Chicken vindaloo
- Preparation and cooking time
- Prep:
- Cook:
- Easy
- Serves 2
Ingredients
- 450g boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into small chunks
- 3 tbsp oil for cooking
- ¾ tsp mustard seeds
- 1 onion (110g), finely chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ghee (optional)
- a handful of fresh coriander, chopped
Spice blend
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 8 peppercorns
- 5 cloves
- 3cm cinnamon/cassia bark
- 4-6 dried whole chillies (I like to use Kashmiri dried chillies)
Spice paste
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2cm ginger
- ½ tsp tamarind concentrate/paste or lime juice
- 2½ tbsp white wine vinegar/apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp jaggery or brown sugar
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
Method
- STEP 1
Heat a frying pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the spice blend spices to the pan. Toast on a medium heat for 60-90 seconds or until fragrant. To prevent spices from burning, as soon as you see the cumin and coriander seeds turn a shade darker in colour, turn the heat off and transfer the spices to a plate to cool.
- STEP 2
Once cool, transfer to a spice (or coffee bean) grinder and grind into a fine powder.
- STEP 3
Now put the spice paste ingredients in a mini food processor/chopper along with the ground spice blend and 3-4 tbsp water, and grind into a paste. You may need to tweak the amount of water you add to create a thick, smooth paste, so add a little at a time. Add the spice paste to the chicken and mix well.
- STEP 4
Heat the oil in a pan. Once hot, add the mustard seeds. As soon as they begin to crackle and pop, add the onions. Fry for 4-5 mins on a medium heat until light golden in colour.
- STEP 5
Once golden, add the marinated chicken and seal for 2 mins on a high heat. Add 150ml of water to the pan and bring to a boil. Put a lid on the pan, reduce heat slightly and simmer for 10 mins until you have a saucy consistency. Finish with ghee and coriander sprinkled over.
