Chicken Vindaloo Recipe
Chicken Vindaloo is a fiery, spicy Goan-style chicken curry that has a beautiful blend of flavors from freshly ground spice paste, tang from vinegar, and just the right amount of heat from Kashmiri red chilies. Make it at home using my easy recipe.
I have also tried vindaloo curry using other ingredients. Do check the recipes here: Lamb Vindaloo, Aloo Vindaloo, and Shrimp Vindaloo.
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It was originally made using pork, but now I have seen its versions with chicken, beef, lamb, mutton, fish, chickpeas, paneer, and tofu.
About Chicken Vindaloo
Chicken Vindaloo is a variation of Goan vindaloo curry, where it is made using chicken pieces.
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.
Ingredients
You will find all the ingredients to make this vindaloo curry, including the bone-in chicken pieces, in Indian grocery stores near you.
To Make The 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. If these are unavailable, then you can use any variety of mild 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 flavor 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.
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, but reduce the quantity slightly, 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 to make this chicken vindaloo recipe. 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 popular Indian curry is cooked in water, but to enhance the taste further, replace water with chicken broth (chicken stock).
How To Make Vindaloo Chicken Curry
Make Vindaloo Paste
Add the following ingredients to a skillet.
- 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
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 the following ingredients and blend to make a smooth paste.
- 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
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 the following ingredients to the pot and stir gently.
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 cup water
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
You can make this curry in an Instant Pot as well. Dry roast the spices and make a vindaloo paste using spices, vinegar, and chilies.
Now press SAUTE on the Instant Pot. Add oil. When the oil is hot, add onions and fry until they turn golden brown. Add chicken and fry for 4-5 minutes.
Add the vindaloo masala paste, tomato puree, salt, turmeric, and water. Close the lid of the Instant Pot and press PRESSURE COOK. Set the timer for 5 minutes at high pressure.
Let the timer go off, and the pressure release on its own for 15 minutes.
Release the remaining pressure and open the lid of the Instant Pot. Add sugar and mix well.
When made in Goan homes, the curry is quite spicy, and you can label it XX Hot. But you can adjust the spice level to suit your taste buds and make it mild, too.
The number of chilies and the type I have used will give you a medium spicy curry.
Remove the seeds from the chili if you want to make it even milder.
Many Goan Hindus add coconut milk to their vindaloo curry to make it creamy and rich. You can try it too.
Pro Tip By Neha
Some people like to soak the chilies in vinegar for some time, but after trying multiple times, I have realized that this extra step is not required at all.
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 curry can be stored for 2-3 days in the refrigerator 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.
You can also prepare the vindaloo paste and store it in the fridge for about a month. Store it properly in an air-tight container, and use a clean and dry spoon to take out the paste every time you use it. You can freeze this paste for upto 6 months. Thaw and use.
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Chicken Vindaloo Recipe
Ingredients
For Vindaloo Paste
- 10-12 whole dry Kashmiri red chilies (or any other dry chilies. Remove the stalks.)
- 2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds
- 3-4 cloves (laung)
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick (dalchini)
- 2-3 whole green cardamoms (hari elaichi)
- 8-10 whole black peppercorns (kali mirch)
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- 8-10 cloves of garlic (peeled)
- 1 inch piece of ginger (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 and ½ tablespoons tamarind paste
For The Vindaloo Curry
- 6 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 2 pounds bone-in skinless chicken (cut into 1 and ½ inch chunks, rinsed)
- 1 cup canned tomato puree (or ½ cup tomato paste)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon white granulated sugar
Instructions
Make Vindaloo Paste
- Add dry red chilies, coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon, green cardamoms, peppercorns, cumin seeds, and 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 ginger, garlic, white vinegar, tamarind paste, and 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 Vindaloo Curry
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, add onions and fry till golden brown (10-12 minutes), stirring frequently.
- Add chicken pieces to the pot and cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes. Stir frequently while cooking.
- Add tomato puree and the vindaloo masala paste that we made earlier to the pot and mix well.
- Now add salt, turmeric powder, and 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 starts to separate on top of the pan. Stir a few times while cooking.
- Add sugar and cook for another minute. Chicken vindaloo is ready to be served.
Oh wow – this was so good. I was a little apprehensive as I didn’t have all the ingedients to hand so made some substitutions. I didn’t have tamarind so used amchoor instead and I used a carton (500g) of passata in place of the tomato purée so didn’t add the cup of water. Anyway – the result was truly delicious – thank you so much. I’ll risk a few extra chillies next time. I’ve also just seen the suggestion of adding fenugreek in an earlier feedback – think I’ll give that a go too…
Thank you for sharing your recipe ???? stunning flavour.
It is perfect! I didn’t use a blender but a mortar. That’s also good for your muscles 🙂 Also you can still find a tiny piece of cinamon here or there, which I really love as a little surprise.
THANK YOU very much! I can’t keep tasting now since I have made it for visitors… there will be nothing left…. 😉
NB I have added a little fenugreek too
Halved the recipe, used boneless chicken thighs and forgot to dry roast the spices. Still turned out amazing! Cant wait to try it again with the dry roast. Thank you so much for this recipe.
This takes me straight back to the Indian restaurant that I worked at years ago. The spice blend is on point and I love it!! I made a vegetarian, super mild version for a friend it was just as delicious as chicken and lamb. I pre cooked my veg and just cooked the paste, onion, tomato purée, salt and turmeric for 45 min and added the salt and cooked veg and a can of drained chicken peas. I let it sit and marry for and hour off the heat before serving. To make it ultra mild I subbed paprika for the chili’s. The 3 year old loved it!!
Amazing is the only word to describe it, I tried it and the results were finger licking good. Only thing I would suggest is to first grind the dry ingredients separately and then with the wet ingredients, as the grind is not very fine if ground together.
Best vindaloo I ever had, and I like my Indians! Bit more awkward done the other recipes and some of the ingredients where a bit more unusual but it was worth the extra effort.
I’ve been trying to recreate restaurant vindaloo for literal years – this is the closest I’ve come! Thanks a lot!
A few changes –
– Soak the chilis in vinegar for 30 mins as another poster suggested; add these straight to the blender
– Cook the onions to golden brown; add garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more; blend onions in addition to the other blender ingredients for a smoother consistency
– Sub chicken stock for water and reduce salt
– Sub ghee for oil
– Rub chicken in 1-2 cloves minced garlic, pinky of minced ginger, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp chili powder; leave 20 minutes before cooking
Thanks again, fantastic!
Really good quick and simple recipe
Thanks Simon
This recipe gets 10 stars!!!! I’ve tried many recipes to get the perfect vindaloo! This is the one!!!!!! It is DELICIOUS!! You won’t be disappointed ❤️❤️❤️❤️