Clem's Chicken Vindaloo


Vindaloo is a dish which emerged from Portuguese Goa in South India. It is redolent in spices but notably dosed with vinegar to give its distinctive duality of fiery spiciness and sourness on the tongue. It is reputably second only to the Birmingham-Bengali birthed Phall in spiciness. The spices include mustard, coriander, cumin seeds; cloves, peppercorn, dried red chilli, tumeric, cinnamon, Bay leaf, red onion and ginger. Vinegar (wine or cider) is added to taste. The meat is traditionally pork but fish, beef, lamb/mutton or chicken can be cooked in this sauce.


Materials and Method

Dry roast

  • 6 Kashmiri red chillis (or equivalent in flakes or powder).
    This is variable. Better to start with less. More can always be added later after tasting at the frying stage.
  • ½ teaspoon peppercorns.
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds.
  • 2 quills of cinnamon.
  • 5 cloves.
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds.
  • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds.

Dry grind or blend with ½ teaspoon of turmeric into fine bits.

Marination

Prepare 3 – 4 chicken Maryland pieces (thigh and drumstick) into bite sizes.
Other meats may be used. Pork is traditional in vindaloo.

  • Add 3 -4 tablespoons of vinegar (wine or cider) to the chicken.
  • Add ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste).
  • Add the dry roasted, ground spices.

Wet blend

  • 6 cloves garlic.
  • 1 inch ginger – sliced.
  • Tamarind extract.

Add water as necessary to create a paste.
Add created paste to the chicken and mix well.
Leave to marinate for a few hours in the fridge (or overnight if possible).

Frying
  • Fine slice 2 large onions (red if possible).
  • In some oil, begin the frying with 2 large Bay leaves.
  • Add the sliced onions and fry them until translucent.
  • Add the marinated chicken and continue frying.

    Fry until the desired degree of color is achieved. The longer the fry, the darker will the color be.
    Water may be added to achieve the desired degree of gravy in the dish.
     
  • At some stage, add some sugar to taste, and more vinegar as desired. More chilli may also be added to bring the dish to the desired level of spiciness.
    A nice balance of spiciness, sourness and a bit of sweetness to offset will be perfect.

    Optional:
    • At the final cooking stage, chicken (or meat) stock and/or garam masala maybe added for more flavor.
    • Some recipes include an amount of tomato paste at the frying stage which no doubt adds to the flavor profile (additional sourness as well) and more red color.

Happy cooking

 


 

 

27 March 2021
 


 

 

 

 



Created by Clem Kuek