Some dishes can be made lean. Pork Indad isn't one of them. It is usually found on the Christmas dinner table of every self-respecting Manglorean Catholic home in India, but it sees many encores throughout the year on my table.

It's sweet, tangy, spicy, silky and oh-so-deliciously red. The fat that renders from the meat adds wonderful flavor to the final dish and specks the top with deeper hues of scarlet.

It's loved so dearly in most Manglorean homes that it's one of the first dishes daughters are taught to make, in order to impress potential grooms.

I fall in love with Pork Indad each time its distinct aroma fills the air, as the spice paste creates magic in the hot oil. It's one of those dishes that keeps well for at least a week and actually gets better over time because of that unbeatable combination of chillies and vinegar. But having any leftovers that long has always been far too ambitious a plan for me.