Pork Curry with Yogurt Bread

I have to be honest here; before I moved to Ireland, Curry was completely alien to me. In every French cupboard, there was of course a sticky and out of date jar of “Curcuma” or, for you and me, ground Turmeric. We didn’t know what to do with it, and I can tell you that no matter how broke you are, fluorescent pasta is not attractive!

My first real encounter with curry, was in 1994 in Sligo; Connolly Street, the chipper besides Murray’s pub, always flying a proud tricolor outside the door. It was a bag of chips on Sunday, with a pot of “Murray’s Special”, a curry sauce quite thick, but yet addictive, especially to the young bohemian I was, living on £50 a week, getting sometimes an auld gig in the local hotel by the Garavogue River that crosses Yeats County.

Before last year ended, I met my friend Ketty from French Foodie In Dublin; during the last three years or so of our young friendship, we meet sometimes for a cup of coffee in the Irish capital, sharing a bit of gossip and craíc. It is also lovely to share some  francophonic moments; you know, just to be sure it hasn’t gone away…

Last time we met she was back from the Indian Ocean and gave me some wonderful “Curcuma” ( Turmeric) powder from her Father’s native Reunion Island. What a treat! I had to do something with it.

 

Since I am on my own today, I decided to do my “Franckie’s Curry”; not very Eastery, I will give that to you, but again, my rebel self is known to be like we say in Ireland: ” Contrary”. As people celebrate the 1916 Easter Rising, I cannot help to think that the first Indian restaurant of those Islands ( dare I say it?), was actually opened in Dublin in 1908… The rest my friends, is history!

You’ll Need:

• 1 kg of Pork loin
• 1/2 a cauliflower pulled in florets
• 1 red pepper
• 2 red onions
• 2 carrots
• 1 small bulb of fennel
• 2 cloves of garlic
• a thumb of fresh ginger
• 1 tin of organic coconut milk
• salt and pepper
• Organic yogurt to serve
• 1 lime to serve
• a bunch of fresh coriander chopped to serve

For The Spices Mix:

• 1 tbsp of ground coriander ( all level)
• 1 of Turmeric
• 1 of ground cumin
• 1/2 a nutmeg grated
• a pinch of crushed dry chillies
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

For The Yogurt Bread:

• 200g of organic bread flour
• 10cl of water
• 20g of fresh yeast
• a dash of olive oil
• a generous tbsp of active yogurt
• a pinch of salt

How to:

That’s where the fun starts:

First chop all the veg in uniform bits; put them in a sieve and rinse. Cut the pork loin in 2 Cm 2 cubes. Fry in olive oil until brown with salt and pepper. Throw in the vegetables and the spices. Keep stirring until all are well coated. Pour the tin of organic coconut milk and rinse the tin, adding the same amount of water. Make sure it is covered with water. Let it simmer on a low heat for about two hours.

 

For the yogurt bread:

In a large bowl, place the crumbled yeast with warm water and a wee pinch of sugar. Let it froth a bit, then add the flour. olive oil and yogurt. Knead gently and let it rest for a bit. You want the dough to remain quite wet. Let it rise a room temperature for an hour, then bake at 200c for 25 to 30 minutes.

 

 

Serve the curry with rice or couscous, a wee dish of yogurt, with lime and fresh coriander!

 

Keep Well and Eat Happy!

Slan Tamall

Franck