Pork cooked in Coorgi Pork Masala and the unique Coorgi Vinegar, Kachampuli

Yessss, it's another pork recipe😅  I had my introduction to Coorgi pork masala waaaaay back when I was in Bangalore, prepared by my then warden and owner of Nirmal Nivas Hostel, ma'am Monica Ching.  I remember being very surprised to learn that Coorgis in general also eat pork. 

Many years later, while I was browsing for content for this blog, I chance upon one website with travel and tourism information on Coorg along with a section on Coorgi cuisine.  Incidentally, the dish featured at that time was fresh bamboo shoots fry.  Imagine my surprise and delight discovering that Coorgis not only eat pork but enjoys bamboo shoots as well!

This discovery reignited my desire to recreate that pork curry in my kitchen.  While researching I found out that Kodava cuisine use a particular vinegar in their cooking called Kachampuli vinegar, made from Garcinia Cambogea.  Finding the pork masala was difficult (this was much before e-shopping became popular in India), getting hold of the vinegar was impossible. In the recent past, thanks to the boom in online shopping, I finally got hold of both the pork masala and the elusive and expensive Kachampuli vinegar.  I love, love, love this pork curry and it's always been delightful to see the reaction of friends sampling this flavors for the first time.  Considering that the write-up of today's recipe has been sitting in my draft for about two years, it's a relief to finally publish this post today😅  I must tell you that like most of the pork recipes in pancuise, this recipe also calls for slow cooking, we're talking minimum 1 1/2 to almost 2 hours, depending on how soft you want the meat to be.  It takes time, but so, so worth the wait and effort.  I hope you get the opportunity to savor this dish with unique flavors soon.  Happy cooking!!

Ingredients

1 Kilo - Pork

4 Tbsp- Vegetable Oil

2 Medium sized - Onions, diced

4 Medium sized - Tomatoes, chopped

12 Pods - Garlic, crushed

3-4 Tbsp - Coorg Pork Masala

2 Tsp - Red Chilli Powder

1 Tsp - Kashmiri Chilli Powder, for color

1 Tsp, scant - Turmeric Powder

3-4 Cups - Water

1 Tsp - Kachampuli Vinegar

Salt to taste

Method

In a thick bottomed pan, heat the oil.  hot, add the onions, stir and cook till it goes soft and lightly browned on the edges. 

Now, in goes the tomatoes. Stir to mix, cover and cook till the oil separates at the sides. 

Add the garlic, stir to combine, then add the pork masala one tbsp at a time. Adding 1 tbsp at a time will help you decide if you want a little more or less according to your taste. After each addition, stir to combine and taste to see how well the flavour is coming through. 

Once you're happy with the flavour, let cook for a minute or two and then add the meat. Mix to coat the meat with the masala.  

Now, add the red chilli powders and the tumeric powder, stir, and cook covered stirring occasionally till the water from the meat evaporates and curry starts sticking to the pot.

At this point, add water till it just about covers the meat, roughly 1 and 1/2 cups. Stir and cook covered. Once the water begin to reduce, stir and check the tenderness of the meat. If you want it more softer, add more water 1/2 to 1 cup at a time and continue cooking with the lid on, stirring occasionally. 

When the meat is tender enough to your liking, add the remaining garlic and the kachampuli vinegar. Give the curry a thorough mixing and let it come to a boil once again. Turn off heat and let the curry rest with the lid on for about 5 minutes while you set the table.

Give it a last thorough stirring and then serve. Your Coorgi pork is ready!