Sri Lankan Black Pork Curry

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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.