09.11.08: Pork vindaloo with fennel and pomegranate salad

She craved some home-cooked Indian-inspired nosh, and so whipped up this family fave consisting of: pork loin, vindaloo sauce, fragrant brown rice and a spinach, fennel and pomegranate salad in record time.

HE SAYS: Nice to have a home-cooked meal after 3 weeks of restaurant food (I could never be a restaurant critic however much it looks like the best job in the world) and one we haven't had in a while to boot. I think one jar of the vinderloo sauce was plenty in this version. The flavas were intense, especially the rice with the added cinnamon, and I was grateful for the mild fresh salad which offset them. The pork was a little overcooked, but all in all, a very nish winter warmer of a meal.

SHE SAYS: I wasn't sure how much cooking mojo I could muster - still jet-lagged after long intervals of slumber and waking - but once I thought of Indian food, I had to have it. This is probably the easiest of Indian dishes we make, and it's the only one that uses a bottled sauce to good effect. It was deeply satisfying, esp paired with the tart, bracingly crunchy salad. I think I probably feel asleep again as soon as I put down my fork...

27.07.08: Vindaloo, take two; and ung choi

Sunday staying simple: She freshened up the salad with another pear, heated up the leftover vindaloo, and steamed some ung choi greens with slices of ginger.

HE SAYS: I think this dish was a little nicer this time round, having a day to intensify did it good. The refreshed salad with extra pear excitement once again hit the right spot, under my boots and around ma toe. The greens were not the exciting event I'd hoped for: fresh, plain and healthy yes. Tasty, no...nil point.

SHE SAYS: Agree with Him, the vindaloo developed nicely in the fridge, only wish we'd had more sauce left. Star anise really came through in the rice, which was oh-so-nice. That ung choi, though, is nowhere near as delicately bitter and mmm-worthy as choi sum - won't be picking the 'pitcher vegetable' up on a whim from the Asian store again.

26.07.08: Indian pork vindaloo and crunchy salad

She dug out the pork vindaloo recipe, adding chunks of aubergine and an extra bottle of sauce to the pan of pork loin, plus more cinnamon and some star anise to the rice, to see us thru a lackadaisacal Saturday nite movie. Wielding the KTOTY*, she stripped a carrot for extra crunch in a salad of pear, leaves, beetroot, and toasted pumpkin seeds, all doused with an improvised dressing of juice d'orange, olive oil, fresh coriander, ginger, one mashed garlic clove, white wine vinegar, and salt-n-pepa.

HE SAYS: Pork and Indian are not two words that normally get along but this recipe brings them harmoniously together on one plate. The extra jar o' sauce helped make it a joy to mix in with the fragrant rice and with the new chutney atop of the curry mountain it was another Saturday nite taste sensation. The salad was also a hit with lots of sweet, tart, crunchy things going on, I was almost in Nirvana but stopped short to watch the movie.

SHE SAYS: Dressing was a dee-lite; would add more ginger but this time I only had a tiny stump in the fridge. Don't think I can get enough of shredded carrot this summer - juicy, sweet, and not too much work for the molars. Vindaloo def. benefits from extra sauce, but man, you need to cook it nearly three times as long as the recipe states.

*KTOTY = kitchen tool of the year

16.03.08: Pork vindaloo w/ fragrant rice

A quick flick thru the latest Waitrose Seasons freebie mag produced this easy-peasy gem: baked fillet of pork with store bought curry sauce and brown basmati rice with cinnamon, onion, curry leaves and black onion seeds. She rounded this off with a simple salad of mixed leaves and balsamic beetroot to boot.

SHE SAYS: This has to be the most blasphemous curry ever: pork? in an Indian curry? But it was so delicious, I can't bring myself to care. The bottled sauce was surprisingly complex, and hot hot hot - again, not complaining. The spiced rice alone would be a pleasure in any meal. A fine segue into Sunday evening, and not too demanding.

HE SAYS: Well it can't be too authentic! Indian and pork are two words you don't often see in the same sentence let alone bowl but still this one worked a treat for me. The sauce is a good cheat in a hurry: not too sweet like many ready-made sauces and just the right heat. The rice was indeed fragrant and tasty, making a nice coupling with the sauce. The pork fillet was cooked perfectly and is a much leaner alternative to other more common cuts. I didn't enjoy the balsamic beetroot in the salad as much as the sweetfire variety, but small complaint to an otherwise great meal.