Slow-Cooker Goan Pork Vindaloo
- Total Time
- 5 hours and 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 to 6 servings
- 1large yellow or red onion, roughly chopped
- 10garlic cloves, peeled
- 2tablespoons finely chopped ginger (about a 2-inch length of peeled ginger)
- 1tablespoon black or brown mustard seeds
- 5whole cloves
- ½teaspoon black peppercorns
- Kosher salt
- 5green cardamom pods or ¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds
- ½cup apple cider vinegar or coconut vinegar
- 1(3-inch) cinnamon stick
- 2packed tablespoons grated jaggery or light brown sugar, plus more to taste (see Tip)
- 2teaspoons ground cumin
- 2teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1tablespoon kashmiri chile powder (see Tip)
- ¼teaspoon ground cayenne, or to taste (optional)
- 3pounds boneless, skinless pork shoulder, cut into 2- to 3-inch chunks
- Cooked basmati rice, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
635 calories; 42 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 19 grams monounsaturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 21 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 41 grams protein; 738 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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- Step 1
Combine the onion, garlic, ginger, mustard seeds, cloves, peppercorns and 2½ teaspoons salt in a blender. Using the flat side of a chef’s knife, firmly press the cardamom pods so that they crack open. Put the seeds from each pod in the blender and discard the pods. (This yields about a heaping ¼ teaspoon of seeds.) Pour the vinegar into the blender. Blend, first on low until everything is combined, then on high, until the mixture is fully puréed and the whole spices are crushed, 30 seconds to 3 minutes depending on your blender. (You will see flecks of spices, but everything should be at least coarsely ground.)
- Step 2
Pour the puréed mixture into a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Stir in the cinnamon stick, jaggery, cumin, turmeric, chile powder and cayenne (if using). Add the pork and stir to evenly combine. Cover and cook on high until the flavors have blended, the oniony taste is no longer sharp, and the pork is very tender, about 5 hours.
- Step 3
Remove and discard the cinnamon stick. Taste and add more salt or sugar if you like, before serving with warmed rice. The sauce will be rich and a little soupy, great for spooning over rice. If you prefer a thicker sauce, remove the pork from the slow cooker with a slotted spoon and put it in a serving dish. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Pour the reduced sauce over the pork and serve with warm rice.
Tips
- Jaggery, also called gur, is an unrefined brown cane sugar used in South Asia. It is often sold in a solid block or cone and can be grated. You can find it at any South Asian market, or from online retailers like Kalustyans.
- Kashmiri chile powder is widely used in South Asian cooking. You can find the mild chile powder at any South Asian market, or from online retailers like Kalustyans. You can also substitute ½ teaspoon ground cayenne mixed with 2½ teaspoons sweet or hot (but not smoked) paprika.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Yvette
I look forward to trying this but suggest a clarification of the ingredients. I believe it is either apple cider vinegar or coconut vinegar. Not either apple cider or coconut vinegar. A first glance before reading the recipe directions would have had me buying apple cider.
Tom
I'm not sure why people are expecting "authenticity" from a recipe that has "slow-cooker" in the title!
Prakash Nadkarni
RE: Chili heat Goans don't consume superhot food: Hyderabadis are the champions. (You can amp the heat as needed.) The chili variety used, Byadagi, a cayenne cultivar (available in Indian stores), is high on flavor with low-to-medium heat Kashmiri, used here, is a good substitute, as is medium-hot paprika.) Skip the sugar if you don't care for sweet-ish curries. Bone-in skin-on pork is traditional: this isn't haute cuisine. Overnight marination with the base shortens cooking time.
Prakash Nadkarni
RE: STove-top Vindaloo - One hour of simmering on stovetop. See seriouseats.com/beyond-curry-pork-vindaloo-recipe . (The author's a Goan Christian - D'Silva is a common Portuguese-origin surname - "Of the wood/forest" - same Latin root as Salvatore/Sylvester/sylvan.)
Prakash Nadkarni
RE: Chicken - indeed you can. Use a regular cooking pan, and use the spice base as a marinade for 3+hrs. It cooks pretty fast. In one of the Rumpole stories, after a tiff with She Who Must Be Obeyed (aka Mrs. Rumpole) Rumpole takes up residence in his office: his busybody colleague gets upset after finding takeout chicken vindaloo containers in the trash.
S. Nayar
Although not Goan, I am Indian and was, therefore, skeptical about the process and ingredients but, I have to say this dish is delicious! I used apple cider vinger and left the cloves out since I didn't have any. I also substituted Madras curry powder since I had that in stock and used dark brown sugar. I will definitely make this again. Another winner slow cooker meal!
Abigail
I used a spice grinder for the cloves, cardamom seeds, black peppercorn, and mustard seeds before adding to the food processor which helped the flavors blend further. Also, I didn't have a whole cinnamon stick so I used powdered and it worked just fine. I appreciate the comments here on authenticity, but as someone who doesn't know any better, the recipe was a total hit, so much so that it'll be our Christmas Eve dinner. I'll probably double it and freeze half for a rainy day!
