Topic: Aussie IR Lesson - Beef Vindaloo

[Masala Mark]

Hi,

Here is the Beef Vindaloo recipe, the only one that he did where he used a store bought paste.

He did mention that at times they may make their own vindaloo paste, but he said it is easier/quicker to use the bought one.

Kind regards,
Mark

Beef Vindaloo

Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 small piece Cassia Bark (1 inch by a quarter of an inch roughly)
- 1 Green Cardamom Pod
- 2 Cloves
- 2 pieces of Bay Leaf (these were broken bits from big Indian bay leaves, inch by an inch each roughly)
- 2 tsp Ginger/Garlic puree (50:50)
- 2 tsp Mixed Powder
- 0.5 tsp Kasoori Methi
- 2 tsp Vindaloo Paste (Ashoka was the brand he favored)
- 1 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- 4 tbsp Onion Gravy http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=4923.0
- 125-250ml Water
- 1 tsp White Sugar
- 0.25 tsp Salt
- Pre-cooked beef/chicken/veg etc

Prep Work:
- Ginger/Garlic puree is made 50/50 rough ratio with a little water to aid processing

Method:
1. Heat pan, add oil, when warm, add whole spices and fry 30 secs, should see little bubbles at sides of spices
2. Add ginger/garlic paste and cook till just brown, stirring constantly using the back of the spoon to spread/mash/move it around
2. Remove from heat add mixed powder, vindaloo paste, tomato paste, onion gravy and methi
3. Return to heat, mix through
4. Pour in 125ml of water, mix well and bring to a simmer
5. Add the Sugar, salt and pre-cooked beef, mix through and simmer for 5 min or so

Notes:
- Depending upon what consistency you prefer, add more water if needed.
- There is quite a bit of salt in the Base Gravies so very little is added, adjust to your taste though.

[976bar]

I've always believed that Vindaloo has vinegar in it. Maybe that is in the Vindaloo paste that he used?

[Masala Mark]

My thoughts too 976bar, I asked him about this, and he said exactly what you have said, ie that it is in the paste. Although when looking at it, I couldn't tell except perhaps it is the Acetic Acid.

He said when/if they make the vindaloo paste in the restaurant, they will grind all the spices for it and have that soaked in vinegar and oil, and that they don't add vinegar directly to their dishes.

Again, different from what I have had too, but it was very nice and vindaloo-ish, tangy but a different tang to what vinegar normally imparts which is what I am used to from our local IR restaurant.

[ivangough]

Hey Mark..
I'm from Melbourne, and really appreciate the work you've done with your posts. I too had an Indian chef teach me some tricks a few years ago, and when he mentioned 3 different sauces, I was unsure how they were used. Not any more!

Vindaloo is my favourite curry, and after tasting it in several countries, including Britain on quite a few occasions, I have noticed a difference. BIR Vindaloo is (often but not always) just a standard curry only hotter. AIR Vindaloo, as you've noted, has a more distinct Vinegar flavour and "tart-ness", for want of a better word. When I probed the chef a few years back for Vindaloo tips, he told me that at his restaurant, and indeed most AIR's, they used a pre bought paste in it as you mentioned. No mention of Vinegar though. Anyway I will give this dish a go this week, and report back.

Thanks again!

[Masala Mark]

Hi Ivan,

Thanks for the feedback, yes it appears AIR Vindaloo is quite different.

I found a restaurant here in Brisbane that does lessons and I had my first one in their kitchen on Saturday morning. Lots of fun and a great experience being with a Punjabi chef of 16 years here in Australia and more back in India.

He uses 6-7 base gravies/pastes to create his dishes from, only using one store bought paste for the Vindaloo. Rather then a big pot of liquid gravy, everything is concentrated down to a thick paste. Even his precooked lamb/beef is done in this way and when added to a dish you get all the flavour of the thick stock/gravy that it was cookin in as well.

Water he said is the enemy and is just added in to the dish when making, it lasts longer as a paste and takes less room in his fridge to store.

His Vindaloo is amazing, we made a Veg Vindaloo and it is a little simpler then the other lesson one that I have posted.

In went the Onion Gravy Paste, some water, 0.25 chef spoon of Vindaloo Paste, pre-cooked veg and done.

The Vindaloo Paste used is Lashan Vindaloo Paste 5kg bucket which is sourced from a local Indian importer who supplies all of the local Indian spice shops. I now know where to go to cut out the middle man!

Cheers,
Mark

[JerryM]

ivangough,

good to see you posting - best wishes.

Masala Mark,

real good timing on this post - i'd like to get a top notch vindaloo recipe and yours looks a real good starting point to try it as spec.

could i be a tad cheeky and ask for the list of ingredients on your bottle of vindaloo paste as this will have a fair impact on the taste of the dish.

[ivangough]

I cannot find Lashan Vindaloo Paste anywhere on the net.. Where do you buy it from?

[JerryM]

i checked out the vindaloo paste at my local asian store. they only have pataks. looking at the ingredients there was nothing special and i did not purchase.

[SteveAUS]

Hi Mark

Why wouldnt you use 125mls of base gravy instead of the water?

Cheers
Steve

[Sm3ghead]

thanks so much. Have made this many times over the last few months. Definitely the best vindaloo recipe I've found.
The only alteration I made was to add chilli powder (about 6 tsp) and a dash of vinegar.

I'm going to have a crack at making your other base gravies over the next few weeks to try out a few of the other recipes you've posted

Thanks