Chicken Vindaloo Recipe

Chicken Vindaloo comes from Goa, the former Portuguese trading outpost on the West Indian coast. It is a unique fusion of Indian and Portuguese cooking that is now popular in one form or another throughout most of India. It is both sweet and spicy with a hearty chicken based sauce.

Recommended Equipment:
food processor
mortar and pestle or spice grinder
cast-iron skillet or Dutch oven with lid

Ingredients:
1 pound of chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
2 medium yellow onions, diced
6 cloves garlic, diced
3 tbsp fresh ginger, diced
4 red chilis
2 tspn brown sugar
1/4 cup white vinegar

for spice mix:
1/2 tspn cardamom, ground
1 tspn cinnamon, ground
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn turmeric powder
1/2 tspn peppercorns
1/2 tspn toasted fenugreek seeds
1 tspn cloves
1 tbsp cumin
4 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tspn mustard seeds
Salt to taste
Cilantro

Preparation:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve the brown sugar in the vinegar. Add the chilis, diced garlic, and ginger to the vinegar mixture and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes.
2. Add the vinegar mixture to a food processor. Pulse the mixture to form a paste.
3. Pour the paste into an air-tight container and then add the pieces of chicken to the paste. Stir the chicken so that all of the pieces are well coated with the paste. Seal the container and then refrigerate for 2 hours.
4. While the chicken marinates, construct the dry spice mix. Using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, grind the peppercorns, fenugreek seeds, cloves, and cumin into powder. Pour this powder into a small bowl along with the cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, and turmeric. Mix well and set aside.
5. In a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil and mustard seeds over medium heat.
6. When the seeds begin to pop, add the diced onion and cook until the onion begins to turn golden brown.
7. Add the chicken and the paste/marinade to the skillet and cook until the chicken begins to brown.
8. Add the dry spice mixture to the chicken and place a lid on the skillet. Reduce heat to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the mixture becomes thick. Stir the mixture occasionally.
9. Serve hot over steamed Basmati rice with cilantro garnish.

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