Chinese influence in India is ancient—the two nations have been trading since the BCs. The older Chinese restaurants in the major cities serve an Indianized version of Chinese food, and Indians at home think nothing of adding a bit of soy sauce to this and that. Here is one such modern dish. Ideally, the pork should be marinated overnight. Plain Jasmine Rice and any vegetable dish would be perfect.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4

　　

For the Marinade

1/4 teaspoon salt

　　1/2 tablespoon whole coriander seeds

　　2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds

　　One 2-inch cinnamon stick

　　1 teaspoon whole fennel seeds

　　1 teaspoon whole peppercorns

　　1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

　　

You Also Need

2 pounds thin (1/3-inch-thick) center-cut pork chops (4 chops)

　　3 tablespoons olive or canola oil

　　1/2 medium onion, chopped

　　1 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger

　　3 tablespoons soy sauce

　　1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

　　

Step 1

Put all the ingredients for the marinade in a clean coffee grinder or other spice grinder and grind as finely as possible. Sprinkle spices evenly on both sides of the pork chops and pat them in. Cover the chops and refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight. (Twenty-four hours would be fine too.)

　　

Step 2

Pour the oil into a large frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the pork chops, and brown on both sides. Remove to a bowl. Put in the onions, lowering heat a bit, and brown them. Add the ginger and stir once. Now put in the pork chops in a single layer and add the soy sauce, sugar, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer gently for 50 minutes or until chops are tender, turning the chops every 10 minutes. Reduce sauce until it is syrupy and clings to the chops.

　　Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Buy the full book from Amazon.