Vindaloo, it's what's for dinner!

Here is the recipe I am making for dinner:

Vindaloo (for beef or pork)
1½ lb. pork or beef cubes
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, minced
2-5 TB vindaloo seasoning
2-5 TB water
5 TB ghee (clarified butter)
6 TB vinegar
1 cup water
1 tsp. salt

Mix preferred amount of vindaloo seasoning with equal amount of water to form a paste. Heat the butter in frying pan and brown the potatoes. Remove potatoes when browned and set aside. Then brown the pork or beef and remove to soup pot. Brown the onion, then add the vindaloo paste and stir. Add 1 cup water, vinegar and salt. Pour the liquid over the meat and cook 30 min. on stovetop over low heat. Add potato, turn heat to medium and cook 20-30 min. until potatoes are done.

- Penzeys Spices

Any suggestions on what to serve with it. I was thinking rice, but there are already potatoes in the dish. I have carrots, and a fresh head of savoy cabbage.

Since it already has potatoes, I would think just a green salad and a side of some green or yellow vegetable would do it.

(We don't put potatoes in ours, but add tomatoes.)

Thanks Cynthia, I've never made this before, only had it in restaurants. I think I'll do the cabbage and start by rendering some pancetta, taking that out when it's browned, adding garlic and then the shredded cabbage, and maybe a splash of chicken stock. I'll sprinkle the pancetta over the finished dish. What about a sprinkle of parm? Just winging it here.

Linda,

That sounds really good! I am not familar with Vindaloo. Is an Indian curry spice mix? How do you make it (or get it?)

The cabbage side dish sounds great too!

Maria, the seasoning mix I am using I got from Penzeys Spices and the recipe came printed on the label. But, yes, it is Indian, and sometimes it is very spicy. I opted for 3 TB of the spice for the first go round. I'm wondering now if that was enough.

I am in the process of cooking right now. As soon as I get the vindaloo going, I'll start prepping the stuff for the cabbage. Good thing my computer is only paces from the kitchen. This is a work in progress. I'll post on the results after dinner.

Update: The vindaloo was good, but not as saucy as what I've had in restaurants. That could have been in part because the vindaloo was ready before hubby got home, and before the cabbage was finished. I even added a bit more water than was called for in the recipe.

About the cabbage, it still didn't get done to the degree of tenderness that I like. I am not one who is fond of crisp tender (read under done) vegetables.

All in all, it was fine, and I will be trying this again. I see where some changes need to be made.

Linda,

In general, Indian restaurant dishes tend to be soupier than the home versions.

The port of Goa in southern India was ruled by Portugal from the 1500s until 1961. Because of the Portuguese influence, there are many dishes from the region unique in Indian cuisine, including a lot of meat dishes--even pork and beef. "Vindaloo" means "with vinegar" and illustrates the Poruguese influence (elsewhere in India a sour flavor usually is imparted by tamarind or citrus fruit). As with a lot of southern Indian dishes, vindaloo is intended to be very hot.

The recipe you cite is very typical. I've seen vindaloo with a variety of meats, and with and without potatoes or tomatoes. A very common ingredient is curry leaves (about 20 of them) minced fine (as in a food processor) along with the tomato (which your version doesn't have; it would go in with the vinegar, instead).

Here is the vindaloo spice mixture from Neelam Batra's book "1000 Indian Recipes". I made Chicken Vindaloo using this mixture just this past week and it came out yummy.


Goan Vindaloo Powder (Vindaloo ka Masala) yield: about 1 1/2 cup

6 dried hot red chile peppers, broken
3/4 cup coriander seeds
1/4 cup cumin seeds
2 TBS black cumin (shah jeera) seeds
2 TBS black peppercorns
1 TBS fenugreek seeds
2 tsp mustard seeds (black or yellow)
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp black cardamom seeds
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon

NOTE: except for the turmeric, whole spices are preferable to ground. You will have to shell the whole black cardamom to get at the seeds inside; discard the outer husks. Use a piece of stick cinnamon that will produce 1 tsp powder when ground.

