Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Voksa
Voksa (Pork Ribs)

Voksa

Pork Ribs
Non-vegetarian●●●Origin Tribal North East IndiaPrep 1 hour, plus cooling timeCook 30 minutes

A smoky Northeast Indian pork stew simmered with leafy greens, resulting in rich, tender meat balanced by bitter mustard greens and sharp black pepper.

Ingredients

01
Pork rib
1000 g
meat
02
Mustard leaves · Sarsontorn
300 g
vegetable
03
Salt · Namak
to taste
salt

Method

  1. Smoke 1000 g pork ribs over a smoky fire for roughly 1 hour.
  2. Let the meat cool, then chop it into 5 cm (2 inch) chunks.
  3. Put the ribs into a large, heavy-bottomed pot, pour in 625 ml water, and boil vigorously for 20 minutes until partly cooked through.
  4. Add 300 g torn mustard leaves and keep boiling for another 10 minutes until the pork and greens are completely tender.
  5. Season with salt to taste, dust with 1 tsp ground black pepper, and serve piping hot.

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Pork rib
  • Pork with fat and bones

    Use the same weight, cut into rib-sized pieces; it gives similar fat and bone richness. Adjust simmering to the cut.

  • Pork

    Use the same weight; it is boneless, so reduce simmering by 10–15 minutes and expect less bone flavour.

  • Lamb ribs

    Use the same weight and cook 20–30 minutes longer; the flavour is stronger and the meat firmer.

Mustard leaves
  • Mustard greens

    Same leafy vegetable; use the same weight, wash well and shred. Cook until wilted, 5-8 minutes.

  • Spinach

    Use the same weight; much milder, so add a pinch of mustard powder or a few mustard seeds for bite. Cook 2-3 minutes less.

  • Collard greens

    Use the same weight, shred finely; cook 5-8 minutes longer until tender. Bitterness is closer than spinach.

Black pepper
  • Black peppercorn

    Use the same weight and crush or grind as the recipe needs; whole peppercorn is the same spice.

  • Ground black pepper

    Use the same weight; add nearer the end if the recipe calls for whole pepper, as ground loses aroma faster.

  • Ground white pepper

    Use about 75–80% of the weight; it is milder and earthier, with less bite.

Similar dishes

Oma Bedoi Saonai
Barbecued Pork
Oma Bedoi Saonai tastes purely rich and charred, lacking the bitter greens and pungent peppery heat of this dish.
  • Same: Oma Bedoi Saonai also centers on pork seasoned simply with salt.
  • Different: Instead of being simmered into a stew with mustard greens and black pepper, Oma Bedoi Saonai is skewered and dry-roasted over coals.
Wookhan
Pork Stew
Wookhan is lighter and fragrant with fresh ginger and chilli heat, lacking the smoky bitterness and sharp pepperiness of this dish.
  • Same: Both are gently simmered Northeast Indian pork stews cooked with salt.
  • Different: Wookhan is simmered with onions, green chillies, and ginger paste, but it omits the mustard greens and black pepper used in this dish.
Ili
Pork Stew with Ginger
Ili is fragrant with ginger and mildly spicy from chilli powder with a thickened broth, whereas this dish has a smoky, bitter, and peppery taste.
  • Same: Both are Northeast Indian simmered pork stews seasoned simply with salt.
  • Different: Ili cooks the pork with rice, fresh ginger, and red chilli powder rather than the mustard greens and black pepper used in this dish.
Wak Serjak
Pork Curry
Wak Serjak tastes light, savoury, and tangy from tomato and chilli, not bitter from mustard greens or sharply peppery like this dish.
  • Same: Wak Serjak is a pork stew like this dish, with pork simmered in a salted broth until tender.
  • Different: Wak Serjak uses vegetable oil, ginger paste, green chilli, onion, and tomato, while this dish uses mustard leaves and black pepper and has no added oil or tomato.