Chicken Vindaloo

Submitted by Lorrie in Montreal

"A divine East Indian recipe for chicken,easy and delicious! A Jeff Smith--Frugal Gourmet Recipe."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 20
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 453.59-1587.57 g chicken, quartered and skinned
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• ghee or butter
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 473.18 ml yellow onions, finely chopped
• 29.58 ml ginger powder
• 9.85 ml cumin powder
• 9.85 ml yellow mustard seeds, ground
• 4.92 ml ground cinnamon
• 2.46 ml ground cloves
• 14.79 ml turmeric
• 7.39 ml cayenne pepper
• 14.79 ml paprika
• 9.85 ml lemon juice
• 29.58 ml distilled white vinegar
• 4.92 ml brown sugar
• 9.85 ml salt
• 473.18 ml water

• tamarind paste

• 29.58 ml dried tamarind, mixed with
• 29.58 ml hot water, worked through a sieve, discarding the seeds

directions

1. Salt and pepper the chicken quarters. Heat a large frying pan and brown the chicken in the Ghee. You will have to do this in two batches.
2. Remove the chicken to a 6-quart stove-top covered casserole, leaving the fat in the pan.
3. Add the garlic and onion to the pan and sauté until golden brown.
4. Add to the casserole along with the ginger, cumin, mustard seed, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, cayenne, and paprika.
5. Sauté all for a few minutes and add all the remaining ingredients except for the garnishes.
6. Cover and simmer until the chicken is tender. about 45 minutes. Stir a few times during cooking; partially remove the lid during the last 10 minutes or so to thicken the sauce. Top with garnishes.
7. Ghee: Butter that is cooked to separate the clear butter fat from the milk solids and moisture, an ingenious method that allows butter to keep for long periods of time.
8. Tamarind: Tamarind paste and concentrate, fresh products, are available in the produce section of many ethnic markets. Both products, made from the tamarind pod, need to be reconstituted.

Reviews

[Lerlene]

Delish!! I used boneless/skinless breasts (just personal preference), but didn't change anything else. The store I shop at didn't have tamarind powder, but had the whole pods. I wasn't too sure what to do with them, but I took them out of the shell, pulled off the strings, removed the seeds and squished them using my hands in a little water, then strained. Dish came out fine, so I guess I did OK. Couldn't tell by the recipe what was supposed to be garnish? I threw it all in the skillet. Boyfriend that "didn't like Vindaloo" says I should make this again. Good stuff.

 

[Donnie L.]

Fantastic recipe! The only changes I would suggest are 1) that there is entirely too much ginger - next time I will only use 1 tbsp instead of the 2 called for in the recipe; and 2) cayenne, as others have suggested, may be too much for some people...it was fine for me, but way too hot for my fiancé...when I made it with just a tsp of cayenne it was perfect though! Recipe is indeed poorly written, but recipe itself is outstanding so I'm still giving it 5 stars!

 

[Arns99]

Turned out excellent! Very tasty! My wife doesn't like too much spice so I used half of the amount of cumin and cayenne. I also used one cup of tomato sauce and one cup of water. The whole family loved it!

 

[zamgirl]

WOW! For the first time I wish I could give more than 5 stars! Like the last reviewer, I halved the amount of water and added a can of tomatoes. Besides that, the only change is that I didn't have any cloves or fresh coriander on hand. Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you - this is so easy that I was able to chat on skype at the same time. Will for sure be making this recipe again as is so cheap and easy. NB - though Vindaloos are supposed to be hot (and this has got some great kick) I'm sure that the flavours would be amazing even without the chili.

 

[jay.ramey]

I agree with other reviewers, the recipe could be better written - but excellent. I used skinless chicken breasts cubed. It turned out wonderful. My wife is from England and she said it is the best Vindaloo she has ever had. Made the recipe as written except for chicken and it was very spicy. Next time I would cut back a little on the cayenne pepper. Also, it seemed like it needed something like peas for a little sweetness or mushrooms for texture. I am going to try and double the recipe and freeze the other half for a quick meal. I will let you know how that goes - not everything freezes well. Add some broccoli as a side (also for color) and some fresh cilantro from your garden sprinkled on top.