Chicken Vindaloo • Steamy Kitchen Recipes Giveaways (2024)

by Jaden | Asian, Main Course, Recipes | 48 comments

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*waving hello!* Hey guys! I’m still in the middle of getting the new house ready and packing boxes in our old house. We’re almost done painting every single wall, baseboard and ceiling trays. Three more days until the big move! I’ll post some photos later today. Lots of love, Jaden

We are so thrilled to introduce you toPrerna, fromIndian Simmer. Today, she is sharing her recipe for Chicken Vindaloo, one of our absolute favorites, packed with flavor from chilies, garlic, cardamon, cinnamon and more. We know you willlove Prerna and her blog, with photography that inspires, charged with brilliant and bold colors, and recipes from the heart, likeChicken Tikka Masala and Cumin scented Green Peas Pulao orMatar Paneer. Enjoy! – adam and joanne

A few weeks back I got a message from someone with the email address jaden at steamykitchen.com and it said will you “guest post for me?” My first reaction was to check whether that it was really written to me. Why? Because never in my wildest dreams would I expect that JADEN from STEAMY KITCHEN would ask little me to guest post on her blog. And even when I found out that it was actually Jaden, I was in complete disbelief! Just like millions of other bloggers and food lovers, I have always been inspired by Jaden. It is an honor to be featured on Steamy Kitchen and thanks so much Jaden for the opportunity!

When asked about what I should be cooking for her, Jaden said she loves Chicken Vindaloo and would love to share its recipe with her readers. So Chicken Vindaloo it is! It is a dish which, if not most popular, must be one of the most popular Indian dishes in the world. Vindaloo is a popular curry that hails from a tiny little state of Goa in India. Portuguese had their colony in Goa for decades and so the state has a great influence from Portuguese culture. It is believed that the name Vindaloo was also derived from Portuguese dish where “vinho” means wine and “alhos” is garlic. Usually the recipe asks for pork and wine along with garlic. In course of time Vindaloo evolved and cooks started making it with chicken or lamb and wine was substituted with vinegar.

I am sure you will always notice that the Chicken Vindaloos served in restaurants have potatoes in them. Aloo in hindi means potatoes and since Vind- aloo has aloo in it, I assumed that potatoes are a must in the dish. But after doing a little bit of a research I found that potatoes are not really an essential ingredient. A traditional Vindaloo just asks for meat, garlic, wine or vinegar and lots of chilies in it. So the potatoes you see in the Vindaloo they serve at your favorite Indian restaurant are probably because they either want to make the gravy thicker or increase the volume but definitely not because the recipe asks for it!

Most important part of a Vindaloo masala (spice mix) is the chilies in it. The dish is mostly fiery hot because Vindaloo masala is a chili based preparation and that is where it gets all its flavors. In my recipe I used the dry whole red chilies found at Indian markets. You can make it milder to your taste and use Kasmiri Mirch (a mild form of red chili). This will help make the curry red and pretty but still not very hot.

So here’s the recipe for Chicken Vindaloo. Again, you can tweak the amount of spices and heat according to your taste. Also if you want, you can add diced boiled potatoes in the curry but if you do so, do it right after the chicken is almost cooked and you are giving it a final boil.

Chicken Vindaloo Recipe

Print Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs (cut into cubes)
1 cup diced onions
4-5 whole red chilies
6-7 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (add more if you like)

For dry spice mix:

1 teaspoon cloves
3-4 whole cardamoms
1 teaspoon cinammon powder
1/2 tablespoon peppercorns
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
2 cups diced potatoes (optional)
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt

