Coconut Pork Stew With Garam Masala

The cover of the Explore: Wine & Dine section on Wednesday, November 9, will feature Parmesan Sage Potato Gratin, lush without the cream or calories. Inside you'll find more recipes plus buying, cooking and health tips on a variety of food-related subjects.

-----

Pork Stew Gets a Chili Kick

By Melissa Clark, New York Times News Service

Beef stews are homey. Lamb stews are fancy. But only rarely do I consider the pork stew.

This may be because stews are all about soft and slippery comfort – meat, vegetables or both simmered until they are so very tender that knives are hardly needed.

When I think of pork, I picture something crackling and crisp, with golden bits of fat that singe and sear.

Crackling and crisp is not what you get in a stew. But this one is so full of complex flavors and diverse textures, it more than compensates for the lack of crunch.

It’s the spices that give the meat its flavorful depth. The dense flesh takes on the heady aromas of garam masala, cinnamon and cumin, along with a slight sting from the cayenne. Bolstered by canned tomatoes, garlic, onion and a hot pepper, this sauce is intense – so much so that you need to add something mild to soften those sharp flavors.

In French recipes, butter would serve that purpose. But here, in keeping with the curry-inspired spices, I chose coconut milk. It bubbles down into a smooth, lush sauce that coats the pork, adding its own gentle sweetness to the mix.

I also add split peas to the pot, both as a thickener and to turn the stew into more of a complete one-pot meal. Because of the acidity of the tomatoes in the sauce, the peas need to be soaked in boiling water rather than cold water to jump-start their cooking. Otherwise, they'll take ages to soften.

If you don’t have yellow split peas, you can substitute pretty much any other legume or beans you like, as long as you cook them first and add them to the pot during the last half-hour of simmering so they can absorb all the sublime, porky flavors. Chickpeas or navy beans would be my first-choice substitutions, and canned ones are perfectly fine.

Just before serving, I make a chili-spiked oil with garlic and mustard seeds to drizzle on top for added texture and heat. Although they’re not at all like the crackling skin on a piece of roasted pork shoulder, the garlic slices do turn potato-chip crisp, while the mustard seeds crackle when you bite down.

And that, it turns out, is exactly the kind of crunch this stew needs.

Coconut Pork Stew With Garam Masala

Total time: 3 hours, plus overnight marinating and soaking

Servings: 8.

For the stew:

• 2 1/2 pounds boneless pork butt (fat trimmed), or pork stew meat, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, more to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 cup dried yellow split peas
• 2 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 serrano or jalapeño pepper, minced
• 1 26- to 28-ounce can or package diced tomatoes
• 1 cup coconut milk, solids and liquid whisked together
• Chopped cilantro, for garnish

For the garlic-coconut oil, for serving:

• 1/3 cup coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 3 hot red or green chilies, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped out with a spoon

1. In a large bowl, combine the pork with the cumin, salt, garam masala and cayenne. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

2. Cover the split peas with boiling water to cover by 2 inches, and let soak overnight. Drain.

3. Heat oven to 325 degrees.

4. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for 8 minutes, or until tender and golden brown. Add cinnamon stick, garlic and jalapeño. Saute for 5 minutes, until the jalapeño is tender. Add the pork and any juices from the bowl and sauté until lightly browned all over, about 7 minutes.

5. Stir in tomatoes, split peas and coconut milk and season with more salt, to taste. The pork should just be covered by liquid. If it’s not, add a little water until it is. Bring to a simmer over high heat.

6. Once the mixture is simmering briskly, cover Dutch oven, and place in oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until split peas are tender and pork is falling apart and cooked through.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the garlic coconut oil: In a small saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add mustard seeds. Once they begin popping, add garlic and chilies, and fry until edges of garlic turn golden brown. Immediately remove pan from heat and reserve. (Do not allow entire garlic cloves to brown or they will taste bitter.)

8. Serve warm, drizzled with garlic coconut oil and garnished with chopped cilantro.

This story was originally published November 5, 2016 at 1:12 PM.