MT
If you are making this, I suggest throwing in some pork bones and keep the fat cap on the meat, it makes the curry so much more delicious than having fat free and bone free meat.
Phaedra
This was a rare miss for an NYT recipe. The texture of both the sauce and the pork was not very pleasing to the tongue, and the Kashmiri chile powder and the cider vinegar did not blend well, leaving a strange overall flavor. For a much better vindaloo, try the Pork Vindaloo recipe by Alex Witchel and Julie Sahni in the NYT app. Not a slow cooker recipe, but not much more work, with a far tastier result.
Kade
Cook on high for five hours?! Is that really necessary? I would think a simmer for three hours would get you to tender.
Bruce
Haven't tried it, but I do a lot of Indian cooking and I think it would hold up best with thighs, but I wouldn't hesitate to use beef or lamb.
Bruce
I've made lamb vindaloo, but not with this specific recipe. You can find lamb vindaloo on many menus in Goa and the intensity of lamb will hold up well with most any average vindaloo. I'm cooking this tomorrow with a pork loin instead of shoulder. It shouldn't make any significant difference beyond cutting out some fat.
crlnwill
I used tamarind paste instead of vinegar, added two serrano chiles and used those cheap pork loin ribs (full of bones). Cooked everything on low for 5 hours. Refrigerated overnight. The next day, I removed the bones, reheated and served with naan. Delicious. I would add another serrano next time.
Vinay
Was surprised to see a Vindaloo recipe without tamarind. Cooked it anyway. Not again. Will try other Vindaloo recipe by Alex which looks like less work but authentic. Will be cooking for a crowd at the local Elks Lodge.
Nancy
One of the best recipes on NYT Cooking!
Leslie Selig
I are this without any changes and it was absolutely delicious.
Richie
Made this in the Instant Pot and it turned out great! 3.5 lbs pork shoulder at high pressure for 70 min. Natural release 15 minutes then quick. Meat was super-tender. I cut the vinegar in half because it was too much the last time I made it and added a bit of chicken broth to make sure I had enough liquid for pressure. Also added 1 tsp of ground fenugreek, otherwise kept recipe as is. Delicious!
Nancy
This disappointed us. The flavors seemed flat and lacked oomph. It wasn’t really bad, but I won’t be serving it to guests again. In retrospect, I wish I had added some lemon juice at the end to increase umami.
M
Very tangy, used all ingredients as listed but Apple Cider Vinegar instead of Coconut, at the end I cooked down the juices then added the pork broken down into semi-bite sized pieces.
jen
Used a 1.5lb pork shoulder, kept all other ingredients as is apart from the brown sugar in which I only used 1tbsp. Low on slow cooker for about 5ish hours. Turned out delish, topped with cilantro and had a side of braised kale. Spicy and tangy. Will keep this in the rotation for an easy crock meal.
Janie
I used pork tenderloin cut in large pieces. Three hours on low was perfect and enough to be incredible tender without completely shredding. The flavour is amazing.
Vanessa
I followed the recipe exactly and whipped up the sauce in a blender. Then I poured the sauce into a pot on top of the stove and brought it to a simmer. Meanwhile I cut pork tenderloin into bite-sized pieces and threw them into the pot. I let the mixture simmer on medium heat for a mere thirty minutes and the result was delectable: thickly textured, sweet and sour, peppery and hot. The pork had absorbed the sauce and was melt in the mouth tender. Easy, quick, scrumptious; no five hour wait!
Yvette
This would serve 4 people but not 6. Really delicious and served it on cauliflower rice with naan. However the meat was already pretty tender after 2.5 hours so I turned it to low for the rest and it came out perfect! Melt in your mouth tender.
Jessica
So, so delicious and easy! *2.5lb pork shoulder worked fine; put bone in slow cooker with the rest of it and the remaining bits just slid right off *I used apple cider vinegar, yellow onion, no extra cayenne, jaggery *I did not find the Kashmiri chili, so used the substitute in the Tips and it was delicious, with the tiniest kick that was a little more of a burn--perfect *Due to circumstance, I cooked it longer --5.5 hours plus another hour warm. so good! (used IP slow cooker setting)
Chicago
Have no time? Have an instant pot? If so, you can do what we did: in step 2, follow directions but heat on high pressure for 50 minutes and let the pressure release naturally.
Cindy from SF
Delicious. Topped with toasted cashews, cilantro, and chopped pickled red onions to add brightness. Subbed madras curry powder for the Kashmiri and generally upped all of the spices.
Casey in Maple Ridge, BC
Absolutely loved this recipe. We'll be making it for a friend's birthday this coming week. We'll be looking for any excuse to make it!
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