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Pastelon de Vindaloo
(from India/Puerto Rico)
By Dale T. Mathews
Abstract
This dish is a hybrid that I concocted myself. I serve it to my guests as well as make it for myself.
The fragrances that waft through the atmosphere draw people into my kitchen where the
conversation begins; and the latter only ceases when the eating commences.
Theory
I love to cook complex Indian curries. Curry is
the quintessential globalized cuisine. From the
arrival of the Moguls and Portuguese in India to
the “discovery” of the Americas (where
tomatoes and chillies were encountered), you
can weave a tale of the world around Indian
cuisine and its numerous ingredients.
Originating from and currently living in Puerto
Rico, I am sometimes considered (unjustifiably, I
believe) an oddball because I eschew local
foods in favor of what is considered “exotic”.
However, I have roots in the West Indies where
curry is consumed with great frequency. This
dish allows me to bridge the gap, so to speak,
with my Puerto Rican friends because it
combines local ingredients with an actual
Portuguese‐Indian curry.
International Context
The recipe for the meat portion was given to
me by Indian students I met while pursuing my
doctorate in southern England. It was there
that I actually learned how to cook in general,
and to cook Indian curries in particular. I think I
offended some students by saying something to
the effect that “we eat curry all the time in the
West Indies”. They gently admonished me,
impressing upon me that “curry” was not just
one thing, or much less a single sachet of spice
that one could buy at a grocer. They then
endeavored to teach me about the rich
complexity of their cuisine and how to cook a
number of curries. They also provided me with
many detailed recipes upon my departure. This
dish consists of a ground “vindaloo” meat
portion, sandwiched between two layers of pureed (mashed, actually) vegetable consisting of boiled
green banana and boiled tannia (http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/1492/tannia.html).
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Ingredients
A dozen green bananas
Half a dozen tannia corms.
1 ½ ‐ 2 lbs of ground pork or poultry
½ cup vinegar
4 Tablespoons of mustard oil (or corn oil)
1 large onion finely chopped.
4 ‐ 8 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 ½ ‐ 2 inches of ginger grated finely
Strained or chopped tomatoes (the equivalent of
2 medium tomatoes)
First set of spices
3‐5 cloves
1 brown (or black) cardamom
1 inch cassia bark, or cinnamon
1 ~ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 ~ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
½ teaspoon of asafetida
Second set of spices
3 – 9 dried red chilies, depending on your "heat
tolerance" threshold.
3 green cardamoms
1 ~ teaspoon of black mustard seeds
½ ~ teaspoon of black cumin seeds
2 – 4 bay leaves
Third set of spices
1 ½ ~ teaspoons of turmeric
1 ~ teaspoon chili powder, again depending on
your "heat tolerance" threshold.
1 ~ teaspoon ground cumin.