Sri Lankan-style wild boar curry
This dish is inspired by black pork curry , commonly found at cafés and restaurants across Colombo , Sri Lanka ’ s capital city . It was one of the first curries I ate on an early visit to the island , and a big part of the reason for my falling in love with the food of Lanka . While it ’ s illegal to hunt wild boar in Sri Lanka , I ’ ve had chefs and friends cook me some overseas . If you ’ re making this curry for a party , cook it a night ahead , as a night in the fridge helps the flavours to get to know each other and really sing !
Karan Gokani
SERVES 4
• 500g wild boar meat , cut into 5cm pieces ( ask your butcher for a stewing cut )
• 2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
• 2 tbsp oil
• 5cm piece cinnamon stick
• 5 green cardamom pods
• 4 cloves
• 8-12 curry leaves
• 5cm piece pandan leaf
• 5cm piece lemongrass
• 100g finely chopped red onion
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 ½ tbsp tamarind extract or paste
• 3 tbsp Sri Lankan roasted curry powder ( or madras curry powder )
• 2 green chillies , slit lengthways
AS SEEN ON
Wild Kitchen
1 Combine the wild boar with 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder , 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper and ½ tsp salt . Cover with 8cm water in a deep pan and bring to a boil , then reduce and simmer for 1 hr until the meat is quite tender ( it will get a little softer later , when it ’ s cooked again ). Alternatively , just cover the meat with water and pressure cook for 25-35 mins . Strain the liquid and reserve both the meat and cooking liquid separately . 2 Heat the oil in a deep heavy-bottomed pan set over a medium heat and add the cinnamon , cardamom pods and cloves . After 30 seconds , add the curry leaves , pandan leaf , lemongrass , onion , garlic and ginger . Cook for about 4 mins , until the onions turn slightly brown . Add the remaining 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder , 1 tsp salt and tamarind paste and cook for 1 min . Add a splash of water to get the charred bits off the pan and stir well . Add the cooked wild boar and coat well in the spices , then pour in just enough of the wild boar cooking liquid to cover the meat and bring to a gentle simmer . Cover and cook until the meat is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated , about 20-30 mins . 3 Add the roasted curry powder and a pinch of salt and cook for a further 10 mins . This is traditionally a dry curry but if you prefer a little bit of sauce , add some more cooking liquid in the final stage of cooking and adjust the seasoning accordingly . Stir in the green chilli and cook for a final 2 mins , then serve straight away .
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