Topic: My chicken vindaloo journey ????

[curryhell]

Whoop whoop indeed  LC lol  ;D

Lol, Yep but I am now aiming for a Michelin Sar rather than my local BIR.

That'll be some achievement LC.  I don't know too many chefs that have achieved that high standard yet  lol   ;D ;D

You're right about the vindaloo though. It is very much a dish where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  Simple ingredients in number, cooked correctly results in a flavoursome dish with just the right depth of flavour, and not overly deep  :  Us vindaloo eaters are so fussy, as are many other eaters of a particlar dish on a regular basis  :

[Invisible Mike]

I've never really had a go at the vindaloo. Partly because I never know which recipes are authentic. For instance, is it supposed to contain vinegar or not?

[jb]

I much prefer blended toms to tom puree in a curry

That's something I picked up on in my local takeaway.The chef always uses blended plum tomatoes in the initial stages when cooking.I've always used thinned down tomato puree,not saying that's wrong but my chef definitely uses plum tomatoes.

[littlechilie]

Couldn't agree more, my findings are that if I use tomato pur

[Naga]

I've never really had a go at the vindaloo. Partly because I never know which recipes are authentic. For instance, is it supposed to contain vinegar or not?

Apart from having a go at Chewy's Odds'n'Ends dish, I haven't tried either a traditional or BIR vindaloo. In fact, my local T/As don't even mention the dish in their menus, so I'm looking forward to CH's running commentary and eventual recipe.

BIR vindaloo dishes appear to use either vinegar, lemon juice or tamarind - it seems to be a regional thing - but according to everything I've read on the subject, the original dish was made using vinegar or tamarind and garlic.

I'm currently preparing a pork vindaloo recipe from an Indian cook book which uses malt vinegar and a spice mix in the marinade and a paste containing red wine vinegar in the cooking. BIR it ain't, but I'm keen to try it anyway!

I also looked at a 'traditional vindaloo' from the book Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors which, understandably, is much simpler but also uses vinegar and garlic (and a sort of spice mix) in the marinade. I'll maybe try that one at a later date, but for now I'm looking forward to cooking and tasting the more complex recipe.

[curryhell]

Will be interesting to hear how you get on with the authentic recipe Keith.  There are a few posts on here where vinegar was added to the vindaloo but it's debateable if this is common practice nowadays in many kitchens.  As for my recipe, I don't think there'll be any surprises on the ingredients and few accolades on the quality of the dish if i manage to crack this project.  To some it will be just another average vindaloo, to others a poor quality typically modern dish    But for me it'll be another tick in the box as I love the flavours and enjoy eating it.  And i really won't give two hoots about what anybody else thinks, that is of course if i indeed manage to achieve the end goal ;D

[Gav Iscon]

My regular doesn't do vinegar but for me its a must. 

[curryhell]

My regular doesn't do vinegar but for me its a must. 

"One man's meat" and all that I suppose Gav.  End of the days, it's what you enjoy eating and are used to, irrespective of what others may think or say.  Some may call it "regional"  ;D ;D

[Invisible Mike]

Lime juice appears to be another 'acid' used in vindaloo. I would have thought lemon juice would make it a madras - but hotter! Obviously that would depend on what other ingredients are considered essential in differentiating a vindaloo (i.e. black pepper and ground cardamom) from madras. I'd be interested in seeing a do's and don'ts list of vindaloo ingredients in order to create my own interpretation of it.

[ziggycat]

The difference between my madras and my vindaloo

When cooking myself a vindaloo I add/change the following;

Veg ghee or butter ghee if i'm using red meat
Asafoetida
Double the amount of Garlic paste (blended in oil) and  no ginger
Green chilli & coriander paste ( blended in oil )
Hot Chilli powder
black pepper powder
Amchoor
blended toms
fresh Lime

plus the standard fare of
mix powder
methi
blended plum toms

works well for me,  in fact Ill be making it tomorrow