Chicken Vindaloo
Vindaloo is a classic recipe from India with myriad variations—all gluten-free—and here’s a version I make at home.
As a child, I never had the opportunity to eat Indian food—my family’s meal rotation was fairly bland, with things like tuna casserole served for dinner. So imagine how delighted I was when I started traveling and discovering the many different flavors the world’s cuisines offer. The first time I tasted vindaloo was in Hong Kong. I was a young budget traveler staying in one of the hotels in the Chungking Mansions, a tower filled with cheap hotels, windowless restaurants, residents from all over the world, and, on the ground floor, a warren of shopping arcades where vendors sell all types of goods. When I decided to try an Indian restaurant on another floor, I ordered the vindaloo. It was spicy and very hot, and I loved it.
I’ve tried many restaurant versions of vindaloo since then, often with chicken or lamb, and have made different versions in my own kitchen (I’ll be making lamb vindaloo soon). It is one of the many recipes from the Indian subcontinent that is gluten-free without any adjustments (see my recent recipes for cauliflower with scallions and black-eyed peas curry).
For this recipe, I used about 3.5 pounds of chicken of skinless, boneless thighs and breasts, cut into large chunks (see photos below), but you can also use whole bone-in chicken parts with the skin removed. You’ll also need a long, colorful list of spices (see photo above), so visit your local Asian grocery to stock up (you can find them online as well)—you can use all of them for various Indian dishes and other types of Asian cuisine (I’ll be writing about more gluten-free Asian recipes soon).
I hope you have as much fun cooking and eating this dish as I did!
Ingredients:
3 ½ pounds of boneless, skinless chicken, cut into chunks (see photo below)
¼ cup ghee (clarified butter; you can make your own or buy in a supermarket—Trader Joe’s has it)
3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 cups chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons crushed yellow mustard seeds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon powdered turmeric
1 ½ teaspoons cayenne pepper (or to taste; vindaloo can be very spicy!)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon tamarind paste (available in jars at Asian markets; I’ve also tried making my own from dried tamarind, which is very laborious and messy, so don’t recommend it)
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons vinegar (you can use white distilled vinegar or rice vinegar, but I used apple cider vinegar)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
About 2 cups water
For garnish: chopped fresh cilantro and diced jalapeños
Directions:
Melt the ghee in a large frying pan
Sprinkle sea salt and pepper over the chicken pieces and brown them in the pan
As the pieces brown, move them to a large casserole
Sauté the garlic and onion in the pan and add them to the casserole with the ginger, cumin, mustard seed, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, cayenne, and paprika
Sauté the mixture for a couple of minutes to release the aromas and add the remaining ingredients
Bring the casserole to a simmer, then cover and continue simmering for about 45 minutes, until the chicken is tender
To thicken the sauce, remove the lid for the last 10 minutes or so
Serve with cooked brown basmati rice and garnished with chopped cilantro and diced jalapeño
This sounds delicious!