Chicken Vindaloo

Happy Deepavali / Diwali!

In conjunction with Deepavali, I thought I'd cook up some Indian dishes for last night's dinner. Well, that was the plan, anyway. Since Tuesday. =P

But searching through the Internet proved too fruitful, as there are many Indian dishes from either India or Sri Lanka or even Goa.

Chicken Vindaloo is apparently a Goan dish, by the way. Did you know? ;)

Honestly, I couldn't find the recipe I really wanted to try (I forgot to bookmark it) but I came across the one which I have been keeping for so long. It's this recipe but honestly, you know how hopeless as I am with my ingredients, I only made do with what I had at home.

The outcome? It was really good. But I think the spices would have tasted much better with beef.

And you know the chopped long bean dish you normally see at mamak restaurants? Yeah, I cooked that as well. I'm not sure why it's labeled as curry, though.




Only two dishes, you say?
And not even photogenic!

Well, I was hoping I had some papadum to go with my dishes but I had to chuck my packet of papadum away. Argh.




Paired with a bottle of Terra Andina's Cabernet Sauvignon 2009, the wine enhanced the intensity of the spices from the vindaloo. Completely blew us away!

(Yes, that's a fried egg on YB's plate. We ran out of eggs, or I'd have one on mine, too! =S)



My shortcut-

Ingredients
4 chicken thighs, deboned and diced
1 potato, chopped into small pieces (I didn't have yellow onions)

A
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cardamom seeds
1 tsp black pepper seeds
1 tsp chilli powder (oops, I just noticed it was supposed to be 1 tbsp)
1 inch of young ginger, chopped finely
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 small bird eye chilli, deseeded and chopped (I will add 2 the next time as 1 is not enough)

B
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1/2 cup of water (I forgot to buy vinegar! I did contemplate fish sauce, though)

C
4-6 tbsp oil
1 potato, diced
1-2 cups water

1. Gently roast A above for about 5 minutes on low heat.

2. Put A into the blender along with B. Add a bit of water, if necessary. Say, half a cup, bit by bit.

3. Marinate the chicken with the sauce in a bowl. Cover and leave it in the freezer for an hour or more, if in a rush. If not, leave it in the fridge for at least 4 hours.

4. Heat oil and saute potato.
5. Add chicken and stir fry a while, adding oil if necessary.
6. Add water (1 cup max) and stir occasionally. Add salt or chilli, according to taste.
7. Leave it covered to simmer for a few minutes.
8. Garnish with fresh coriander and served with rice.