Instructions

Soak whole chilies, garlic cloves and ginger in the white wine vinegar for about half an hour. Grind and make a paste of it.
Marinate chicken in the chili paste and let it sit in a refrigerator for at least an hour.
For the dry spice: mix cloves, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric and peppercorn. Grind them in a spice or coffee grinder. Set aside.
Heat oil in a thick bottom pan, add mustard seeds.
Once they start to pop, add onions and fry them in oil until they turn light golden brown.
Add marinated chicken with all the juices and stir fry for a few minutes.
Add dry spices along with salt, mix it all together and cover the pan with a lid.
Let it simmer and cook until the chicken is done and curry is thick (stirring in between from time to time).
Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rice or your choice of bread.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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Tony on 9/13/14 at 3:37 pm
Step 8 says “until curry is thick”. Does “curry” mean sauce in this context, or is it a typo?
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- SteamyKitchen on 9/14/14 at 11:11 am
  Yes, curry means “sauce” – Vindaloo is a curry 🙂
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I_Fortuna on 6/7/14 at 1:00 pm
This looks great! Kashmiri Mirch is very hot and should be used with care as a little goes a long way. I don’t think it is milder than adding red chilis, sorry. I love Kashmiri Mirch. It has a rich flavor not just hot. I use a little when I make my homemade enchilada sauce. Hubby hates hot so I have to be careful. The neighbors like a little spice in their food. I have even added cayenne to my quiche which really makes it unusual and delicious. This will be a perfect dish to share! Thanks!
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Miss MoneyPenny on 2/7/14 at 4:02 am
This is really a great, authentic recipe ! Great flavors. My (Dutch-Swiss) family loves it and I often prepare it at my 11 year old son’s request (he likes hot and spicy, aren’t we lucky ? ). I prepare it without potatoes (I hate them), but serve it with naan, rice, raita and/or dahl. Just great !
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adam on 10/18/13 at 11:39 am
sorry i forget to say ..thank you .. thank you very much
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adam on 10/18/13 at 11:36 am
realy great… sure ..very sure great
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Darla on 3/26/13 at 8:32 pm
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My husband & I love this recipe. We’ve made this several times but can’t figure out the best time to put in the potatoes (which was an optional ingredient on your list). If we put it in at the same time as the spices, it sticks to the pan. We added some broth or water which helped. Otherwise, is it best to cook the potatoes separately from the chicken then add the chicken & spices back in at the end?
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Mad Betty on 3/21/13 at 9:34 pm
Great recipe! Made it for dinner tonight and my husband and I loved it. Do you have any recommendations on what I can add to make it saucier? I added a little chicken stock, but it weakened the flavors a bit. Should I increase the spices when I’m adding liquid?
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Tony on 9/23/12 at 4:20 pm
Ok, I’m trying this tonight. The chicken is marinating and the dry spices are ready!
I bought a bag of cardamom seeds. I’m gonna have them for a *long* time, lol. My only change to the recipe is to use ground ginger – we never use all the ginger root before it spoils.
Step #8 says, “until the curry is thick.” What curry?
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Jen @ Savory Simple on 10/23/11 at 12:02 pm
I have been wanting to make vindaloo! It’s my hubby’s favorite Indian dish.
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alex d on 9/23/11 at 10:11 am
All recipes offered by Relish are amazing. I have used so many of them for me and my family and I have never gotten any bad feedback, not even from my kids. I even use them to entertain my guests for parties through out the year and they always are a hit. They offer recipes for different times of the season, holidays, and obviously countless recipes of different cuisines.
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Cara on 9/8/11 at 1:25 pm
Just finished making your vindaloo with a pork tenderloin that I wasn’t sure what to do with. It tastes AMAZING! Thanks for your recipes – they’re super inspiring; as an Indo-Canadian, born and raised in Canada, I’m cooking my way through your site, IndianSimmer, and getting in touch with my roots 🙂
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sophistimom on 8/29/11 at 11:33 am
Mm-hm. Yup. I want some chicken vindaloo now. Thanks for letting me know.
