Difference between Road-side Pork Jhol and homestyle Pork Jhol!
Pork Jhol (or Pork er Jhol) these days probably is an in-thing in the city of joy at least according to the Social media geeks (over-enthusiasts should I say :P). Not that Pork Jhol is a new culinary invention; in fact, quite a common item cooked for typical Sunday lunch over the years by the families those enjoy pork. There are several roadside joints that sell the Pork Jhol. The shop near Garia Station or Howrah's Fatikdar dokan is almost cult pork jhol sellers. The Pork Jhol they sell is mostly a runny Pork Curry. The Pork Jhol I make at home is a comforting version prepared with Aloo! Yes, true blue bong me cannot think of Mangshor Jhol without the big fat Potato Chunk :). We enjoy this with a spoonful of Gobindobhog Chaler Bhat (okay, a few spoonfuls actually 🙂 ). Another thing I must mention, Me and the family, for that matter, don't prefer fat along with the meat (belly, however, is an exception). Though I and Mehebub love the roadside Pork Jhol and enjoy once in a while (or maybe in a blue moon) but these days I prefer to cook it at home given Pasta has a thing for Pork! She loves it! In fact, She loves both beef and pork, for that matter! I don't much rely on the quality of the pork available in the roadside shops and hence, ended on sourcing from the known shops whenever I make it.
Aloo chara (without) or Aloo diye pork er jhol (with Potato)!
As I already mentioned, my Bengali Pork Curry is incomplete without Aloo. Another thing I make sure to use while cooking is Bengali Garam Masala for the distinct "Bong" flavor. My recipe calls for plain curd as well and no use of Tomato. Here I must mention a trick I learned from our landlady in Gurgaon. She used to say to never mix Curd with the tomato while making Bengali or Odia meat curries. That combination may leave your stomach unhappy in case you are having the meat in excess!
Well, I don't know how far it is true but I skip Tomato while cooking the runny curry with red meat. Plain curd works well as a tenderizer as well as a souring agent. In case using Tomato, just reduce the amount of curd to balance the curry. Oh, my recipe for Bengali Pork Jhol calls for Ghee (the way I use it to make mutton or beef) and needless to say, you can skip that too! Okay, one last tip! I prefer to make a spice paste and add that afterword instead of adding the spices directly while cooking!
Here's how I make Pork Jhol at Debjanir Rannaghar!
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Pork Jhol aka Bengali Pork Curry (with Aloo!)
- Total Time: 9 hours 30 mins
- Yield: 4-5 People 1x
Description
Easy Bengali Pork Curry aka Pork jhol step by step recipe with pictures.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- Pork (curry cut): 500g
- Potato: 4 (big)
- Onion: 2
- Ginger Paste: 1 Tsp.
- Garlic Paste: 1 Tsp.
- Plain Curd: 200g (preferably hung curd)
- Bengali Garam Masala Powderl: 1 Tsp.
- Sugar: ½ Tbsp.
- Kashmiri Red Chili Powder: ⅓ Tsp.
- Turmeric Powder ⅓ Tsp.
- Salt: to taste
- Ghee: 1 Tbsp. (optional)
- Mustard Oil: 4 Tbsp.
For Marination:
- Onion Paste: 2 Tbsp.
- Ginger Paste: 0.5 Tsp.
- Garlic Paste: 1 Tsp.
- Cumin Powder: ½ Tsp.
- Coriander Powder: ½ Tsp.
- Kashmiri Red Chili Powder: 1 Tsp.
- Sugar: ½ Tbsp.
- Mustard Oil: 1 Tbsp.
For tempering:
- Red Chili: 1
- Bay Leaf: 1
- Cinnamon Stick: 1"
- Clove: 5-6
- Green Cardamom: 4
- Black Cardamom: 1-2
To make the Spice Paste:
- Cumin Powder: ½ Tsp.
- Coriander Powder: ½ Tsp.
- Kashmiri Red Chili Powder: 1 Tsp.
- Sugar: ½ Tbsp.
- Mustard Oil: ½ Tbsp.
Instructions
- Wash the meat thoroughly and pat dry before marinating.
Marination:
- [url href="https://kitchenofdebjani.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Making-Pork-Jol-2.jpg"]
[/url] - Marinate Pork chunks with Onion Paste, Ginger Paste, Garlic Paste, Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, Kashmiri Red Chili Powder, Sugar and Mustard Oil overnight or for 8 hours.
[/url]To make the Spice Paste:
- Mix Cumin Powder, Coriander Powder, Kashmiri Red Chili Powder and Sugar with Mustard Oil to make a thick paste. Leave it for 15 minutes before adding to the curry (while making).
