Pork & Pickled Mango Curry

Sounds strange, and I guess it is a bit unusual in so much as this curry uses preserved mango to give a distinctive sour mustard flavour. When I say pickled mango, I mean exactly that. If you use the sweet orange version of poppadom and chutney fame – you will go into a diabetic coma! You will need to visit an Indian supermarket to get what you need but these are everywhere. I got everything I needed at Bristol Sweet Mart in Easton, Bristol - a real treasure trove of Asian foods. I use the yellow 'Rajah' brand mild mango pickle. It has a lovely sour mustardy flavour and contains large chunks of green mango.  Serves 4

Ingredients:

small handful of coriander seeds

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp fennel seeds

10 black peppercorns

4 fat cloves garlic, crushed

3cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 tbsp vegetable oil

800g pork fillet, sliced 1cm thick

1 large onion, finely sliced

3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped

1 green chilli, split down the middle, seeded if you like

½ of a 235g jar of mild mango pickle

chopped fresh coriander

Method:

Toast the spices in a dry frying pan until aromatic and grind to a powder in a pestle and mortar. Add the garlic and ginger and grind to a dryish paste called a masala – set aside.  

In a frying pan heat the oil and brown the pork. Remove and set aside. In the same pan, fry the onion for five minutes until it starts to brown. Add the masala and fry for a minute or two until the spices begin to release their aroma. Add the pork, tomatoes, the chilli, the mango pickle and a little water and simmer until the tomatoes begin to break down and the pork is just cooked – approx 10 mins. It should not be swimming in sauce but if the curry gets too dry, add a little more water.

Taste and season if necessary – you shouldn’t need any salt as the pickle will usually contain all the seasoning you need. If the curry is a little too sour for your taste, add ½ teaspoon of sugar. Serve sprinkled with chopped coriander with a hot naan bread on the side along with some steamed rice.