Black pork curry is the most famous Sri Lankan pork dish that everyone loves. The fatty pork pieces are cooked in aromatic spices in low heat for a long time until they melt in your mouth. Try this curry once, you’re going to make it for every party you’re having.
I’ve been trying to perfect this Sri Lankan black pork curry for a really long time. I wanted to make my black pork curry with easily available Sri Lankan spices rather than trying my homemade curry powder blends. I wanted the texture of the pork curry to be very very tender. And the sourness to be balanced perfectly. And most of all I wanted it to be black in color at the end. I tried different curry powder blends, different sour ingredients, and different spice roasting methods for this. And this recipe right here clicks all those boxes for me.
A few tips for a delicious Black Pork Curry
- Get a good cut of pork that has a good fat content and also some lean meat. Avoid very lean pork cuts such as tenderloin. I usually use pork butt (aka pork shoulder). If you like more fatty pieces in your curry, use a mix of pork shoulder and pork belly.
- Marinate the pork pieces ahead of time. The acidity helps to make the pork tender. You can marinate meat the night before and keep it in the fridge.
- Cook the curry low and slow. So start making the curry ahead of time. Slow longer cooking helps to develop the black rich color that we all love. You can either cook the curry until there isn’t any gravy left. If you love some gravy turn the heat off a little earlier.
- Roast the spices until the spices become really dark brown (but not burnt). I have noticed adding salt reduces the amount of smoke that is produced. Make sure to lower the heat when you roast the spices otherwise, you’ll burn them. Which would make the curry taste bitter. Turn off the heat if the pot is too hot.
- Goraka or Garcinia Cambogia pasta is a must in this recipe. It adds a unique sour taste. It makes the curry look dark. It also tenderizes the meat. You can use tamarind extract/pulp as a substitute if it’s hard to find Garcinia.
What makes the Black Pork Curry, Black?
A few ingredients contribute to the Black color of this Sri Lankan Black Pork Curry. Goraka (aka Garcinia cambogia), roasted curry powder plays a huge role. Black pepper contributes to the black color too.
Freshly made goraka paste is better than store-bought to make the Black pork curry, black. When you choose Goraka for curries, get the glossy oily ones. And then soak and grind them freshly and it makes a huge difference in the color. Unfortunately, at the time of making this curry for the blog post, I didn’t have fresh goraka with me so I had to use a store-bought goraka paste. If I used freshly made goraka, this would look even more darker.
Curry powder adds a nice dark color to the curry when it’s roasted right. Roast it nice and slowly in low heat until the color of the curry powder turns dark but do not cook until it buns. If it’s hard to find Sri Lankan curry powder, you can use my meat curry powder as well.
The other thing that contributes to the dark color of the Black Pork Curry is, longer cooking time. The longer you cook, the darker it becomes. So cook it low and slow.
Serving ideas:
- You can pretty much serve this with anything. it’s a very versatile dish.
- My favorite way is to have this Sri Lankan black pork curry with coconut sambol, lentil curry, and bread.
- For a party menu, I serve this curry with yellow rice, spicy potato fry, Lenti curry, and a salad.
- Also, you can also make the curry dry and use it as a sandwich filling or a wrap.
If you’re a pork lover, this is a must-try recipe. I hope you give it a try and let me know how it went.
Sri Lankan Black Pork Curry
Description
Black pork curry is the most famous Sri Lankan pork dish that everyone loves. The fatty pork pieces cooked in aromatic spices in low heat for a long time until they melt in your mouth. Try this curry once, you're gonna think of this curry every time you see a piece of pork.
Ingredients
Marinade the meat
Other ingredients
Instructions
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marinate the pork pieced with all the marinating ingredients given in the list above. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes to overnight in the fridge. ( longer marination is better)
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Crush ginger and garlic in mortar and pestle to a rough paste.
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Crush the lemongrass piece with the blunt side of your knife to release the oils.
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Heat a pot and add coconut oil. When the oil starts to heat up add 1/4 tsp salt, chili powder, and unroasted curry powder. Fry them in low heat until the spices become dark brown to almost black. Turn off the heat if it's smoking too much. Stir continuously.
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To that add crushed ginger and garlic, powdered/crushed cardamom and cloves, pandan leaves, curry leaves, and lemongrass. Mix well with the spices.
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Then add chopped onion and mix well with everything else. Saute for about a minute.
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Add the marinated pork pieces to the pot. Mix well with the onions and spice mix. Saute for about a minute.
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Then add 1/4 cup of water. Mix. Cover and cook on very low heat.
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In about 30mins, taste the gravy and see if it has enough salt. If not add a little bit more. Cover again and cook in very low heat for about another 30 mins until the gravy thickens up and the pork becomes tender.
The longer you cook, the darker it gets. If you feel like the curry is drying out, add a bit more water and continue cooking.
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You can cook it until there's no gravy left and serve it as dry curry too. I'm attaching a photo from a different time I cook pork using this same recipe. Just to show you that you can cook it this way too.
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