Vindaloo Curry
Admit it. When you see the word “vindaloo,” you think of “voodoo.” That’s because they’re the only two words in English that start with “v” and end with “oo.” (Except for the sound a dizzy person makes falling off a cliff: “I have vertigoooooooo!”)
So do you think that the popular Indian curry dish, “vindaloo,” might have a touch of black magic? Its spices do pack a punch, characterized by chili, ginger, vinegar, and a touch of sweetness. Variations are legion, and I make no warranties of what you’ll get in an Anglicized Indian restaurant. Some associate vindaloo with blindingly hot curry, but that is not necessarily the case. What makes this dish sing is the unique combination of flavors.
Often served with lamb, pork, or chicken, the meat may be marinated before being finished in a spicy sauce, or simply finished stew-like. My version is vegetarian. Most vegetarian vindaloos simply cook the vegetables with the sauce, but I separately roasted mine to punch up the taste. Do not be apprehensive about the proportions of spices. This dish is at best medium hot. Substituting hotter chili powder for the paprika, and/or adding more cayenne, will give you more of that sweaty, satisfying endorphin rush.
This recipe is adapted from the another, whose version included fried chicken. Mine substituted potatoes, cauliflower, and chickpeas; but eggplant, sweet potatoes, and many other vegetables will do nicely. Serve this with basmati rice and hot Indian naan bread, and you’ll be smokin’.
I do concede that you may not have some of these ingredients in your pantry. I managed to have them all, including some fresh tamarinds in the downstairs ‘frig. If you’re not familiar with this fruit, it amazes me that someone was persistent enough to determine that it is, technically speaking, edible. It grows in a hard husk on a tree. Once the husk is broken off, you’re left with a gooey peanut-shaped fruit circled with strings of twine. Those strings must be removed, and the fruit scraped off the pod.
Is the taste worth it? No. It is sour, a little citrusy. It makes your face pucker. It is a flavoring agent, that most people probably first experienced as the 7th ingredient in Worcestershire sauce. You’ll find tamarinds in everything from Jarritos soda, to candy and jam, to barbeque sauces and of course, vindaloo. I recommend that you buy the ready-made paste in a jar from your local specialty grocer, so you don’t need to use a hammer and scissors to end up with a tablespoon of goo.
Vindaloo Voodoo
For the sauce:
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 cups yellow onions, finely chopped
2 TBS ginger powder
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp yellow mustard seeds, ground
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 TBS turmeric
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 TBS paprika
2 tsp lemon juice
2 TBS distilled white vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp salt
2 cups water (and/or can of tomatoes, which I used instead)
2-4 TBS tamarind paste
For garnishes: chopped fresh cilantro or freshly boiled green peas.
For the stuff you’ll put in the sauce: The original recipe uses quartered whole chickens, salted and peppered and browned in ghee (clarified butter). When it is browned, the onion and garlic are fried in the same pan, then remove the browned onion and garlic to a casserole where the spices are added, then the chicken and remaining ingredients.
I took: 1 small head of cauliflower cut into small florets, 2 potatoes, 2 green peppers, and 1 can garbanzo beans. I tossed this with olive oil, 3 minced garlic cloves, 3 minced jalapeno or serrano peppers, and kosher salt, and roasted at 450° until nicely browned, about 30-40 minutes (the peppers and beans can be added later; they don’t need to roast as long).
1. Sauté the garlic and onion in a large casserole or Dutch oven until golden brown.
2. Add the ginger, cumin, mustard seed, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, cayenne, and paprika.
3. Sauté all for a few minutes and add all the remaining sauce ingredients except for the garnishes. (Add chicken here or browned lamb or pork cubes.)
4. Cover and simmer about 45 minutes. Stir a few times during cooking; partially remove the lid during the last 10 minutes or so to thicken the sauce.
Cooking tip: I pureed the sauce in the food processor when it was done for smoother consistency.
If making vegetarian, toss with the roasted vegetables; in either case, top with garnishes and serve with the basmati rice and homemade naan bread that you of course started at the beginning of all this. Now you didn’t expect those to appear by magic, did you?
Nick Roumel is a principal with Nacht, Roumel, Salvatore, Blanchard, and Walker PC, a firm in Ann Arbor specializing in employment and civil right litigation. He also has many years of varied restaurant and catering experience, has taught Greek cooking classes, and writes a food/restaurant column for “Current” magazine in Ann Arbor. He occasionally updates his blog at http://mayitpleasethepalate.blogspot.com/.
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