One for garlic lovers: pork curry with tamarind and green chillies; and a surprising salad.

PARENTAL DISCRETION REQUIRED. THIS POST CONTAINS STRONG GARLIC.

Pork is still novel enough of a discovery on an Indian menu to warrant further investigation; with Hindus and Muslims making up around 94% of the population, it's easy to overlook the fact that Christian communities have a long tradition of using this versatile meat in their cusine. Areas such as Kerala feature many examples of marrying this amazing meat with what we more usually think of as 'Indian' flavours.

The original 'vindaloo' tended to use the salted pork transported across oceans by questing Portuguese, after all.

This comes from the estimable Rick Stein's recent book India- In Search Of The Perfect Curry. It was a resounding success in our house, with the accompanying salad the perfect side dish with minimum effort.

Anyway. On with the pan.

For the curry:
6 large banana shallots (or 15 of the more common variety)
100g garlic, peeled
30g ginger- finely chopped
6 green chillies (the finger-sized ones will do fine here) with or without seeds depending on preference
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 cloves
4cm piece of cinnamon stick 
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt 

1 kg boneless pork shoulder or chops cut into 4cm chunks

To finish:

2 teaspoons coriander seeds
75ml tamarind liquid
3 green chillies, sliced lengthways
25g garlic- sliced thinly

Yes, you read the amount of garlic correctly.

(What's an extra gram between friends...?)

Start by blitzing the garlic, ginger, shallots and chillies in a food processor, with a splash of water to help it along. Process to a rough paste.

Next, heat a dry frying pan and toast the mustard seeds, cumin, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon stick for about a minute- until the aromas are rising. Then add the turmeric powder and continue cooking briefly- about another 20 seconds. Put to one side to cool; when ready, grind to a fine powder.

I had to do this by hand- not because I thought it more 'authentic' or 'artisanal' but because my spice grinder is currently in the attic, awaiting a house move.

My butcher (Sean's, Clifton Street, Splott) had already prepared the shoulder of pork.

Over a medium-to-high heat, warm the oil in a sturdy pan (if you have a karahi, then fair play. I just used a solid-bottomed casserole) and brown the pork. This is probably best done in batches and can take up 10 minutes.

Meanwhile,  prepare your tamarind in preparation for the final flourish; I always use the block and soak it for 20 minutes or so. It's one of my favourite flavours and worth the effort to break the pulp down and strain it off.

With all the pork in the pan, add the paste you made earlier (the chillies, garlic, ginger and shallots) and the ground spices and the salt.

Cook for five minutes; if it starts to stick, splash in a little water. Next, add enough water to cover (just!) the ingredients; turn  the heat down low, cover the pan and simmer. This can take 30 minutes or more, but the tenderness of the meat is the paramount factor here so don't be in a rush.

While the pork is simmering its way toward perfection, prepare your finishing touches. Reheat your spice pan and fry the coriander seeds until they are toasted (medium heat, about 60 seconds). Grind, add the strained tamarind liquid, the sliced green chillies and the garlic to the pork pan. (These won't be in there for long- a couple of minutes at most- so when slicing the garlic, take the prison cooking scene in Goodfellas as your cue...) Stir in the ground coriander, and you're done.

The salad was the work of minutes but remarkably effective. An hour previously, I sliced- very thinly- a red onion and tossed it with 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar and half a teaspoon each of salt and sugar. The period of marinating leached any bitterness out of the red onion, leaving it sweet; after discarding any liquid form the bowl  I added 300g of pineapple, thinly sliced (or in chunks, if you'd prefer), and some roughly chopped coriander leaves- about half a handful.

 It was a brilliant counter to the richness of the pork and perhaps the greatest effort-versus-return couple of minutes I've spent in a kitchen.

For little overall effort, and no complicated techniques involved, this met with overwhelming approval of the taste panel judges (aka my wife).

Give it a go.