The Bengali Pork Curry:
- [url href="https://kitchenofdebjani.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/making-2.jpg"]
[/url] - Peel the skin and cut potatoes into halves or 4 pieces considering the size of the potato. You may refer to the picture.
- Chop the onions roughly. Thin slices would obviously do.
- In a deep bottom pan, heat the oil and start frying potatoes after sprinkling the Turmeric Powder and Red Chili Powder. The spices are used to give a lucrative color to the potatoes and the gravy as well.
- Once fried, strain the potatoes from oil and keep aside. It may take 3 minutes to fry potatoes properly on medium heat.
- Now temper remaining oil in the pan with Red Chili, Bay Leaf, Cinnamon Stick, Clove, Green Cardamom, and Black Cardamom.
- Add sugar and let it caramelize.
- Now add chopped onion and fry on low flame till onion turns translucent in color.
- Add Ginger and Garlic Paste along with 1 Tbsp. of water and cook on low flame until the raw aroma of the paste goes away completely.
- Add plain curd and mix vigorously to avoid granulation of curd (curdling actually).
- Now add the spice paste and cook over a low flame until oil releases from the side of the mixture in pan.
- At this point add salt and mix.
- Now add marinated pork along with the marination mix and give the entire thing a thorough mix.
- Start cooking on low flame and stir in between.
- Cook for around 10 minutes.
- The Pork will release moisture and hence no need to add water separately.
- Cook for around 15-20 minutes by covering the pan with a lid.
- Once the pork is half-cooked add fried potatoes.
- Cook until the meat reaches desired softness which will take around 1 hour in total.
- If required add little water and bring it to boil.
- Finish the Pork Jhol aka Bengali Pork Curry with Garam Masala and Ghee (okay, optional)!
- Serve it hot with your choice of carbohydrate. We prefer to have it with Gobindobhog Chaler Bhat.
[/url]Notes
Salt to be adjusted as per taste. Don't add it while marinating the meat.
Adjust Chili Powder as per taste. I use Kashmiri Red Chili, which gives an amazing color to the gravy and the hotness is moderate.
Both Ghee and Garam Masala are optional however required to add if you are craving for the "bong"-ness.
I prefer to use Mustard Oil to make the Pork Jhol which is again optional. You may substitute it with vegetable oil however, that will not give the typical aroma that comes from mustard Oil.
If the curd is not available to substitute it with Yogurt.
Last but not the least, I use almost no fat pork to make the Bengali Pork Curry. If you are using pork with fat (80/20 or 70/30) reduce the oil for sure. In that case, the pork will be cooked in its own fat.
Okay, one more! Cooking time will be different based on the meat you are using. Hence, you need to check while cooking. I don't use a Pressure cooker to make the Pork Jhol which can obviously be used. However, my preference is slow cooking.
- Prep Time: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 90 mins
- Category: Pork
- Cuisine: Bengali
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 150g
- Calories: 439
- Sugar: 8.2g
- Sodium: 566mg
- Fat: 18.8g
- Saturated Fat: 3.4g
- Carbohydrates: 35.3g
- Fiber: 4.9g
- Protein: 32g
- Cholesterol: 75mg
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Craving for a typical Bengali Jhol! Well, here are the options from Debjanir Rannaghar apart from Pork Jhol:
- Bori Begun Aloo diye Ilish Macher Tel Jhol (also known as ilish tel jhol)
- Aloo Fulkopi diye Macher Jhol (also known as macher jhol with veggies)
- Piajkoli ar Aloo diye Tangra Macher Jhol (also known as Bengali Light fish curry prepared with Tyangra Maach, Onion Stalks and Potato)
- Mangshor Jhol (also known as Bengali light Mutton curry)
- Charapona Macher Kabiraji Jhol (also known as Charapona Macher Jhol)
- Aloo Potol Diye Macher Jhol (also known as Macher patla jhol with Potato and pointed gourd)
- Tangra Macher Aloo Begun o Bori Diye Jhol (also known as tangra macher tel jhol)
- Mangsha Tarkari ( also known as Oriya Mutton Curry)
- Robibarer Murgir Jhol
- Kochi Pathar Jhol (also known as Aloo diye Mangshor Jhol or Bengali Mutton Curry)
Have you tried the Pork er Jhol aka Bengali Pork Curry Recipe from Debjanir Rannachar!
Do let me know how it came out. Also, I would love to see a picture of the same which you can share here on dolonchttrj@gmail.com. On Instagram you can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar or you, in addition, you can tag me at @foodofdebjani.You can follow me on Facebook, and Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram for updates and recipes from Debjanir Rannaghar. Furthermore, I would love to receive recipe requests and would try my best to come up with more recipes.
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