Breaking the Rules

The first thing to remark upon is that vindaloo is usually, but not always, made with pork. Perhaps because of Goa’s mercantile history, perhaps due to an insensitive attitude, the Portuguese had little respect for local habits, ignoring both Hindu and Muslim proscriptions against the pig. However, vindaloo’s singularity does not stop there. There are lashings of vinegar and buckets of garlic, black pepper and tomato. The more one looks at it, despite the spicing that one expects – cumin, coriander, cardamom and turmeric – it begins to look like a cover for what is essentially a European dish, until one realises that it isn’t very European either. Unlike British ‘curries’, bastardised and adapted from Indian originals, it is a true hybrid.