Sri Lankan pork belly curry

This dish is straight thievery from my mother; the recipe is almost exactly as she showed me. It all came about because of a cazuela that she bought in Spain and made me carry around the world for months. Back home it became her favourite dish to cook in and was the reason this slightly dry pork belly curry came to be cooked in the oven. This is a rich, very slow-cooked fatty curry; the pork belly is unctuous and meltingly tender with a little sauce that is hot and a touch sweet.

SERVES 6–8

1kg piece pork belly, skin on, chilled

30g coconut oil

340g diced red onion

2 long red chillies, finely chopped

20cm pandan leaf, tied into a knot

4g curry leaves

30g finely chopped garlic

20g finely chopped ginger

40g red curry powder (see below)

14 cardamom pods, bruised

3 star anise

2 cinnamon quills

salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

25g tamarind concentrate

150ml coconut cream

Preheat the oven to 150°C.

Cut the pork belly into 5 x 1.5cm slices and set aside. It is easier to do this when the meat is cold.

Melt the coconut oil in a large flameproof casserole dish, or baking dish, over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chilli, pandan and curry leaves and continue cooking and stirring for another minute or so. Stir in the garlic and ginger, then turn up the heat before adding the curry powder and whole spices. Keep cooking until the spices darken and start to stick to the pan, about 3–4 minutes.

Add the pork and stir to coat and brown the meat for about 6–8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix the tamarind with 450ml of water, then pour this into the dish with the pork and use a spoon to scrape the edges and the bottom of the pan. Add the coconut cream and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes, then remove from heat, cover with a lid or foil and place it in the oven to cook for 3 hours, removing it to stir a few times.

After 3 hours, turn the oven down to 110°C and remove the lid or foil. By this stage, the gravy should be mostly dried out. Let the pork cook for a further 50–60 minutes uncovered, stirring once or twice. Once it’s cooked the pork pieces will be looking nicely roasted, there will be little gravy left in the pan and the whole dish will have a lovely oiliness to it.

RED CURRY POWDER

Filled with sweet spices and chilli, this curry powder is used to make fiery red curries. Use it in any recipe that calls for a Jaffna curry powder. I know there are a lot of ingredients in this one, but the spices are all untoasted so it’s just a matter of measuring and grinding. It has a good chilli kick to it, but if you want a rich redness in your curry without the heat, reduce the amount of chilli powder and flakes (or leave them out completely) and increase the paprika accordingly.

Makes approximately 150g

5g curry leaves

24g sweet paprika

20g chilli powder

20g coriander seeds

15g white peppercorns

13g chilli flakes

12g cumin seeds

10g cardamom seeds

8g fennel seeds

8g cinnamon quill, roughly crushed

7g turmeric powder

5g fenugreek seeds

3g cloves

3g star anise

Place the curry leaves in a frying pan over a medium–high heat and cook gently for about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat a little and cook for another 1–2 minutes until they are dry and toasted, but not browned.

Allow the leaves to cool completely, then combine with the remaining spices and grind to a fine powder. Store in an airtight container.