Chicken vindaloo

Recipe by: Colm O'Gorman

Vindaloo has a reputation for being very hot and spicy, particularly in Indian restaurants in the UK, but the original dish was not necessarily that hot

Chicken vindaloo

SERVES

4

PEOPLE

PREP TIME

60

MINUTES

COOKING TIME

60

MINUTES

Ingredients

  • 700g skinless chicken, breast and thigh

  •  

  • For the marinade: 

  • 1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder

  • 1 tsp turmeric

  • 1 tbsp grated ginger

  • 1 tbsp grated garlic

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

  • 1 ½ tsp ground cumin

  • 1 ½ tsp ground coriander

  • 1 ½ tsp ground black pepper

  • 1 tsp flaky sea salt

  • Juice of one lemon

  • 50ml apple cider vinegar

  •  

  • For the onion gravy: 

  • 3 medium onions

  • 2 tomatoes

  • 1 tbsp sugar

  • 2 whole black cardamom

  • 1 whole star anise

  • 1 bay leaf

  • Some chopped spring onion and coriander leaves to garnish

  •  

  • For the courgette yoghurt: 

  • 1 large courgette

  • 350g Greek yoghurt

  • 1 tsp sugar

  • 1 tsp salt

  • Juice of half a lemon

  • 20ml olive oil

  • ½ tsp cumin seed

  • ½ tsp fennel seed

  • 1 tsp mustard seed

  • 2 dried red chillies

  • A few curry leaves or leaves of fresh basil

Method

  1. Chop the chicken into roughly 3cm chunks. Make up the marinade by combining all the ingredients in a bowl big enough for the chicken. Kashmiri chilli powder is milder and sweeter than other types, so if you do not have any, use two teaspoons of ordinary chilli powder unless you want the dish to be quite hot. Bear in mind that the black pepper also adds heat.  Add the chicken and coat it well. Let it marinade for about an hour.

  2. When it is ready, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a big saucepan. Add the chicken and cook it until the meat is seared, you may need to do this in a few batches depending upon the size of your saucepan. Add in the rest of the marinade from the bowl and bring it to a soft boil. Now add 200ml of water and bring that to a simmer. Reduce the heat and let is simmer away for about ten minutes.

  3. Peel and slice the onions. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy based frying pan. Add the bay leaf, cardamon and star anise. If you do not have black cardamon, use three pods of green cardamon instead. 

  4. Lightly crush the cardamom before tossing them into the pan. Fry the spices and bay leaf for a minute before adding the sliced onions. Sauté the onions for twenty minutes until they are soft and brown. 

  5. Chop the tomatoes and add them to the pan, along with the sugar and abut 50 ml of the gravy from the chicken. Cook for another seven to eight minutes until the tomato is soft and cooked through. Now add the chicken and the rest of the gravy. Bring it back a boil, before reducing the heat to a very low simmer and covering the pan. 

  6. Cook for another ten minutes or so, stirring regularly until the gravy reduces and you have a thick, rich sauce that coats the chicken. Taste and season as required, adding more salt, and if it needs it, a little more vinegar.

  7. While the curry is cooking, cook some basmati rice and make your courgette and yoghurt dish. Use a box grater to coarsely grate the courgette. Pop the grated vegetable into a pan of boiling water for just two to three minutes. Drain it immediately and rinse well with cold water to cool it down and stop it from overcooking. Pop the courgette into a clean towel and squeeze out any remaining water.

  8. Whisk the yoghurt, sugar, salt, and lemon juice together in a bowl. Add the cooked courgette and combine it well. Set aside until you are ready to serve. When your Vindaloo is ready, it is time to finish off your side dish. Heat a few teaspoons of olive oil in a small pan. 

  9. Add the spices for the courgette and yoghurt dish, that is the cumin, fennel and mustard seed and the dried chillies, along with the curry or basil leaves. When the mustard seeds start to pop, pour the oil and the tempered spices over the yoghurt and courgette dish, and serve it up right away with your Vindaloo and rice.

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