By now it may be obvious that I am intrigued and easily seduced by the flavors of Indian cooking. I am a pushover for any dish that makes mere mention of the words curry or coconut milk. At times I simply incorporate curry powder (not authentic, I know) into dishes such as Baked Potato Skins with Yogurt Curry Sauce. Other times I feel inspired to dig into my spice drawer to produce dishes such as my Mum's Savory Beef and Potato Curry or Spiced Tandoori Chicken with Spiced Yogurt Marinade. About a year ago I introduced you to Vikram Vij's inspiring Vancouver restaurant and his Rich and Savory Chicken Curry. When my parents visited over Halloween, my dad presented me with a copy of Vij's at Home: Relax, Honey: The Warmth and Ease of Indian Cooking, co-authored by Vij and his wife, Meeru Dhalwala.
After successfully cooking several recipes from their first book, Vij's: Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine, I flipped through the pages of the new book with great anticipation. Vikram and Meeru take turns cooking dinner for their family, depending on who needs to "Relax, Honey" and who has a little energy left at the end of the day. They have distinctly different styles, Meeru favoring vegetable-inspired dishes and Vikram displaying his carnivorous side. The result is a book filled with a large variety of recipes, likely to appeal to vegetarians and meat-lovers alike.
This take on pulled pork is as easy as rubbing some spices over a pork roast and roasting it for a couple of hours. That's it. Mix up some raita sauce and serve the pork with some hot naan bread and vegetables for a hearty, unique meal or use the pulled pork in more traditional Americanized ways. Hot sandwiches with melted cheese or quesadillas spring to mind.
Pork Roast:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place pork shoulder (or pork butt) in a roasting pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together chopped onion, garlic (a heck of a lot of it - this is a very good thing), canola oil, ground cumin, ground coriander, cloves, cinnamon stick, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt. Mix until well combined.
Rub the onion mixture all over the pork. It is recommended to wear plastic gloves to avoid irritating your skin. Some of the onion mixture will fall off the pork into the pan. Not to worry - the flavors will not go to waste.
Add water to the pan (please, not over top of the pork). Cover with foil and bake for approximately 2 hours. My pork took exactly two hours, but considering that your pork shoulder may not be exactly 5 pounds or your oven may be slightly off, be sure to test the pork for doneness before the 2 hour mark. A thermometer inserted into the center of the pork should read 150 degrees F. Take care not to hit the bone when taking the temperature. Remember that the temperature of the pork will rise 5 to 10 degrees after it is removed from the oven.
Remove the pork from the oven, uncover it, and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Wearing gloves, shred the pork into a large bowls, using your fingers and a fork when necessary.
Discard the bone, then pour the juices and any of the onion mixture to the pork and mix well. (Do not eat the cinnamon stick or cloves.)
Cucumber Raita:
In a medium bowl, stir together plain yogurt (not non-fat, unless you are using Greek yogurt), grated cucumber, garam masala*, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
We served the shredded pork and raita in warm naan bread. We also added sliced tomato, sliced cucumbers, and finely chopped cilantro.
Spicy Shredded Pork Roast with Cucumber Raita Sauce
Pork:
5 lbs pork shoulder (or pork butt)
2 cups chopped onion, about 1 large
5 tablespoon finely chopped garlic (about 15 medium cloves)
¼ cup canola oil
4 tablespoon ground cumin
3 tablespoon ground coriander
10 cloves garlic
2-inch cinnamon stick
2 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper (depending on your spice preference)
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups water
Raita:
2 cups plain yogurt (not non-fat)
1 medium cucumber, grated (use juices, too)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garam masala*
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
8 to 10 pieces naan bread
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced cucumber
Mango chutney
Finely chopped fresh cilantro
Pork Roast:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place pork shoulder (or pork butt) in a roasting pan.
In a medium bowl, stir together chopped onion, garlic (a heck of a lot of it - this is a very good thing), canola oil, ground cumin, ground coriander, cloves, cinnamon stick, paprika, cayenne pepper, and salt. Mix until well combined.
Rub the onion mixture all over the pork. It is recommended to wear plastic gloves to avoid irritating your skin. Some of the onion mixture will fall off the pork into the pan. Not to worry - the flavors will not go to waste.
Add water to the pan (please, not over top of the pork). Cover with foil and bake for approximately 2 hours. My pork took exactly two hours, but considering that your pork shoulder may not be exactly 5 pounds or your oven may be slightly off, be sure to test the pork for doneness before the 2 hour mark. A thermometer inserted into the center of the pork should read 150 degrees F. Take care not to hit the bone when taking the temperature. Remember that the temperature of the pork will rise 5 to 10 degrees after it is removed from the oven.
Remove the pork from the oven, uncover it, and allow to cool for 20 minutes. Wearing gloves, shred the pork into a large bowls, using your fingers and a fork when necessary.
Discard the bone, then pour the juices and any of the onion mixture to the pork and mix well. (Do not eat the cinnamon stick or cloves.)
Cucumber Raita:
In a medium bowl, stir together plain yogurt (not non-fat, unless you are using Greek yogurt), grated cucumber, garam masala, salt, and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
We served the shredded pork and raita in warm naan bread. We also added sliced tomato, sliced cucumbers, mango chutney and finely chopped cilantro.
Serves 8 to 10 (you may still have leftovers of the pork)
Printable recipe
* Garam masala is a spice mixture found in many well-stocked supermarkets and Indian food stores.
Disclaimer: I am not being compensated for this cookbook review. I just cannot get enough of these books, so had to tell you about them.
How To: Simplify
I loved shredded meat...what a delicious recipe!