Chicken Vindaloo
(from Presi’s recipe box)
“Vindaloo” is a Goan speciality dish and can be prepared using any type of meat,prawns or even vegetables like mushrooms,cauliflower etc.It is a hot and sour dish with a thick gravy and goes well with rice/roti.Of all the vindaloo dishes i’ve tasted,I must say ‘Pork Vindaloo’ is the best.
Ingredients
- Young chicken cut into small pieces – 1kg
- Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
- Red Onion sliced thin – 2 cups
- Tomato (pulp removed and chopped finely) – 1/2 cup
- Tomato ketchup – 2 dsp
- Vinegar – 2 tbsp + 2 tbsp
- Garlic cloves sliced thin- 16 -18 small ones
- Ginger sliced thin – 1 dsp
- Sugar – a pinch
- Oil – 1/4 cup
- Salt – as needed
- For Grinding :-
- Paprika /Kashmiri Chilli powder- 2 dsps
- Ginger cut into juliennes – 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds(Jeerakam) – 1 tsp
- Fenugreek seeds (Uluva) – 1/2 tsp
- Garlic cloves small – 10
- Soak the above ingredients in 1-2 tsps of water and grind to a smooth paste.Keep it aside.
Directions
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Heat oil in a deep pan and pop the mustard seeds.
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Add onion into it saute until transparent.
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Add turmeric powder and fry for a while and then add chopped tomatoes followed by tomato ketchup.
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Fry it well in medium heat until oil starts to separate.
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Now add the ground paste into it and fry it again for few minutes until they are well blended and oil separates.Throw in the chicken pieces ,mix well and add the 2tbsps of vinegar and salt into it.
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Do not add water into the chicken, instead cover it with a lid with some water in it and cook it gently in a medium heat stirring in between.
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As the water in the lid evaporates,it creates a moisture under the lid ,and it will drip into the pan thus preventing chicken from sticking to the bottom.
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It is a healthy way of cooking which also enhances the flavor of the dish.Don’t forget to fill the lid with water as the water evaporates.
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When the chicken is done,add garlic and ginger slices into it and mix gently.Now you can discard the water and remove the lid .Continue cooking in medium heat until gravy starts to thick.Add the rest of the vinegar(eventhough it was there in the original recipe,I omitted this part as i doubt whether my family appreciates that extra sourness from the vinegar) and sugar,mix well and turn off the heat.Allow it to stand for 10-15 mts covered, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.