Pandi Curry

Coorgi pork curry — the defining dish of Kodava cuisine and one of the most celebrated regional meat preparations in India. Pork pieces slow-cooked in a dark, intensely flavoured gravy built on whole coriander seeds, black pepper, dried red chilli, and an abundance of kachampuli (Coorgi Gamboge vinegar), which gives the curry its characteristic deep brown colour and sharp-sour edge. No tomato, no yogurt — just spice, pork fat, and kachampuli. Kodavas, though Hindu, have historically been pork-eating warriors, and pandi curry is made at every ceremony, harvest festival, and homecoming.