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Sasha @ The Procrastobaker on 8/14/11 at 4:05 am
I cant believe I didnt come back to tell you I made this! It was awesome, thank you 🙂 even though my natural preference is for a ‘wetter’ curry the flavours in this were truly lovely. Heres my post if you fancy checking it out sometime 🙂
http://theprocrastobaker.blogspot.com/2011/07/chicken-vindaloo.html
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Missluzie on 7/17/11 at 7:03 pm
Hi Prerna: loved the recipe but made the mistake of using ground cloves – way too overpowering (or maybe I am not used to it). I also used 2 Scotch Bonnets to spice it up… really yummy. This is one of my favorites!
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a new york foodie on 7/12/11 at 1:30 pm
Wow! This looks great and easy to follow. Vindaloo is my favorite Indian dish! I tried to recreate it myself a couple years ago and it didn’t turn out well. I will definitely try this recipe. Thanks for posting!
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Hearty Eugene on 7/8/11 at 12:25 pm
Wow! looks amazing and your photo are very beautiful! I will try it. Thanks for honoring Indian recipe.
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Jorge Granda on 7/7/11 at 4:37 am
Sounds interesting, would like to try it.
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Angel on 7/5/11 at 3:22 pm
tried this with cauliflower!!! It was awesome and smelled so good I’ve been asked for the recipe 2x at lunch time!
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Bonnie Deahl on 7/3/11 at 6:46 am
Congratulations on doing a guest post for Jaden! The vindaloo looks earthy, spicy and satisfying. I can’t wait to try it and have bookmarked the page.
Bonnie
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miri leigh on 7/2/11 at 11:33 am
This looks amazing! I will try this soon.
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BrianC on 7/2/11 at 7:56 am
Just made this last night – followed the recipe very closely except we added a couple more peppers (like it spicy) – and it was wonderful. Looked just like the recipe, t00. Next time we’ll try it with pork just to see what happens. Thanks for the great recipe!
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Natalia on 7/2/11 at 4:33 am
I am first time on this blog and I’m amazed! Pictures are really high quality what makes your food look deliciuos! Will need try that recipe one day.
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Prerna@IndianSimmer on 7/1/11 at 1:48 am
Go ahead! Use apple cider, it will totally work.
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Misa on 6/30/11 at 9:49 am
This is the BEST vindaloo recipe I have tasted. Made a vegetarian version with seitan and it turned out great. This recipe will be used again and again in our home.
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zurin on 6/30/11 at 7:44 am
I have always wanted a vindaloo recipe and I ll be trying yours. It looks absolutely gorgeous! Just one question….can I use apple cider vinegar instead of a white wine vinegar? Thank you. 🙂
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love cooking on 6/29/11 at 7:49 am
I am not familiar to Indian food. But it seem delicious and very spicy. I cannot take too spicy food, guess I will reduce the chillies if I cook this dish. 🙂
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Alex on 6/28/11 at 6:00 pm
Prerna: Thanks – I ended up answering my own question just by googling other recipes. I made this this evening – was very nice, thanks. Think next time I will tweak for a little less cinnamon, added a little too much I think
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Dahlia on 6/28/11 at 2:17 pm
Good luck on your move!
These recipes look gr8!!
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Prerna@IndianSimmer on 6/28/11 at 2:12 pm
Thanks for the feedback guys!
ALEX- Sorry I should have specifically mentioned that I used green cardamoms and NO its not obvious for someone who has not tried the recipe before 🙂
IndianSoul- My family loves pieces of whole spices here and there but same can not be the case with everyone so I shared the recipe with ground cinnamon. You can use whole spice if you don’t mind.
As I mentioned in the post, you can use Kashmiri or degi mirch if you want your curry to be red and sorry I have never cooked or eaten a Vindaloo with bay leaves in it. As far as I know the three vital ingredients in a Vindaloo are red chili, garlic and wine or wine vinegar for rest all every cook has their own recipe for curry. And yes chicken with bones are juicier than boneless and I find thighs to be more tender.
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Kim in MD on 6/28/11 at 8:37 am
Congratulations, Prerna, on being asked to post on Steamy Kitchen! Your Vindaloo looks delicous, and your photos are gorgeous! I am thrilled to have discovered your blog here, because for some reason I have always been intimidated to make Indian food. This post has inspired to try your recipe! Thanks for sharing! I am off to explore your blog! 🙂
