The reason most people don't cook pork ribs at home is they assume it requires a smoker, a day's worth of time, or at minimum an oven with a reliable temperature. None of that is true. The best method for an Indian kitchen is a pressure cooker followed by a screaming hot pan, and it produces ribs that are fall-off-the-bone tender with a charred, spiced crust.
The spice base here is Goan in spirit: vinegar, Kashmiri chilli for deep colour without excessive heat, whole spices for warmth. It is not a Western rib recipe made Indian. It is what pork ribs have always been in coastal India: marinated hard, cooked until they give up, then charred until they smell like something worth crossing a room for.
Baby back ribs are the right cut for this. They are smaller and more delicate than spare ribs, with enough fat to stay moist through pressure cooking without becoming greasy. One rack (about 600 g) feeds two people properly.
What You Will Need
From FNF:
- FNF Pork Baby Back Ribs (1 rack, about 600 g)
For the marinade:
- 6 dried Kashmiri red chillies, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- ½ tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 3 cloves
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- 3 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil
From your kitchen:
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 2 tbsp oil for searing
- Fresh coriander to finish
Method
- Make the marinade. Drain the soaked chillies and blend with garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander powder, turmeric, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, vinegar, salt, and oil into a smooth paste. Add a splash of water if needed to get it moving.
- Score the ribs. Flip the rack bone-side up and remove the thin membrane along the bones: grip it with a cloth and pull. Then make shallow cuts between the ribs without separating them fully. This lets the marinade in.
- Rub the marinade all over the ribs, between the cuts and on both sides. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
- Pressure cook. Place the sliced onion at the bottom of the pressure cooker. Lay the ribs on top, bone-side down. Add 3 tablespoons of water: enough to generate steam, not enough to make it watery. Seal and cook on medium heat for 4 to 5 whistles. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Remove the ribs carefully; they will be very tender. Keep the liquid left in the cooker.
- Reduce the cooking liquid. Pour it into a small pan and simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes until it thickens into a glaze.
- Char the ribs. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wide heavy pan on high heat until smoking. Lay the ribs meat-side down. Do not move them for 2 to 3 minutes; you want a dark, charred crust. Flip and do the same on the other side for 1 minute.
- Brush the glaze over the charred surface. Finish with fresh coriander. Serve immediately.
Tips
- The membrane must come off. Left on, it turns rubbery and stops the marinade getting in. It peels off in one piece once you get a grip on it.
- Four hours minimum on the marinade, overnight is better. The vinegar tenderises as well as flavours.
- Do not skip the char. The pressure cooker does the tenderness; the hot pan does the flavour. Ribs that are only pressure-cooked are soft but pale and flat-tasting.
More pork: shop ribs, belly, shoulder and chops.
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