Fiery Chicken Vindaloo Recipe – Can You Eat It?

Madras not hot enough for you? Then why not try this fiery Chicken Vindaloo Recipe?

Chicken Vindaloo Recipe

This recipe happens to be my favourite “from scratch” Chicken Vindaloo Recipe that I stumbled upon in an old recipe book that was loaned to my wife by a friend some time ago. In fact I cannot remember whose (if anyone in particular) this recipe started life as, but over time, I’ve fiddled and changed a few ingredients and quantities and come up with what I think is the hottest and best Chicken Vindaloo Recipe.

Chicken Vindaloo Origins

The Vindaloo itself, originated in the Indian region of Goa and it is derived from a Portuguese dish known as “Vinha De Alhos” which translates as “wine and garlic”.  The Portuguese dish was effectively a wine and garlic based stew which was typically made with Pork and served around Christmas time.  However, after the dish was introduced to India, it changed rapidly to what we now know as the Vindaloo with the introduction of chillies and different Goan spices.  

A Chicken Vindaloo isn’t generally that popular in India, other than in Goa, but the dish has become very popular here in the UK, the Middle East, the US and Canada and also Australia and New Zealand, where it is pretty much universally included on Indian restaurant and take away menus.

It also seems to taste much nicer if eaten a day or two after preparation as this allows more time for the flavours to be absorbed by the meat and although some of the flavours and spices can be used in different quantities to vary the dish according to taste, one thing to remember is not to reduce or change the amount of vinegar as a Vindaloo get its excellent flavour only as a result of the vinegar in the recipe.

Typically the Goans use pork with a traditional Vindaloo, but it can be prepared with beef, chicken, seafood and also vegetables such as potatoes, peas and other root vegetables etc.  Here I’ve decided to use chicken.

Chicken Vindaloo Ingredients:

Vindaloo Paste

• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 or 2 tsp Garam Masala
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (you can add more cinnamon, but if can be over-powering, so be careful!)
• 2 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2cm cube of peeled ginger
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar

Vindaloo Base

• 150ml vegetable oil
• 4-8 garlic cloves, crushed or blended
• 3 red onions, sliced finely or preferably blended

Other Ingredients

• 4+ red chillies, chopped finely. This is what gives the heat, so you can use less if you like and also de-seed before chopping if you want to make a milder vindaloo (but why?)
• 4 skinless chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces
• 500g good quality chopped tomatoes or chopped tinned tomatoes
• 1-2 tbsp of tomato purée to taste
• 1-4 tsp Hot Chilli Powder to taste – This is optional and if you do want to make it hotter, I’d suggest adding a bit at a time
• Salt and pepper to taste

 

Chicken Vindaloo Recipe – The Method

 

 

1. Grate or slice the ginger finely and add the cumin, cinnamon, mustard, coriander turmeric, garam masala and cayenne pepper into a bowl and add the vinegar and sugar and mix thoroughly.
2. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan. Add the garlic and the onion and cook over a medium heat until they have softened for approx 5-7 mins, but take care not to let them burn or brown too much.
3. Once the onion and garlic have softened, add the chicken pieces and cook for approx 2-3 minutes until the chicken starts to colour.
4. Now add the chillies, tomatoes, tomato purée, and begin to stir in the pre-prepared Vindaloo paste.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste, and bring to the boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer whilst stirring occasionally for approx 1 hour. during this period, it’s important not to let the chicken vindaloo dry out, so add a 1/2 cup of water as necessary.  If you do want to make it hotter than the recipe, then during the simmering time is the right time to gradually add the chilli powder to taste.

If you wanted to be traditional, you would ideally serve this Chicken Vindaloo with pilau rice, chapattis, or Naan bread – I especially like some of the Garlic and Coriander Naan’s that are available from most supermarkets, although if you were a bit more adventurous, you could try to make your own.

If you’ve tried my Chicken Vindaloo Recipe, I’d be glad to hear your feedback or even your own changes or ideas to make my recipe better!

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Tagged as: chicken vindaloo, vindaloo recipes