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Author Topic: What's the best way to prepare potatoes for Vindaloo .. please  (read 11,912 times)

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The discussion centers around the best methods for preparing potatoes for a chicken vindaloo to achieve a desirable flavor and texture. Forum members suggest boiling the potatoes in salted water with turmeric, ensuring they are slightly undercooked to prevent them from disintegrating in the curry. Additionally, some recommend using specific potato varieties, such as Romano or other floury types, which hold up better during cooking. The consensus is that using the right type of potato and cooking technique is crucial for a successful dish.

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Offline colin grigson

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What's the best way to prepare potatoes for Vindaloo .. please
« on: March 22, 2012, 11:58 AM »
Hi fellow forum members ..

Could somebody help me out please. I'm curious as to the best way to par cook my potatoes for a chicken vindaloo so that they have that BIR flavour ... I am making a huge assumption here that there is a particular way to cook them so they don't end up tasting like a couple of boiled potatoes thrown into a curry ( which it could be although as I remember those potatoes in BIR vindaloo were a treat ). Any assistance would be appreciated ..
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Offline solarsplace

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Re: What's the best way to prepare potatoes for Vindaloo .. please
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2012, 12:40 PM »
Hi Colin

Some people & restaurants go to quite a lot of trouble to pre-cook their potatoes.

I remember a post on this forum by Curry Barking Mad where he shows photos of pre-cooking in a restaurant using the same method as described here - https://curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=7825.msg68452#msg68452 - unfortunately cannot find that link now.

If you are not able for what ever reason to go to this much effort, then potatoes boiled in salted water with a little turmeric are a more than reasonable effort and still very enjoyable. Just remember to very slightly under-cook them so they do not disintegrate into your curry!

I always find I need to keep testing the potatoes every 30 seconds with a fork near the end of cooking, fine line between too under and over cooked!

Cheers

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Offline Salvador Dhali

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Re: What's the best way to prepare potatoes for Vindaloo .. please
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2012, 02:26 PM »
Yep - as solarsplace says, salted water with enough turmeric to turn them that gorgeous yellow colour is all you need to do (especially for use in a spicy curry such as vindaloo.

Make sure that they're new potatoes, otherwise you may end up with a (very pleasant) mash...
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Offline bamble1976

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Re: What's the best way to prepare potatoes for Vindaloo .. please
« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2012, 06:10 PM »
Hi

i also add a tsp panch poran  it is essential you have them on a slow simmer to stop the starch molecules breaking down and the potatoes going mushy.

Barry
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Offline colin grigson

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Re: What's the best way to prepare potatoes for Vindaloo .. please
« Reply #4 on: March 23, 2012, 07:35 AM »
Thanks for the replies peeps ,

I'll do these this afternoon ready for tonight's vindaloo .. it may take a few goes to get the potatoes accurately par boiled since I assume they'll carry on cooking themselves a little whilst cooling too but it's all part of the fun !!     
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Offline colin grigson

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Re: What's the best way to prepare potatoes for Vindaloo .. please
« Reply #5 on: March 24, 2012, 10:46 AM »
My first disaster !!

The potatoes were gopping ... I don't know if they were bad potatoes or I overdid something ( maybe too much turmeric .. 0.5 TSP ? ) .. I added the panch phoran as well as bramble suggested and a good pinch of salt .. they weren't under or over cooked just tasted horrible .. I only tried to make the dish look more authentic .. I've never been mad keen on potatoes in a curry anyhow and this has confirmed my natural aversion .. fun trying though  ;)
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Offline mickdabass

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Re: What's the best way to prepare potatoes for Vindaloo .. please
« Reply #6 on: March 24, 2012, 10:59 AM »
Quote from: colin grigson on March 24, 2012, 10:46 AM
My first disaster !!

The potatoes were gopping ... I don't know if they were bad potatoes

Hi Colin
I grow spuds for a living and supply a lot of asian shops around Brum. They usually prefer the reds even though at the moment they are nearly twice as expensive as the whites! I find that red potatoes - more specifically Romano are an excellent potato for curries. They hold up better after boiling.  Because they hold up better, they do take longer to cook tho. When I use spuds in a curry I cook them thoroughly beforehand and add them right at the end of cooking to merely heat them through - just like using cooked meat.
Hope this helps
Best Regards
Mick
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Offline Stephen Lindsay

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Re: What's the best way to prepare potatoes for Vindaloo .. please
« Reply #7 on: March 24, 2012, 11:02 AM »
Mick

These potatoes you describe - I take it they are more of the "waxy" variety than "floury". In terms of your average range of potatoes in the local supermarket what would be the nearest equivalent?

Steve
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Offline mickdabass

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Re: What's the best way to prepare potatoes for Vindaloo .. please
« Reply #8 on: March 24, 2012, 11:23 AM »
Hi Steve.
There are over 2000 varieties of spuds out there!!!
Go for a floury spud rather than a waxy one. Watery/waxy potatoes soon fall apart in the boil. Avoid Nadine & Maris Piper and go more for Mozart, Romano types. King Edwards have a high dry matter content and are probably good too but I dont know for sure because we dont grow them. Some varieties like Rooster have a v high dry matter content so probably stand up well after the boil, but might be too dry for most tastes, but again I dont know for sure. Her Indoors does stews and cassaroles using romano and even after 3 hours on a low heat they still havent started to disintegrate. Estima is a very popular variety. They are fairly dry too so probably stand up well too.

Seasonal factors affect the dry matter content, so there is quite a bit of regional variation too depending on the amount of irrigation etc.
Hope this sort of helps :)
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Offline Stephen Lindsay

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Re: What's the best way to prepare potatoes for Vindaloo .. please
« Reply #9 on: March 24, 2012, 06:21 PM »
cheers Mick

I have actually been using Rooster potatoes when I do bombay potatoes, more by luck than design, I will look out for the Romano also.

Steve
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