Curry Vindaloo

This was a great recipe, and it is authentic!! I can see myself cooking this time and time again. I did make some changes to the recipe. I used a whole head of garlic instead of 8 cloves. I also added a teaspoon of cumin seeds, three stalks curry leaf and a stalk of bruised lemongrass. Then I dumped everything into the blender. Next time I might reduce the vinegar to 1/2 cup, I felt it was a little too vinegary if there is such a word. I pounded the cumin, peppercorn, coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon of cloves, 2 teaspoons of cardimon (not sure about spelling) with my mortar before actually adding it to the hot oil. After I had added all my ingredients, i added 3/4 cup of natural yoghurt to the curry and allowed it to simmer. This was wonderful!!I can't wait to try making this with lamb (i made it with chicken).

Watch out for smoke coming out of your ears with this one. It had a fabulous taste, very nice balance. I did change several things in the technique, but none of the ingredients. Instead of marinating the meat, I started browning it right away. I also toasted the spices first, ground them a bit, then added them with the chile/garlic/ginger paste. Then proceeded with the recipe as written. I started with 1 t cayenne, and that was enough for us. Phew. For any other Aussies who make this, the best cut of beef for this is gravy beef and I cooked it for 2 hours over low heat. One of the side dishes we had was minted yoghurt. Thanks - it was great.

I think this is the only recipe i've seen printed that shows spice prep similar to what I've seen in indian homes!

I am currently working as a Sous Chef under my mentor Shanta Menon, the owner of a well-known restaurant in the Dallas area: the Blue Door Cafe. She is a native of North India, and through her guidance I have learned quite a lot about cuisine from India's many distinct regions. I prepared this dish at home following the recipe exactly as it appears, and was extremely disappointed with the outcome. I will concede that there are as many recipes for curry Vindaloo as there are for spaghetti sauce (everyone has their own way of doing it), but I found this dish to be, quite bluntly, inedible. I brought the recipe to my mentor in order to be sure that it was not actually authentic, and she confirmed my concerns immediately. The primary issue with this recipe is the amount of vinegar it calls for. The single cup of vinegar should be revised to say "add vinegar to taste." Shanta informed me that often vinegar is used as a substitute for Tamarind pulp in Vindaloo curries, and should never be added in such great quantities. Also, this recipe is missing several key spices, which I suggest including (though they may be omitted): clove, bay leaf, and cinnamon.