1) In a medium skillet (preferably heavy such as cast iron), roast the chile peppers, coriander, cumin, black cumin, peppercorns, fenugreek seeds, and mustard seeds over medium heat, until the aroma of the spices comes up and they get a few shades darker. This takes about 2 minutes. Shake well and don't let the spices burn.

2) Let the spices cool. Grind them (in batches, if necessary) along with all the other ingredients in a spice or coffee grinder to form a fine powder.


This yields a very aromatic dry spice mixture (masala) that will impart a lot of heat and a bit of yellow color (due to the turmeric) to the finished dish. I've never tried it, but this also might make an interesting dry rub for barbecue, and could be added as a pinch here or there to lots of other dishes.

The recipes I've seen add several more dried red chiles, and also some fresh ginger and garlic (a couple of TBS of each, minced), the curry leaves, and chopped cilantro as a garnish, on top of the vindaloo masala.

-Paul W.

The vindaloo recipe I use has tomatoes but no potatoes, so I serve it with chapatis (Indian flat bread). A raita (soothing seasoned mixture of yoghurt and shredded veggies [especially cucumber]) is always welcome to help quench the fire, and a green salad.

-Paul W.

Thanks for posting this spice mix, Paul. We're usually in a time crunch for the initial prep, so use a good hot vindaloo paste from the Indian-owned gas station on Old Las Vegas Highway, but I am going to try this in the next week or so.

Paul, thanks for posting. Your seasoning blend is similar to mine (Penzeys). Here is what they use: coriander, garlic, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, brown mustard, red pepper, jalapeno, cardamom, tumeric, black pepper and cloves.

I hadn't thought of jalapeno as part of Indian cooking, rather the long, thin, really hot chiles. From the package mine smells somewhat sweet, maybe from the cinnamon, ginger and cloves.

I also have their Garam Masala (Punjabi style) seasoning, which smells similar but sweeter. That is made from coriander, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, charnushka (kalonji), caraway, cloves, ginger and nutmeg.

I don't do much Indian cooking, I just dabble from time to time. I have made Madhur Jaffrey's spicy shrimp. The key ingredients there are cayenne, garlic and ginger.

Just out of curiosity, how much of your seasoning mix do you use per pound of meat? Do you mix it with water first or add it with the rest of the liquid?

Vindaloo is popular with the drinking classes over here, so much so that it was promoted as an alternative football 'anthem'.

see here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdOlLQQ01nE

and here for a Scottish riposte (which I found funny)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ3dN8tgcxU

Over here the dish itself tends to accentuate the heat with little flavour profile to match, but that seems to be just what it's fans want.

regards

Ian

Well, that's a British thing. When eating there, I've found the Indian restaurants to serve rather bland food. Hot sometimes, but without a lot of distinct flavor. There are a few exceptions, but damn few and hard to find.

Vindaloo, seemingly a British Indian dish, was invented by Portuguese sailors to Goa who marinated their meat in wine barrels and added Indian spices, chillies newly brought over from South America, and Garlic.

Vinho D'Alho - a garlicky wine marinade sauce. My maternal ancestors, the Braganzas were from Mapuça, Goa.

Linguists (like Otto) will spot the False Friend here. Aloo is Hindi for potatoes. So Indian restaurants assumed that Vindaloo should contain potatoes.

Vindaloo, seemingly a British Indian dish, was invented by Portuguese sailors to Goa who marinated their meat in wine barrels and added Indian spices, chillies newly brought over from South America, and Garlic.

Vinho D'Alho - a garlicky wine marinade sauce. My maternal ancestors, the Braganzas were from Mapuça, Goa.

Linguists (like Otto) will spot the False Friend here. Aloo is Hindi for potatoes. So Indian restaurants assumed that Vindaloo should contain potatoes.

Yep, the recipe I have (which the cookbook author got from a resident of Goa) doesn't call for potatoes.

-Paul W.