Vindaloo is a Portuguese-influenced Goan curry dish made by cooking meat with spices and vinegar. Learn to make Authentic Goan Chicken Vindaloo Curry in a traditional way using my easy recipe (gluten-free).

What Is Vindaloo

Vindaloo is a spicy Indian curry from Goa influenced by Portuguese cuisine. When the Portuguese explorers came to India, they made a dish, “Carne de Vinha d’ Alhos,” made of meat cooked with wine and garlic.

Goans modified the dish by adding Indian spices and cooking it in vinegar instead of wine. The fiery red and spicy vindaloo curry thus came into existence.

Vindaloo sauce is hot, spicy, savory, lightly sweet, and tangy. It is gluten-free and dairy-free.

This curry is very popular worldwide, and you will find that most Indian restaurants have it on their menu.

It was originally made using pork, but now I have seen its versions with chicken, beef, lamb, mutton, fish, chickpeas, paneer, and tofu.

You can check my Lamb Vindaloo, Aloo Vindaloo, and Goan Shrimp Vindaloo here.

About Goan Chicken Vindaloo

Chicken Vindaloo is a variation of Goan vindaloo curry with chicken.

It is a delicious curry popular among Goan restaurants and local Konkan households. Like other vindaloo curries, chicken vindaloo is spicy, tangy, and fiery red and tastes best with steamed rice or poi (a traditional Goan bread).

It gets most of its flavor from the freshly prepared Vindaloo paste, a beautiful blend of fresh ginger, garlic, white vinegar, tamarind, and a few aromatic whole spices.

The tang in chicken vindaloo curry comes from vinegar, which, along with the spicy dried red chilies, is the star ingredient of this dish.

I like to make this dish in a pan over the stovetop, but you can also make it in an instant pot.

My recipe is gluten-free and doesn’t require any marination. You can easily double or triple it.

If you like to explore a few more delicious chicken recipes, here are some for you

• Bihari Chicken Curry
• Chicken Masala Curry
• Chicken Chettinad
• Malabar Chicken Curry
• Kerala Style Chicken Stew
• Mangalorean Chicken Sukka
• Chicken Keema Masala
• Dahi Chicken Curry
• Chicken Tikka Masala

Ingredients

You will find all the ingredients to make this curry in Indian grocery stores near you.

Vindaloo Paste – Various spices are used to make vindaloo curry paste. You will need Kashmiri whole dry red chilies, whole coriander seeds, cumin seeds, green cardamoms (hari elaichi), black peppercorns (kali mirch), cloves (laung), cinnamon (dalchini), and brown mustard seeds.

Kashmiri dry red chilies add a beautiful red color to the chicken vindaloo curry without making it very spicy. You can use any variety of dry red chillies that are easily available.

You will also need fresh ginger, garlic, white vinegar, and tamarind paste. Vinegar and tamarind add a nice tangy flavor to this paste, which makes it different from other chicken curries.

Traditionally, toddy vinegar was used to make vindaloo curry, but if you do not have access to it, use regular white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or wine vinegar for the tanginess. Some people use Feni (fermented toddy vinegar) in their recipe.

Chicken – For the best-tasting curry, use bone-in skinless chicken pieces. Bones add a lot of flavors to the chicken vindaloo curry, making it irresistible. But if you are not a fan of bone-in chicken, you can use boneless chicken breasts or chicken thighs, too.

Try the same recipe with mutton, fish, shrimp, or pork for other non-veg versions. Just keep in mind that the cooking time will differ a bit for each of them. You can even make a vegetarian version with potatoes, tofu, cauliflower, or cottage cheese.

Tomato Puree – It gives a nice, sweet, tangy flavor.

I prefer canned tomato puree as it is more concentrated in taste than homemade puree.

You can use tomato paste in place of tomato puree, just reduce the quantity a little as it is more intense in taste.

Oil – Use any cooking oil to make the vindaloo curry.

Others – You will also need a few more basic ingredients such as onions, turmeric powder, salt, and granulated sugar. You can skip sugar but it adds a little sweetness and balances the flavors well.

You can replace granulated white sugar with brown sugar, coconut sugar, or jaggery.

This curry is cooked in water, but to enhance the taste further, replace water with chicken broth (chicken stock).

How To Make Goan Chicken Vindaloo Curry

Make Vindaloo Paste

Add

• 10-12 whole dry Kashmiri red chilies (stalk removed)
• 2 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
• 3-4 cloves
• 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick
• 2-3 whole green cardamoms
• 8-10 whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds

to a skillet.

Dry roast on medium heat until fragrant and slightly browned (3-4 minutes). Keep stirring continuously while roasting.

Once the spices are roasted, remove the skillet from the heat and let the spices cool down completely.

Add the roasted spices to a high-speed blender along with a

• 1-inch piece of ginger (chopped)
• 8-10 cloves of garlic (peeled)
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1-½ tablespoon tamarind paste
• ½ cup of water

and blend to make a smooth paste. 

Scrape the sides of the blender a few times while making the paste.

Vindaloo masala paste is ready. Set it aside.

Make Chicken Vindaloo Curry

Heat 6 tablespoon cooking oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.

When the oil is hot, add 2 cups of chopped onions and cook till golden brown (10-12 minutes), stirring frequently.

Add 2 lb (1 kg) bone-in skinless rinsed chicken pieces (cut into 1 and ½ inch chunks) to the pot and cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes. Stir frequently while cooking.

Add 1 cup of canned tomato puree (or ½ cup tomato paste) and the vindaloo masala paste we made earlier to the pot and mix well.

Now add

• 2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 cup water

to the pot and stir gently.

Reduce the heat to low.

Cover the pot with a lid and cook for 45-50 minutes until the chicken is cooked well and the oil separates on top of the pan. Stir a few times while cooking.

Add ½ teaspoon sugar and cook for another minute. Chicken vindaloo is ready to be served.

Frequently Asked Questions

Serving Suggestions

You can serve steamed Basmati Rice or Jeera Rice with chicken vindaloo.

In Goa, vindaloo curry is served with a special bread called Poi. You can also serve it with dinner rolls, pav, or white bread.

It tastes great with Roti, Plain Tawa Paratha, Kerala Parotta, Plain Naan, or Lachha Paratha. Sometimes, I also like to serve it with dosa or appam; it tastes just delicious. 

Storage Suggestions

Chicken vindaloo will last 2-3 days in the refrigerator when stored in an airtight container. Reheat it in a pan or microwave before serving.

If you feel it has thickened after refrigerating, add some hot water and adjust the consistency.

You can even freeze this chicken vindaloo curry. Cool it completely, transfer it to a freezer-safe box, and freeze it for up to a month.

Thaw it on the counter for 3-4 hours, then reheat it with a little water until nice and warm before serving.