Recipe: Sorpotel

A dish of Portuguese origin, it is a sweet, tangy, savory and spicy pork dish synonymous with celebration. The meat is first parboiled, then diced and sauteed before being cooked in a spicy and vinegary masala.

Florency Dias

1. Boil 1.5 kgs pork with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder in 2 cups water for 20 minutes.

2. For sorpotel paste, in a mixer grinder add 15 red kashmiri chillies, 15 red bedki chillies, 20 peppercorns, 18 cloves, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1.5 inch ginger, 20 garlic cloves and 8 tbsp goan vinegar. grind to a fine paste adding water as needed.

3. Chop the boiled meat into tiny pieces (approx 1 cm cubes).

4. Saute the chopped meat in little oil. (in the same vessek in whcih you will be cooking the sorpotel itself). cook them in two batches to cook them evenly.

5. When they change colour, transfer it into the stock produced earlier.

6. In about 4-5 tbsp oil, fry 3 large finely chopped onions. when softened, add prepared sorpotel paste. fry for about 4-5 minutes.

7. Add 1.5 cups water. when it comes to a boil, add fried pork and its stock. give it a thorough mix.

8. Add 1.5 cups tamarind water from 30 gms tamarind. give it a stir and adjust consistency as required with water. add 1 tsp salt to flavour the curry.

9. Then add 6 slit green chillies, 2 tbsp palm jaggery. cover and cook for 15 minutes.

10. After that, taste to adjust the flavours. add salt and vinegar as desired, 1 tsp sugar. cook for a minute.

Tips

1. Preferably use goan toddy vinegar.

2. For pork, include cuts of your choice.

3. Port meat gives out fats, if it is alot seperate it for later use.

4. Sorpotel is one such dish which tastes better every time you heat it.