Indian cooking
Ili (Pork Stew with Ginger)

Ili

Pork Stew with Ginger
Non-vegetarian●●●Origin Tribal North East IndiaPrep 15 minutesCook 35 minutes

A hearty Northeast Indian pork stew cooked with rice and fresh ginger, yielding a thick, comforting broth with a fragrant, mildly spicy kick.

Chilli masala

2.7 gAdded to the simmering pot (step 3)
Leave as a dry ground spice.

Everything else

01
Pork · Suar ka Goshtcut into 5-cm / 2-inch pieces
1000 g
meat
02
Broken rice · Tuta chawalrinsed and drained
200 g
grain
03
Ginger · Adrakpeeled and chopped
38 g1 piece
aromatic
04
to taste
salt

Method

  1. Heat 1 litre (1¾ pints / 4¼ cups) of water in a large, heavy-bottomed pot until boiling.
  2. Add 1000 g pork and 200 g rice. Keep stirring as the pot returns to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer for 2 minutes.
  3. Stir in 38.4 g ginger, the chilli masala, and salt to taste.
  4. Place a lid on the pot and simmer for 30 minutes, until the meat becomes tender and the cooking broth thickens.

Don't have something?

Pork
  • Lamb shoulder

    Use equal weight, diced similarly. Cook using the same slow braising method; lends a richer, slightly gamier flavour and retains moisture well.

  • Chicken

    Use equal weight of bone-in thighs. Cut into pieces and reduce simmering time by about half (cook for 25-30 minutes) to keep the meat succulent.

Broken rice
  • Coarsely broken rice

    Use the same weight; rinse well and cook as directed. It is the closest match.

  • Rice

    Use the same weight; pulse briefly in a blender to break into coarse pieces, then rinse. It may need 2–3 minutes longer.

  • Basmati rice

    Use the same weight; break it coarsely by hand or briefly in a blender. It gives a different aroma and needs a little longer cooking.

Ginger
  • Fresh ginger

    Use equal weight; scrape off the skin and grate or finely julienne according to the recipe.

  • Ginger paste

    Use equal weight; stir straight into the sizzling aromatics, taking care as the extra moisture may spit.

  • Ground ginger

    Use 15 to 20% of the weight; add alongside ground spices, noting it imparts warm, dry heat rather than zesty freshness.

Red chilli powder
  • Chilli powder

    Use equal weight. Stir in directly with the dry spices; delivers comparable heat and red colour.

  • Kashmiri chilli powder

    Use 130% to 150% of the weight. Provides brilliant ruby colour with roughly half the fiery heat.

  • Yellow chilli powder

    Use 75% of the weight. Gives a sharp, clean pungency without tinting the sauce red.

Similar dishes

Oma Bedoi Saonai
Barbecued Pork
It tastes purely of charred, smoky pork without the warm ginger bite and mild chilli heat of this dish.
  • Same: Oma Bedoi Saonai also uses pork seasoned simply with salt.
  • Different: Instead of being stewed, Oma Bedoi Saonai is skewered and grilled over hot coals without the ginger or red chilli powder.
Wookhan
Pork Stew
Wookhan has a lighter, sweeter onion-rich broth with fresh chilli heat, whereas this dish is thicker and much more pungent with ginger.
  • Same: Like this dish, Wookhan is an oil-free pork stew seasoned simply with ginger, chillies, and salt.
  • Different: Wookhan incorporates a large amount of onions and fresh green chillies instead of red chilli powder, while using far less ginger and omitting the rice.
Wak Serjak
Pork Curry
Wak Serjak has a lighter, savoury tomato-based broth with onion and green-chilli aromatics, while this dish is thicker and rice-thickened with a fresh-ginger, mildly spicy kick.
  • Same: Wak Serjak shares pork, ginger, chilli and salt with this dish, and both are stewed pork dishes.
  • Different: Wak Serjak adds vegetable oil, onion, tomato and green chilli and uses ginger paste, while this dish uses broken rice, fresh ginger and red chilli powder and has no onion or tomato.
Oma Eoni
Fried Pork
Oma Eoni tastes savoury and aromatic from garlic and onion, with less chilli heat and no thick rice-thickened broth compared with this dish.
  • Same: Oma Eoni shares pork, ginger, and salt with this dish, and neither lists a souring agent.
  • Different: Oma Eoni uses vegetable oil, garlic paste, and onion paste and lacks this dish's broken rice and red chilli powder, and it is fried and simmered in its juices rather than stewed with rice.