“Vindaloo” is derived from the Portugese word “Vinha De Alhos” i.e. from the 2 main ingredients in it, which were "Vinho", meaning wine or wine vinegar, and "Alhos", meaning garlic. It was originally a vinegar and garlic based watery stew made with pork or meat in Portugal. However after the Portugese introduced it in India, it was completely revamped with the addition of spices and chilies, and over the years it has become one of the spiciest and most popular curry dishes all over the world. Vindaloo is not as thick as a Korma and it does not have as much gravy as other curries. It also requires quite a lot of oil in its preparation and tastes wonderful if eaten a day or two after it is cooked since the vinegar and other flavours soak into the dish. The pungency of the dish can be reduced or increased according to taste by adding or lessening the chilly powder. However, care should be taken not to lose the vinegar flavour, because Vindaloo get its special taste only because of the vinegar in it. It can be prepared with meat, pork, poultry, seafood, also vegetables such as brinjals, potatoes, peas etc).
PORK VINDALOO
Serves 6 Preparation Time 45 minutes
1 kg pork cut into medium pieces
3 big onions slices finely
3 big tomatoes pureed
1 tablespoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon tumeric powder
1 teaspoon mustard powder
3 teaspoons chilly powder
2 teaspoons pepper powder
3 tablespoons ginger garlic paste
1 cup vinegar
3 tablespoons oil
1 sprig curry leaves
Salt to taste
Marinate the pork for about one hour with the salt, vinegar, chilly powder, cumin powder pepper powder, mustard powder, tumeric powder and ginger garlic paste.Heat oil in a pressure cooker and fry the curry leaves and onions till golden brown. Add the marinated pork and the tomato puree and keep frying for some time. Now add more water and pressure cook till the meat is well cooked. Serve hot with rice or bread
SAFFRON COCONUT RICE
Serves 6
1 pack of coconut milk diluted with water to get 4 cups of milk or 1 fresh coconut grated and milk extracted to get 4 cups of diluted milk
2 cups of Raw Rice or Basmati Rice
½ teaspoon tumeric powder or a few strands of saffronSalt to taste
4 tablespoons butter or ghee
3 cloves, 3 cardamoms, 3 pieces of cinnamon
Heat ghee in a large vessel or Rice cooker and fry the spices for a few minutes. Add the washed rice, salt, tumeric and 4 cups of coconut milk and cook till the rice is done.
