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LL

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Today's ride is to a former Portuguese colony (now a state) on the west coast of India called Goa. Their food is Portuguese in origin, made with local ingredients and evolved/perfected for 400 years. This dish---Vindaloo---is the most well known, and famous for being to ordinary food what espresso is to regular coffee. It is a flavor bomb.

I have tried 40 or more Vindaloo recipes in 30+ years of loving the stuff, and finally zeroed in on this one as the absolute best. I have actually served it to native born Indians who declared it completely authentic and truly first rate.

Double-cool is it takes no kitchen skill at all. It's just a "measure, dump, blend, and cook" deal. Virtually foolproof.

Enjoy :)

Roast in a skillet over medium heat for a few minutes (tossing occasionally), let cool, then grind to a powder:

4.5 teaspoons cumin seed
3 teaspoons black mustard seed
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1.25 teaspoon green cardamom pods
.75 teaspoon whole cloves


Add to that the following pre-ground spices:

1.5 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon "cinnamon" (which in the U.S. means cassia, not true cinnamon)
.75 teaspoon nutmeg
3 teaspoons Kashmiri chili powder (sub: mild paprika)
3.75 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons Jaggery (sub: brown sugar)


ESSENTIAL: add some quantity of hot chile powder/cayenne pepper. How much depends on the type, and how hot you like your food. This dish is like west Texas chili, though, in that it is SUPPOSED to be hot. 1 to 1.25 teaspoons of Cayenne-ish strength powder is about right for "normal" spicy food lovers; 1.75 or more for firebreathers.

Put all the above ingredients in a blender, along with:

3 racketball-sized or 2 baseball-sized onions (peeled & chunked, of course)
1.5 inch (scraped) ginger root (meaning about the size of a standard spool of sewing thread) sliced into disks to eliminate stringiness
10-12 cloves garlic
3/4 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup water



Run the blender on high for 1-2 minutes, until completely smooth, and pour into a non-metallic bowl. It's both your marinade and the base of the dish. (Don't throw it out after using as a marinade, in other words.)

Add to the marinade 2 - 2.5 pounds of well-trimmed pork cut into 1" cubes.

Mix throughly, cover, and store in the fridge for a day or two, stirring occasionally.

To cook, use a pot with a lid, not a fry pan. An enamelled Dutch Oven is ideal. Splash a few tablespoons of oil into the pan (mustard oil is the most authentic and best tasting, but unless you know where to get the edible variety and how to prep it for use, never mind), and using tongs or a slotted spoon, retrieve the pork from the marinade and fry until "browned" (meaning no more pink and all water released, not literally brown). Then pour in all the marinade plus 2 cups of water into the pan, bring to a boil, cover, lower heat, and slow cook until the pork is fall-apart tender. Add water during cooking if necessary.

To pressure cook instead---the end result is identical---cook 40 minutes from first chuff to removal from heat. When pressure is gone, inspect and add water if necessary. Gravy should be in the thin side... not pasty.

Add two more ingredients and simmer for final 15 minutes:

8-10 whole dried Arbol or Thai chiles. (Left whole they add little to the heat of the dish, but both look dazzling when served and afford "zinger bites" for the people who like such things.)

2 baker-sized potatoes peeled and cut into 1" cubes, then either deep fried or pan-browned (They MUST be well browned before adding, or they'll fall apart & dissolve. Fry them raw, not parboiled. They'll seem too hard after browning but don't worry --- they'll cook to the proper internal texture during the 15 minute simmer.

The Vindaloo is finished. :)

Serve in individual bowls alongside large quantities of plain Basmati rice or a stack of Roti (flat bread). If using rice, don't spoon over like spaghetti sauce to serve... heat is retained much better in a bowl, and the diner has better control of the mixing ratio while eating.

The recipe serves six. Best if cooked ahead, and kept for a day or more. Because of the large amount of vinegar, it can be stored up to a week if kept refrigerated. (The Goans don't even do that, they keep it at room temp and return it to a boil once a day.)
 
THanks for the recipe, LL, that sounds amazing. I loves me some vindaloo, especially lamb.

(Looks like it's time for a trip down to "Curry Row" to hit up the spice shop.)
 
I have two questions:
1. Can you find all of the ingredients in Bowman, ND?
2. Do you have any recipes for food that use tobacco?
Lets make it three questions:
3. Would tobacco even work as an ingredient?
Bub
 
Bub":nnf2m41h said:
I have two questions:
1. Can you find all of the ingredients in Bowman, ND?
2. Do you have any recipes for food that use tobacco?
Lets make it three questions:
3. Would tobacco even work as an ingredient?
Bub
1. Spices are easily mail ordered off the net. Pork, onions, vinegar, potatoes, garlic, and ginger are in any reasonable grocery store (even here :lol: )

2. Surely you jest.

3. Can't imagine it would. I seem to remember some guy marketing a tobacco-infused liqueur a while back, though.
 
Bub":vfhvebyy said:
3. Would tobacco even work as an ingredient?
I read about Thomas Keller (one of the top five chefs in the US) making a special tobacco dish for a fellow chef who was a chain-smoker... he knew his buddy would need a smoke after about an hour of eating, so he concocted a custard flavored with coffee laced with cigar leaf, like a "smoke and a cuppa" without getting up.
 
Bub":dwrbbzgk said:
2. Do you have any recipes for food that use tobacco?
Lets make it three questions:
3. Would tobacco even work as an ingredient?
Bub
Sure see this thread:
https://www.brothersofbriar.com/the-round-table-f12/cake-t3558.htm
 
Great post LL - I haven't enjoyed the dish in quite a few years. I'll give your recipe a try. It sounds delicious.
 
That does indeed sound good LL. I'm a Vindaloo from way back.

I think we should start a forum for sharing food recipes I'm sure that there are some great cooks here on BoB. What say you BoB :?: :?: :?:
 
That does indeed sound good LL. I'm a Vindaloo from way back.

I think we should start a forum for sharing food recipes I'm sure that there are some great cooks here on BoB. What say you BoB :?: :?: :?:
 
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