Recipe - Fish Vindaloo

In my mind, Vindaloo automatically co-relates to Goa. A relatively spicy dish even by South Indian standards, it is a favourite around the coastal region and often made with pork. Over the years, it has undergone a sea of transformation and now the dish incorporates fish, chicken and lamb. And while it remains a very popular 'Indian dish' abroad, the fact is that most restaurants in U.K. and USA tend to just pass off a spicier version of regular Indian curry as 'vindaloo'.  

Saffron Trail rightly pointed out to me that while the option of an image containing the recipe was fine, I need to keep the actual recipe in word format too upon the post. So from now on, you will have the best of both worlds - the recipe in a simple word format and also as a downloadable image.

INGREDIENTS:

fish 1/2 kg,
chilli powder 1 1/2 tsp,
tumeric powder 1/4 tsp,

garam masala 1/4tsp,

pepper powder 1/2 tsp,

Fenugreek 1/2 tsp,

garlic 6 cloves,

saunf 1/2tsp,

salt reqd,
coconut milk - 2 cups thin,
coconut milk - 1 cup thick,
oil,
onion 2 sliced,

green chillies 2 cut into round pieces,

tomatoes 5,

sugar 1/2 spoon,
vinegar 1 tsp,
coriander leaves for garnishing.

RECIPE:
Mix chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, powdered fenugreek, saunf powder, garlic paste & salt. Use 1/2 of this mix to marinate the cleaned fish. Keep it aside for 1/2 hour. Then fry lightly & keep aside. Take 1/2 cup thick coconut milk and 1 1/2 cup thin coconut milk. In a pan saute onions & green chillies. Then add ground tomatoes to it & saute well. Then add the thin coconut milk to it & add fish and cook. When gravy becomes thick add the thick coconut milk. When it just starts to boil, add sugar & vinegar. Stir and turn the heat off. Serve hot with rice.

Fun fact:  While the dish has definitely been modified to suit Indian social norms and taste buds, technically the word "vindaloo" remains a major misnomer. You see, it is derived from the Portuguese dish "Carne de vinha d'alhos" meaning "meat with wine and garlic". While borrowing from them during these 'stay' here, we Indians chose to use vinegar instead of wine and then added our famous blend of fiery spices to remix it into the dish it is today.

Also, the common practice seen in some restaurants of adding potatoes (aloo) has no connection with the word vindaloo. Those are just further variations of the original dish. 

Click the image to convert to its full size and download it for your own use

Vindaloo (traditionally pork but also fish) is definitely a dish I would recommend for those who like a little heat in their curries. It is a unique flavour that just gets elevated by the addition of vinegar to a whole new level that tantalises your taste buds. 

Over the course of the rest of this month, expect to see many more such dishes (ranging from seafood, desserts, starters and tea time snacks) - all prepared by my mother from recipes she has collected as far back as the 1980's - with some unique to Kerala cuisine and some variations of international dishes. 

Since the goal is to share, I will be looking to make all the recipes into easy downloadable single images so that you can save them on to your mobile/device and use them offline. Of course, if you do try them out, it would be awesome if you gave me (and her) feedback here on what you thought of the dish.

For the list of all the recipes so far (including seafood, egg dishes, sweets, twists on traditional dishes et al), click here:

For more food posts,  click here.

Authors note:

I am participating in NaBloPoMo. You can read more about it here and join in the fun yourself, adding your posts here.

I am also participating in EverydayGyaan's September Blogging Challenge and Bailey Jean's Blog-Tember challenge. Do check them all out. So many inspiring themes to get you writing.