Vindaloo Chicken Curry - as featured on Tastespotting
A couple of days ago I did quite a bit of reading and surfing about the curry of the world, to help David, our hotel’s F&B Manager for his “Curry Cooking Class” on Friday. He’s teaching a group of staff who’re interested in the origin of cuisine – and this week’s topic was about curry. I was invited to be the guest speaker actually, which I reclined as I wasn’t really on my top condition to stand up a long time…. being pregnant 
However it was an interesting subject and had attention & positive feedback from the staff. Most of them didn’t have the slightest idea of the differences between Thai curry, Indonesian curry, Malay/Sing curry, Japanese curry, Indian curry or Caribbean curry – Thai curry is the most aromatic of all and not as heavy as the Indian ones, while Malaysian/Singaporean usually use belacan/shrimp paste in their curry, while the usage of lemon grass + kaffir lime leaves + galangal + tamarind is a must in Indonesian curry.
I’m a true curry addict. The one curry dish I can’t make perfectly but I miss so much is Rendang, originally from West Sumatra Indonesia but so often wrongly claimed as Malaysian origin. It requires the freshest ingredients to cook it to perfection. Would be impossible using only dessicated coconut or packaged “Kara” instant coconut milk.
Friends of ours from NZ gave us a can of Vindaloo curry paste from Patak’s. Okay, I may not familiar with the differences of Indian curries but am very familiar with the flavours. I love them. Vindaloo is supposed to be one of the spiciest curry. Next to Phall.
Patak’s curry paste tastes a bit too mild for me, so I added extra vindaloo paste made from scratch:
TRADITIONAL VINDALOO CURRY PASTE
* 15 pcs dried red chilies
* 5 pcs large garlic cloves
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 3 cm fresh ginger, bruised
* 2 tsp pan-roasted cumin seeds
* 1 tsp pan-roasted coriander seeds
* 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
* 10 pcs whole cloves
* 1 tsp cardamom seeds
* 2 inch piece of cinnamon stick
* dried tamarind
* 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
Directions:
1.) Soak dried chilies in hot water overnight. Pureed.
2.) Stir fry onion, garlic & ginger until caramelized
3.) Ground all cumin seeds, coriander, fenugreek & cloves
4.) Add to the cooked onion, add chicken/beef/lamb chunks
5.) Add pureed chilies, cinnamon stick & cardamom seeds
6.) Add 2 cups of water, cover and cook until tender
7.) Add 1 cup of heavy coconut milk
Verdict: this dish is so yummy, moreish but prepare a huge glass of water next to you to douse the fire. Hehehehe
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A mother of a 2 year old girl, street food lover, foodie by nature, loves photography and experimenting in the kitchen. Nerdie side: loves doing coding and design websites
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My gear is a DSLR Nikon D700 paired with several lenses 50mm f/1.4 and 60mm f/2.8 as my prime lens for food photography. When out & about I take my my 24-70mm which is also the latest addition to the family. What can I say, it's an addictive hobby :D
9 Comments
I will have to try this dish! How much chicken would you recommend adding?
Thank you!
Jolene
10/22/2008
Great photo, looks delicious!
Daniel
10/23/2008
I never made vindaloo before… looks very spicy
Anna
10/23/2008
Jolene: in this dish I used 7 pcs of chicken thighs. Cubed potatoes may be added also if you like…
Thanks Daniel
You may use less red chili peppers, Anna – or use fresh chilis with seeds taken out
barefootster
10/23/2008
Will it work without tamarind? subs by lemon juice? Love the shot.
Sweetcakes
10/23/2008
Thank you!
Jolene
10/23/2008
Sweetcakes: probably yes you can subs tamarind by lemon juice, although if you’re a curry lover, you’d notice something’s missing….
barefootster
12/4/2008
Mmmm, I love anything screamin’ hot! This looks great!
gaga
1/2/2009
wow!!
u have a great blog
spectacular pics!!
love the vindaloo recipe
usually I make it with red wine vinegar
it gives in a flavor of red wine and the tangy vinegar
MR
3/24/2009
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