Chicken Vindaloo

A good Chicken Vindaloo is about more than lots of chilli powder. It’s a subtle blend of spices leading to complex flavours, mouth-feel and after-taste. Vindaloo should be edible, but leave you knowing you’ve had something a bit spicy… Trust me, this IS the BEST Chicken Vindaloo recipe in the world… EVER!!!

Ingredients

Serves 4 masochists

4 chicken breasts, cubed
2 onions, chopped
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
3 tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
1 toilet roll in the freezer for the morning after

Vindaloo Paste
2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
4 bay leaves
2 tsp salt
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp hot chilli powder
1 tsp of the seeds from green cardamoms
4 green chillis, chopped
2 tbsp garlic & ginger paste
½ tsp cinnamon powder
½ tsp clove powder
½ tsp turmeric
White vinegar

Method

1	Grind the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, peppercorns and bay leaves to a fine powder. Combine with the remaining vindaloo paste ingredients and grind. Add sufficient white vinegar to make a thick paste… of FIRE!!!!
2	Mix the Paste of Fire with the chicken and leave to marinate overnight.
3	Heat the ghee in a pan and fry the onions for 5-10 miinutes until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and put to one side.
4	Add the chicken and its marinade into the pan and stir-fry for 5 minutes to seal the meat. Beware of radiation burns.
5	Add in the tomatoes, the cooked onions and 150 ml water. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the lid for the last 10 minutes of cooking.
6	Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in boiling water for 10-15 minutes until tender. Drain.
7	Add the potatoes to the cooked vindaloo and serve. Aaaaarrrrrrrgggghhhhhh!

Titli’s Tips

Unfortunately many restaurants will create a “vindaloo” by taking a basic masala gravy and adding in lots of chilli powder. A lot of the spiciness in this dish comes from the cloves as well as the chillis. As long as you plan ahead, this dish is very easy to make.