Chicken Vindaloo

Chicken Vindaloo was the first thing that came to mind when I thought of Goa although I didn’t taste Vindaloo when I went to Goa a couple of years ago. I did taste a Goan fish curry which was quite remarkable too. This month being the statewise blogging marathon month, I and my fellow blogging marathoners will be posting a dish from each of the Indian states – one state a day. Today it’s Goa.

Vindaloo was originally a Portuguese curry made out of pork marinated in wine. We ingenious Indians substituted chicken for pork and vinegar for the wine and included potatoes for good measure. So the Vindaloo of today is very much an Indian curry – hot, spicy and lip-smacking. I am always game for new ways to cook chicken and Chicken Vindaloo sounded just about perfect. I used the recipe from steamykitchen. I found that the curry tastes even better with rice than rotis. You’ll have to start a day early though. The chicken needs to marinate overnight for the Vindaloo. The Vindaloo was quite sour from all that vinegar and I thought it could do with a bit more heat. But a vindaloo is not a vindaloo without the vinegar. So don’t skip the vinegar if you’re making vindaloo. If you do, don’t call it a vindaloo. 

Goa is a nice place, I loved their markets. They sell really cute shorts, pretty hats and beautiful coloured glass lamp hangers. I wasn't as enthusiastic of the beaches as the beaches were crowded and hot (don't know if it was the wrong time of year) and I’ve experienced enough of hot, crowded beaches right here in Chennai. I really wish I’d tasted more of their local cuisine which is actually my number one agenda when visiting any place. Number 2 is of course shopping. The next time I am in Goa, I am going to have to taste their Vindaloo and Bebinca, no excuses.

Prep time: 15 mins
Marinating time: Overnight
Cooking time: 30 mins
Serves: 5

Ingredients

Chicken – 750 gm
Potatoes – 2 medium cubed
Onions – 2 large chopped fine
Oil – 2 tbsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Water – ½ cup
Salt to taste

Marinade

Vinegar – ¼ cup
Whole Red chillies – 15 soaked in the ¼ cup vinegar
Garlic cloves – 10
Ginger – 3 inch piece chopped roughly

Dry spice Mix

Cinnamon – 2 inch piece
Cloves – 5
Cardamom – 3
Cumin – ¾ tsp
Methi/Fenugreek seeds – ¼ tsp
Whole Black peppercorns – 1 tsp

Method

1.      Wash and clean chicken well. Set aside.

2.      Soak the whole red chillies in vinegar for 15 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic to the chiili vinegar mixture and grind to a paste. Pour marinade over chicken and mix to coat well. Refrigerate the marinated chicken overnight.

3.      Dry roast the ingredients under dry spice mix on low heat just until a nice aroma emanates. Then grind to a fine powder. Set aside.

4.      In a kadai, heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add the cumin seeds. Drop in the chopped onions and fry till they turn brown.

5.      Add the marinated chicken along with all the juices. Add the dry spice mix and salt. Mix well. Fry for 5 minutes or till the chicken turns white. Pour half a cup of water and let it come to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or till the chicken is cooked through. Uncover and cook till the gravy attains your desired consistency. Switch off, serve hot with steamed rice or rotis.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 39

Goa

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