tamarind, how much would you suggest?
Dini says
Hi Alison
As mentioned in the post, lemon juice will not give the curry the same flavor or color.
However, you can add a similar amount of lemon juice first and see if it’s to your taste and add more if you like. It’s hard to determine how much lemon juice to add because the acidity level can be different in different lemons. You could even start with a lesser amount and add more.
I hope that helps!
Francis Servatious Jansz says
I enjoyed The Recipe it tasted just like my Grand Mother’s Dark Pork curry which I ate almost every week End about ,55 Years ago. I even remember my grand ma hiring a man to pick a piglet from her 28 acre property in Hemdals and the man will get his dog and catch the piglet. This receipt is very tasty with lots of chilli powder freshly grounded
Excellent receipt. RGDS
Francis Jansz
Huntingdale Vic Australia
Yingying says
Tried this recipe for the first time today, with chicken thighs, and it was great! I also adore your other chicken curry recipe! Thank you so much for sharing
Ravi says
Excellent. Very authentic flavours. I have served it a couple of times to friends with Rice as well as String Hoppers, and it was a winner.
The pepper can be reduced very slightly to suit western palates, without taking too much away from the flavours.
Patrick Abeynaike says
Super
Kyra Kameel says
Hi
Made this last night, the whole family just loved it ,
Just wanted to know that if I increased the meat amount to 1kg, how much more of the ingredients do I have to increase.. like the spice curry powder
Dini says
Hi Kyra
You can change the amount of pork in the recipe to 2.2 lbs (using the slider in the servings from 4 to 6) and it should give you the spices needed for 1 kg of meat.
This is a pretty flexible curry though, so a little variation will still result in a good curry.
I hope that helps
Kyra says
Hi Dini,
Did not realise I could adjust the slider.
Thank you so much