Vindaloo or Vindhalho is a popular Goan curry. Goa is a state that is on the western coast of India and boasts of an amazing seafood rich cuisine. This recipe came down from the Portuguese settlers – Vin meaning wine and Alho meaning garlic. There are many many recipes out there that use potatoes as aloo means potato in Hindi – please refrain! The original Vindaloo is made with Pork however in the modern times you can find Chicken and Seafood versions of this iconic dish.

Today Wine is not used – I can only go by my own theory that the settlers had wine that turned to vinegar on their long sea voyages and the locals in Goa added red Kashmiri Chillies which gives this dish it’s iconic rich red colour!

Shrimp Vindaloo

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Ingredients
  

  • Vindaloo Paste
  • 20 Kashmiri Chillies
  • 1 inch stick Cinnamon
  • 6 Cloves
  • 1 tsp Cumin seeds
  • 10 Peppercorns
  • 1/4 tsp Black Mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
  • 1/4 cup Ginger
  • 1/4 cup Garlic
  • 1/4 cup Goa sub Red Wine Vinegar or Malt Vinegar
  • Water as required
  • 1 lb of Shrimp approx. 500 gms
  • 1/2 cup ground Onion
  • 4 oz Vindaloo paste approx. 8 tbsps
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/2 a cup fresh pureed Tomato here
  • 1/2 – 1 cup stock
  • 1/2 cup of water or stock

Instructions
 

  • Clean and deseed the Chillies
  • Soak the Kashmiri Chillies in hot water fir 1 hr to overnight for 2 reasons A) I feel much better knowing that the chillies have been cleaned by immersing in hot water and B) Soaking the skins makes for a much better texture in the Vindaloo paste
  • First process all the dry ingredients like the Cinnamon, Cloves, Cumin seeds, Peppercorns & Mustard seeds
  • Add the Turmeric powder
  • Add the fresh Ginger & Garlic
  • Add the soaked chillies in batches and process
  • Add the Vinegar and the rest of the chillies and keep processing.
  • To thin out this masala and get it nice and smooth add the water that the chillies were soaked in or regular water
  • In a sauce pan, heat up some oil and add the ground Onion and allow it to saute
  • Add the shrimp in and allow to saute for a few minutes
  • Add the Vindaloo paste
  • Saute the shrimp and the vindaloo paste together so the shrimp is coated in this
  • Add salt to taste
  • Add the fresh pureed Tomato
  • To thin this out add the stock and more water or stock as required
  • Cover this and allow this to cook for just a few minutes

My original recipe has always come from my Mom’s handwritten recipe books but I’ve made a slight change by soaking the chilies in hot water for this recipe.