Vindaloo

Honey loves non vegetarian food. When were about to get married, his cousin was offering his sympathy to Honey that he is marrying someone who is not a meat-eater.. 'ega en madtiyappa' which roughly translates into 'so what next buddy? how will you get your favorite food?' But then what he did not know was that it is not difficult to cook non vegetarian, if you know the basic cooking techniques.

Simple, what is the big deal, just think you are cooking potatoes! There was a time when I used have problems with the smell, I do not now. When ever i cook non vegetarian, I do it with so much love that I hardly go wrong. It is a different issue that Honey can eat anything non-vegetarian with may be a pinch of salt and a pinch of chilly flakes. (May be there is nothing much with my cooking skill there lol) So at least once every month, I diligently make him non-vegetarian food of choice, Curry, Pulao and other experimentation. If I am not all that enthusiastic, I would just put in what ever I can lay my hands upon and call the resulting product as something exotic. One fine day Honey said he wanted to eat Vindaloo. So be it. I made him some vindaloo. He loved it, the gravy looked so rich. Generally pork is the meat used to make Vindaloo, but of course it is good with chicken, lamb or any meat of choice. I tried it with an egg and potatoes for me, the result was pathetic, not quite what i expected it to be.



You will need

Chicken/ Pork/ mutton 1 lb (preferable bone-in thighs for chicken)
Garlic 6 medium cloves
Red Onion 1 small diced
Cloves 6-7
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Red Chillies 6-7 depending on the variety as well as taste. I use an unidentified Chinese variety!!
Vinegar 1/4 cup (I used red wine vinegar that was lying in my pantry)
Pepper 1/2 tsp
Cumin 1 tsp
Oil 2 tbsp

Method:

• Heat about 1 tsp of oil in a pan. Throw in the onions and cook till they are deep brown. Set it aside.
• Grind the red chillies, cumin, clove, garlic and pepper corns into a coarse paste with little water. Set it aside
  
• Heat the remaining oil in a wok. Throw in cubed pieces of chicken. Sear it on all side till sort of golden brownish.
• Pour the ground paste. Stir well, scrap the wok if there are any bits sticking to the bottom.
• Toss around quick and throw in the browned onions. Add more water if needed cover and cook till the chicken is cooked and the gravy is nice rich and brown. About 45 minutes to an hour I should say.
  
• Stir in the vinegar. Cook it for a few more minutes. Remove from heat. It is supposed to taste better the next day. So it is a great make ahead meal for those planning parties.
  
• I served it with Paddu, goes well with idlis and rice.