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Alex on 6/28/11 at 5:11 am
Looks nice – I will give this a go, thanks. Looks pretty healthy too!
One question – Cardamon pods: green or black? (Sorry if this is an obvious point!)
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joey on 6/28/11 at 1:07 am
Vindaloo! I’ve always been wary of preparing Indian food at home, despite my loving it SO much, because I’m scared of messing up the spice mix…thanks for sharing your recipe! So glad to discover your blog here…I am truly in love with Indian food so I will be visiting! 🙂
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chinmayie @ love food eat on 6/27/11 at 11:47 pm
FABULOUS!! Thank you Prerna!!
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Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen on 6/27/11 at 8:42 pm
A great dish and one of my husband’s favorites, thanks Prerna for the recipe!
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Ann on 6/27/11 at 8:35 pm
Wow – looks amazing and your pictures are beautiful! Congratulations on your guest post – you did GREAT!
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Delishhh on 6/27/11 at 5:17 pm
Prerna – I hope things are slowing down with the move to CA. I am also a huge fan of Chichen Vindaloo – just as always gorgeous pictures and your recipe seems fantastic. I am going to have to try it out.
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Sasha @ The Procrastobaker on 6/27/11 at 2:23 pm
This recipe really really excites me, ive always wanted to try making a vindaloo as my mums a massive spice fan and i love a good curry, but most recipes ive seen look pretty daunting! Yours looks totally managable and uttterrllyyy delicious, i will DEFINITELY be giving it a shot some day hopefully soon, will let you know how it turns out and thanks for the wonderful recipe 🙂
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Amy @ A Little Nosh on 6/27/11 at 1:59 pm
I think I would have passed out cold when I read that email. LOL
Your photos are beautiful and congrats on the guest post!
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IndianSoul on 6/27/11 at 12:34 pm
Lovely presentation, it was thoughtful to place roti pieces on tiny piece of paper instead of just scattering them over painted wood sheet. Piece of Dalchini is visible but recipe don’t mention whole cinnamon but powder.
Recipe is great if we see as Preran’s personal version, but for real authentic vindaloo recipe it calls for few changes in texture, gravy, color. More onion to form fine gravy, use of bedgi indian chilies will bring guranteed red color.Use of regular vegetable or peanut oil instead of olive oil.Vital spice bay leaf not to be missed and avoid use of boneless chicken. Whole chicken = best test.
Jaden Thanks for honoring Indian recipe.You stirred vidaloo appetite in readers.
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Prerna@IndianSimmer on 6/27/11 at 12:19 pm
Hi Julie,
Thanks! You can begin with whole cloves and cumin along with other spices and then grind them altogether. In case you don’t have have whole spices you can use powdered but freshly ground spices just smell WAY better than pre-ground ones.
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Julie on 6/27/11 at 10:53 am
I am excited to make this! Just one clarification: the cloves and the cumin – whole/seeds or powdered?
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briz on 6/27/11 at 9:46 am
Hi,
Your blog is beautiful, if you like typical Italitalian cuisine visit my website: http://italy-recipes.blogspot.com/
A culinary journey from Italy.
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Happy Cook / Finla on 6/27/11 at 4:23 am
The recipe sounds so good, I am sure gonna try this once.
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Lana on 6/27/11 at 2:03 am
Jaden, thank you for featuring Prerna on your blog – she is a wonderful photographer, and her kitchen is always wide ope to her virtual friends.
I have eaten vindaloos in the restaurants and enjoyed their tangy and spicy notes. I am looking forward to making this dish at home:)
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Katrina on 6/27/11 at 12:41 am
I remember trying this for the first time and thinking “what on earth is in this?”! Now I know! aha
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Maureen on 6/26/11 at 10:26 pm
I’m swooning with joy both from the recipe and those incredible photos. What a fabulous post. I’ve eaten chicken vindaloo at restaurants but I’ve never made it at home. I will now.
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fattychalupa on 6/26/11 at 10:17 pm
Reminds me a bit of Vietnamese stewed chicken that’s flavored with curry powder (its not the actual vietnamese curry dish)
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