Chicken Vindaloo Recipe Restaurant Style – How to Make Vindaloo Masala
Vindaloo created in the Portuguese – Indian colony Of Goa, were generally made with pork. Vindaloo got its name from the Portuguese words for their most important seasonings, wine (vinho – in this case wine vinegar) and garlic (alhos). Vindaloo is a combination of many aromatic spices and the use of vinegar along with these spices acts like a pickling preservative. It is quite a spicy hot dish but you can definitely use less chillies and make it mild. If possible please make it a day before you plan to serve as the taste gets better with time.

Ingredients required for making chicken vindaloo –
For making Vindaloo masala – Serves 8
* 4 dry Kashmiri red chillies. Use half the stated proportion if you do not want it to be too spicy. You can use any type of dry red chillies. Kashmiri red chillies are milder in terms of heat level but it can still be overwhelming for some people. So please use half the quantity than the above stated proportion to start with. If you do not have dry red chillies then use a combination of 1 heaped tablespoon of paprika and 1/2 teaspoon(or as much heat you like) of cayenne pepper. Deseed the red chillies and soak them in hot water for about an hour.
* 2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
* 1 teaspoon black peppercorns (kali mirch)
* 5 green cardamoms (choti elaichii)
* 1/4 th teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi) – totally optional
* 1 teaspoon yellow or black mustard seeds (rai dana)
* 1 teaspoon coriander seeds (dhania)
* 1 inch length cinnamon stick (dalchini)
* 3 to 4 cloves (lavang)
* 1 whole head of garlic/12 cloves/ 32 gm
* 1 inch length ginger (optional)
* 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar. You can even go up to 4 to 5 tablespoons of vinegar. Substitutes – white vinegar, rice wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, malt vinegar or balsamic vinegar.
* 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
* 1/4 th teaspoon turmeric powder
* 1 large tomato
* 2 to 3 tablespoons of water or just as much needed to make a smooth paste. Please do not add too much water. It needs to be a thick paste.
For marinating chicken –
* 4 to 5 tablespoons of the vindaloo masala
* 1 teaspoon oil
Marinate for a minimum of 1 hour, overnight will be better.
For the main recipe –
* 1 kilo/ 2.2 lb skinless chicken thighs (combination of with and without bones)
* 1 very large onion /5 oz
* salt as per taste
* 1 tablespoon sugar (adjust according to your preference)
* 3 to 4 tablespoons oil
* I used just 1/2 cup water to rinse out my blender jar.
Serve this with hot steamed rice. It stays good for about 5 to 6 days in the refrigerator or you can freeze it.