Spicy Pork Vindaloo

Ingredients
1½ teaspoons black or brown mustard seeds (not yellow; see Notes)
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons dried ground coriander
2 teaspoons dried ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 to 3 teaspoons cayenne pepper (to taste; see Notes)
1 tablespoon paprika (preferably Hungarian hot paprika)
2 teaspoons kosher salt (half that if using regular table salt; see Notes)
5 tablespoons vinegar (we like cider vinegar, but white or rice vinegar will also work well)
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 onion (medium or large)
2-inch piece of ginger root
6 to 8 garlic cloves (to taste)
~2½ pounds boneless pork shoulder (a bit more or less is OK)
~2 tablespoons olive oil
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (not traditional, but we like it)
½ cup water
3 red Bellafina peppers for garnish (optional)
~1 cup frozen peas for garnish (optional)
serve with rice, Indian bread, polenta, or grits (see Headnote)

Procedure
Using a spice grinder or a clean coffee grinder, grind the mustard seeds and pepper corns to a fine powder. (Note: If any of the other spices you’re using are in whole rather than ground form—like cumin, coriander, or cardamom seed, for example—grind them in this step too.)

Pour the powdered spices into a small bowl, then add the pre-ground spices (cardamom, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and paprika), along with the kosher salt. Mix all the ingredients together. Add the vinegar and brown sugar. Mix again, then set aside.

Peel the onion, ginger root, and garlic. Chop all of them coarsely. Then pulse them in a mini-food processor until they form a paste.

Add the spice/vinegar mixture (from Step 2) to the mini-food processor, and pulse until the paste is well blended.

Trim the pork shoulder of excess fat, then cut into cubes of about 1 inch. Place the pieces in a bowl, then add the spice paste from Step 4. Rub the pork so that each piece is covered with the spice paste. Allow the pork pieces to sit at room temperature for 1 hour. (See Notes if you want to complete this step ahead of time.)

Place a 4- to 6-quart saucepan (one with a heavy bottom; or use a Dutch oven) over medium stovetop heat. When it’s hot, add the oil. When the oil is heated (it’ll shimmer), add as many pork chunks as will fit comfortably in the bottom of the pan. Brown each pork piece on all sides (this will take 6 or 7 minutes). Lower the heat if necessary—you don’t want to burn the spice paste. When the pork pieces are browned, remove them from the pan and allow them to drain on paper towels. Then add more pork pieces to the pan, browning in batches. Continue until all the pork pieces are browned (add more oil to the pan if necessary).

Return the browned pork pieces to the cooking pot. Add the diced tomato and water. Bring the mixture to a low simmer, then cover the pan. Allow the mixture to cook for 1½ hours. Stir it every half hour or so, and check on the liquid level. Most of the liquid should evaporate as the dish cooks, but a small amount should remain (you want just a bit of sauce), so add more water if necessary.

Meanwhile, clean the red Bellafina peppers and cut it into dice of about 1 inch.
After the pork has been cooking for 1½ hours (Step 7), test to make sure it’s tender. If it’s not, cook another half hour. Adjust seasoning if necessary. About 10 minutes before serving, add the red Bellafina pepper pieces (from Step 8) to the cooking pot. About 5 minutes before serving, add the frozen peas to the cooking pot.

Dish it up!

Slightly adapted from a recipe from kitchenriffs.com