In this Post: Fiery Pork Vindaloo with Garlic Butter Naan

Hailing from the wanderlust-inducing beachy beautiful South Indian city of Goa, this iconic homemade vindaloo recipe is known for bringing some serious heat. Here, though, I’ve dialed back the amount of heat to make it a bit more universally palatable (literally), so everyone can come to the table, enjoy some massively delightful flavors, and leave with all of their taste buds still happily in tact.

I suppose I should start by fully copping to the fact that this isn’t an authentic vindaloo – I’ve very intentionally cut some corners both in the method and in the ingredients list, in the name of weeknight efficiency and the need to streamline things from time to time. The internet has a vast (and spicy) sea of fantastic, legit vindaloo recipes out there from which you can choose should you want to go full-on Goan with it. But I wanted to write a version that pays some serious homage to one of my favorite Indian dishes of all time, while also being easy and realistic enough to prepare any night of the week. Good? Good.

This Fiery Pork Vindaloo with Homemade Garlic Naan pulls together a bevy of fragrant spices (many, if not all, of which you might already have) and I’ve twisted things around a little here, to make the recipe more accessible and, hopefully, less intimidating. A traditional vindaloo typically involves some tamarind paste, but I find that this can be a difficult ingredient to consistently locate, and I’ve got a great substitution here – using molasses, brown sugar, and lime zest – to give a similarly tart/sweet brightness.

The famed heat of vindaloo comes from a combination of Indian chiles that are, like the tamarind paste, difficult to find unless you want to snag them online – which you can absolutely do. But Indian Chile powder is simply ground chilies, and tastes/works so much like cayenne, that I’ve written this recipe to include the latter – no harm, no foul. I like to add some American-style chili powder (like you’d use for chili) and smoked paprika for a burst of extra chile flavor, without dialing up the heat too much. I have two tiny humans to feed, after all, and I can’t go making a huge pot of liquid fireball and serving it it to them.

I do, however, reserve some vindaloo for myself and my husband and really kick up the cayenne in that portion – because I likes it hot. So, in sum here, my point is that you can truly create a mouthwateringly delicious pot of succulent pork vindaloo without having to necessarily subscribe to the full-on traditional heat level. I am so smitten with the flavors in the dish – the things that hide under and around that overwhelming heat – that I wanted to write a recipe that would allow them to shine right through. The cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, garlic and ginger practically sing they’re so happily delicious in this recipe …

For the Homemade Garlic Naan, you’ll want to get a large pan screaming hot to create those fetching bubbles and dark brown marks … as if you had your very own tandoor oven (can you imagine?!). A crazy hot cast iron skillet works wonderfully as a stand-in. This recipe is very much like the Sour Cream Flatbreads from Alison Roman’s Dining In Cookbook, that I shared back in the fall, with a few small tweaks. Both versions are fluffy, buttery, and easy-as-pie to whip up and might just be the perfect bread to make if and when you aren’t one for baking – there is no baking involved, friends. This is essentially as easy as flipping flapjacks, y’all.

So tell me – do you like your vindaloo XX hot? Or would you dial back the heat a little? Either way, you’ll wind up with a pot of extraordinarily delicious Indian stew that perfectly shows off the gorgeous flavors hailing from that corner of the world.

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Fiery Pork Vindaloo Recipe

We’re taking some liberties with this recipe, in the name of ease and the need to streamline things on a busy weeknight. This recipe will help you get a wonderfully flavorful pot of vindaloo-esqe pork on the table with very little effort or ingredient hunting. Win-win.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 2- inch piece ginger peeled and chopped
• 5 large garlic cloves
• 2  Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• ½  tsp ground turmeric
• 1.5  tsp ground cumin
• 1 ½ tsp ground cayenne pepper or more, to taste
• 1  Tbsp smoked paprika
• ¼ cup chili powder
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1  tsp ground mustard
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp molasses
• Zest of one lime
• 2  tsp kosher salt
• 2  lbs pork shoulder trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• ¼  cup  olive oil or vegetable oil
• One 3-inch cinnamon stick
• 1  cup finely chopped onion
• 2 carrots sliced
• 1  large red or orange bell pepper sliced
• Cooked basmati rice for serving

Instructions

1. In a food processor or blender, process the garlic and ginger. Add the vinegar, turmeric, cumin, all three chili powders, cloves, cardamom, ground mustard, the brown sugar, molasses, lime zest, and salt and process/blend well. Transfer to a large bowl, add the pork and turn to coat well. Cover and set aside at room temperature for one hour to marinate.

2. Add the oil to a large sauté or braising pan set over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, and bell pepper and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the pork and cook, turning occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup water and the cinnamon sticks. Stir.

3. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until the pork is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. I like to take the lid off at the end and allow the vindaloo to simmer, uncovered, for the last 10 to 15 minutes, to reduce the sauce. Taste for seasoning and add some salt, if needed. Serve with rice, fresh lime and naan.

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Homemade Garlic Naan

Ingredients

• 1/4  cup  warm water
• 1  Tbsp honey
• 3/4  tsp active dry yeast
• 3/4  cup  warm whole milk
• 1  cup  full fat plain yogurt
• 4  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2  tsp baking powder
• 1  tsp baking soda
• 1  tsp kosher salt plus more for seasoning
• 8  Tbsp butter melted and divided in half
• 1 tsp garlic powder or 2 cloves fresh garlic, grated
• 3/4  cup  chopped herbs cilantro and scallions, for me
• Vegetable or canola oil for the pan

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the water, honey and yeast. Allow this to proof and bubble up for 5 minutes.
2. Add the milk, yogurt, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix the dough on low to medium speed until it comes together (will be somewhat sticky). Transfer the dough to a floured work surface (you can add more flour if needed) and knead it for a couple of minutes to further develop the glutens. Knead it into a ball and put it back in the bowl.
3. Cover with a kitchen towel and place the bowl somewhere warm (I use the oven) for about an hour/hour and a half so it can double in size.
4. Meanwhile in a small saucepan, combine the butter, garlic powder and about 1 tsp of salt. Cook over med-low heat, just to melt the butter and “activate” the garlic powder. You could use fresh garlic here, two cloves minced. But I like the freedom that the ground garlic gives – no risk of scorching it. Up to you! Turn the heat off and add your chopped herbs. Set aside.
5. When the dough is ready to use, punch it down and divide it into 4 equal sized pieces. Roll these out into large ovals, about ¼”-thick – the thinner the better. You could also do 8 mini naans, if you prefer.
6. Place a large iron skillet or griddle over high heat (you’ll want a lid or something to cover the naan with as it cooks, just FYI). Add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan and use a paper towel to spread it all over, covering the entire bottom surface of the pan.
7. Brush each side of your naan with the herby garlic butter and, working in batches, cook for about 1 minute on the first side, covered. Flip and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes on the other side. Keep the finished naan warm on a baking sheet, piled up and covered with a clean kitchen towel. Serve with extra garlic butter for drizzling, dunking and dipping.