Chicken Vindaloo

Chicken vindaloo is a traditional Goan dish with mouth-watering taste and beautiful red colour. It goes with rice and chapati. You can prepare this flavourful curry once in a week and enjoy with steamed rice. Its highlight is tamarind and Kashmiri chili. This curry is very easy to prepare; it only takes about an hour.  Here is the recipe for you, my friends. 

Ingredients

Chicken pieces, 750 g
Juice, from 1 lemon

For vindaloo paste

Kashmiri red chillis, 13 nos.
Coriander seeds or powder, 1 tsp
Cumin seeds, 1 tsp
Mustard seeds, ½ tsp
Cinnamon, 1 inch
Cloves, 4 nos.Cardamom seeds, 3 nos. 
Peppercorns, 1 tsp
Star anise, 2 pods (optional)
Ginger (finely chopped), 1 tbs
Garlic cloves (finely chopped), 2 tbs (12 nos.)
Turmeric powder, ½ tsp
Rice vinegar, 2 tbs
Tamarind pulp, 2 tbs (squeezed from one small lemon sized tamarind)
Water, 1 tbs (if required)

For the curry

Vegetable oil, 3 tbs
Onion (finely chopped), 3 nos. or 250 g
Tomato (finely chopped), 1 no.
Water, 1 ½  cups
Sugar, 1 tsp
Salt, to taste
Coriander leaves (finely chopped), 2 tbs

Preparation:

• Rub the chicken with lemon juice and one tablespoon salt. Wash thoroughly with water 3 to 4 times and set aside in a strainer. 
• Soak the chili for thirty minutes.
• Dry roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns and star anise for two minutes on a low flame or until fragrant. Grind the roasted ingredients into a fine powder (add the coriander powder if you are not using seeds) and set aside. I always use homemade powders, they are way more flavourful!
• Wash the soaked chilis and blend along with ginger, garlic, turmeric, vinegar, and tamarind pulp into a fine paste. Add the spice powder to this and blend once again. Add a little more water if required while blending. 
• Heat oil in a saucepan.
• Throw in the onion and fry until light brown.
• Add vindaloo masala and sauté for two minutes until the raw taste goes away. 
• Add tomato and sauté until the oil separates.
• Add chicken and sauté as the masala coats the chicken, for three minutes.
• Add water, salt and boil for another minute.
• Cover and cook on a medium flame for ten minutes.
• Add sugar and cook on low flame until the chicken is done, let the gravy thicken as you like.
• Stir occasionally to prevent sticking to the bottom. 
• Check salt and remove from flame. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Your Chicken Vindaloo is ready to serve. Enjoy and thank you 😊