Recipe: Chicken vindaloo

The pride of the Indian city of Goa, this spicy potato and chicken curry will leave you wanting more!



Method

•  Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions until they become golden-brown.

•  Grind the ingredients of the masala paste together.

•  Once mixed, add the masala paste to the pan and cook for about five minutes.

•  Add the chicken, vinegar, cinnamon stick, green chillies and salt and cook for 10 minutes.

•  Pour in one cup of hot water and bring the mixture to a boil. Simmer until the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

•  About 15 minutes before the chicken is done, add potatoes to the pan and mix them in.

•  Once the chicken is cooked, add sugar as you desire.

•  For best results, serve the curry warm with plain white rice.

Note: You can also substitute the chicken with mutton or fish, according to your preference.

Masala rice 



Love spicy food? If you want to enrich your experience of eating Vindaloo combine it with this tantalising recipe for basmati rice seasoned with garam masala. Don’t forget to keep a glass of water at hand!

Ingredients

•  Basmati rice 2 cups

•  Butter 4 tbsp

•  Medium-sized onion (chopped) 1

•  Garlic clove (minced) 1

•  Garam masala 1 tsp

•  Vegetable broth 4 cups

•  Salt 1 tsp

•  Freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Method

•  Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

•  In a stove-to-oven pot, melt the butter over medium heat.

•  Add the onions, garlic and garam masala to the pot and cook for about five minutes, stirring until the onions are soft.

•  Add rice and stir well until it is coated.

•  Pour in the vegetable stock, salt and pepper according to taste and bring the mixture to a boil.

•  Cover the pot and bake the rice until it becomes tender and the vegetable stock is absorbed. This usually takes about 20 to 25 minutes.

Retrieve the pot from the oven and allow it to cool for about five minutes before serving.

The Origins of Vindaloo



The word ‘Vindaloo’ is derived from the Portuguese word ‘Vinha De Alhos’ which combines the two chief ingredients of the curry:
(Vinha) vinegar and (Alhos) garlic. Vindaloo was originally a vinegar and garlic-based water stew concocted by the Portuguese who cooked it with beef or pork. However, after the Portuguese came to India and settled in Goa, the curry was revamped completely with the addition of spices, chillies and other surrounding cultural influences. Over the centuries, Vindaloo has become one of the spiciest and most popular curry dishes in the subcontinent, following korma and chicken tikka masala closely. Although the curry requires a substantial amount of oil in its preparation, Vindaloo tastes best a day or two after it has been cooked as the oil, vinegar and other flavours have absorbed into the curry completely by then. After all, Vindaloo gets its special taste mainly because of the vinegar in it.

Published in The Express Tribune, Ms T, November 16^th, 2014.