Sri Lankan pork curry is best known in its "black" form, kalu uru mas curry in Sinhala (kalu is black, uru mas is pork). Chunks of fatty pork are marinated in dark roasted curry powder, black pepper and goraka, then cooked slowly with whole spices, curry leaves and pandan until the gravy is almost black, glossy and clinging to the meat. The colour comes from the deeply roasted spices and the goraka, not from any sauce.
Pork is eaten less widely in Sri Lanka than chicken or fish, since Muslims do not eat it and many Buddhist and Hindu households avoid it, so pork curry is most at home in Christian and Burgher kitchens and in Colombo restaurants that specialise in pork. It is a dish for weekend lunches and family celebrations, served with rice and a few milder curries.
How to make Sri Lankan black pork curry
- Serves 4
- Prep: 20 minutes (+ 1 hour marinating)
- Cook: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Difficulty: Easy
For the marinade
- 1 kg pork shoulder or belly, or a mix, cut into 3 cm cubes
- 5 pieces goraka (Garcinia cambogia), soaked in 60 ml hot water for 10 minutes, or 1 tbsp tamarind pulp
- 3 tbsp dark roasted Sri Lankan curry powder
- 1 tsp chilli powder, preferably roasted
- 1 tsp freshly crushed black pepper
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2.5 cm piece ginger, crushed
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
For the curry
- 2 tbsp coconut oil or vegetable oil
- 5 cm piece Ceylon cinnamon stick
- 5 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 5 cloves
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 5 cm piece pandan (rampe) leaf
- 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
- 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 green chillies, slit lengthways
- 250 ml water
- 1 tsp dark roasted Sri Lankan curry powder, to finish
Method
- Make the goraka paste. Grind or mash the soaked goraka with its soaking water to a thick paste. If using tamarind, squeeze it in 60 ml hot water and strain.
- Marinate. Mix the pork with the goraka paste, curry powder, chilli powder, pepper, garlic, ginger and salt until every piece is dark and coated. Cover and leave for at least 1 hour, or overnight in the fridge.
- Temper the spices. Heat the oil in a heavy pan or clay pot over a medium heat. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, curry leaves, pandan and lemongrass and fry for about 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Soften the onion. Add the onion and green chillies and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring, until soft and golden.
- Seal the pork. Add the pork with all its marinade, raise the heat to medium-high and stir for 5 to 8 minutes, until the pieces have lost their raw colour and the spices smell toasted.
- Braise. Pour in the water and bring to the boil, then cover and simmer on a low heat for about 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes and adding a splash of water if it catches, until the pork is tender enough to break with a spoon.
- Reduce. Uncover and cook over a medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until the gravy is thick, very dark and coats the meat, and the fat begins to separate at the edges.
- Finish. Sprinkle over the finishing curry powder, stir for 2 minutes, take out the lemongrass, taste for salt and rest for 10 minutes before serving.
What makes it black?
Three things. First, the roasted curry powder: for pork, the coriander, cumin, fennel and other seeds are dry-roasted until very dark before grinding, darker than the powder used for most other curries. Second, goraka, the sun-dried, blackened rind of Garcinia cambogia, which adds sourness and deepens the colour. Third, the long, slow cook and final reduction, which concentrate everything into a dark, sticky gravy. Some cooks also use roasted chilli powder or dry-fry whole chillies until dark for extra colour.
Which cut of pork should you use?
Shoulder and belly both work. Belly gives a richer, fattier curry; shoulder is leaner but still moist after a long braise. Many cooks use a mix. Keep a little fat on the pieces, as it renders into the gravy and carries the flavour of the spices. Lean loin dries out and is not worth using here.
Which spices and aromatics matter?
- Black pepper. Freshly crushed Ceylon black pepper gives a warm heat alongside the chilli.
- Whole spices. Ceylon cinnamon, cardamom and cloves fried in the oil perfume the gravy.
- Leaves. Curry leaves, pandan and lemongrass give the fresh, grassy aroma typical of Sri Lankan meat curries.
- Sourness. Goraka is traditional. Tamarind is the usual substitute, and some cooks add a spoonful of vinegar instead.
What do you serve it with?
Serve it with plain rice and milder dishes to balance its intensity: a creamy potato curry, a dhal curry and a coconut sambol, with a little lunu dehi (salted lime pickle) on the side. It is also good with bread, string hoppers or pittu. Pork is often one of the meats in the mixed curry packed into lamprais, the Burgher rice parcel baked in banana leaf.
Variations and storage
For a milder, creamier curry, stir 200 ml thick coconut milk into the pan at the start of step 7 and simmer gently rather than reducing hard. For a drier curry, keep reducing in step 7 until almost no gravy is left. Like most slow-cooked curries it tastes better the next day. Cool it quickly, cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Reheat gently with a splash of water until piping hot.
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