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Leftover Ham Vindhalo

Leftover Ham Vindhalo is a traditional British recipe for a classic and interesting curry that makes a spicy and vinegary vindaloo with leftover baked/roast ham. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Leftover Ham Vindhalo.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

90 minutes

Total Time:

110 minutes

Additional Time:

(+2 hours marinating)

Serves:

4–6

Rating:

Tags : CurrySpice RecipesBritish Recipes

Vindhalo is a Goan curry typically made with pork or prawns (it also works with paneer cheese). Duck and pheasant versions are also fantastic. The cooking style was introduced by the Portuguese carne de vinha d’alhos or meat cooked in wine vinegar and garlic. A proper vinhhalo (or vindaloo) is a complex blend of spices, chilli heat, vinegar sourness and sugar sweetness, not the on-dimensional heat of the British curry house vindaloo. A proper Goan vindhalo uses palm sugar vinegar. Though this is virtually impossible to obtain outside Goa. You can get palm sugar vinegar from the Philippines; but it’s not as complex in flavour as the Goan version. Typically, I would use a blend of tamarind juice and good quality raw cider vinegar with jaggery for the sweetness. The complex flavours of a true vindhalo goes very well with left-over ham, leading to an unctuous dish that’s complex in flavour. I’ve kept the chillies whole in this version, so anybody who likes them can grab and mash into their curry. If you don’t like them remove from your portion and return to the pot.

Ingredients:

75ml (5 tbsp) raw cider vinegar
500g (1 lb) leftover ham or gammon cut into 3cm (1 in) chunks)
4 tbsp ghee, neutral or coconut oil
4 medium onions, finely sliced
60g (2 oz) tamarind pulp
10 garlic cloves, finely sliced
5cm (2 in) thick piece of ginger, cut into slim matchsticks
4 ripe tomatoes, diced
2-4 small green chillies (keep whole)
10 curry leaves (optional)
1 tbsp jaggery or soft brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black mustard seeds

For the masala
2 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder (these give a better colour, but you could use paprika)
Seeds from 8 cardamom pods
1 tsp black peppercorns
8 cloves
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp turmeric
5cm cinnamon stick

Method:

Begin with the spice paste. Grind together all the ingredients for the masala, then stir in the vinegar. Rub into the ham chunks then set aside in the refrigerator to marinate for 2 hours.

Heat the oil in a wide, lidded pan (a cast iron casserole is good) over a medium-low heat, and fry the onions until soft and golden. Meanwhile, soak the tamarind pulp in 120ml of hot water for 15 minutes, then gently rub any remaining pulp from the seeds and strain off the liquid, discarding the solids.

Add the garlic and ginger into the onions in the pan and cook, stirring frequently, for another five minutes, then add the tomatoes, chillies and curry leaves, if using, and cook until the tomatoes start to break down.

Add the ham and its marinade to the pan, then turn the heat up to medium high. Stir well, add the jaggery, salt and mustard seeds, followed by the tamarind liquid. Bring to a simmer, cover tightly, turn the heat right down and cook gently for an hour.

Partially remove the lid and cook for another 30 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.

Serve immediately, with rice.