Goan Mutton Vindaloo

Mutton Vindaloo

Today's recipe is the hot and spicy Goan favorite, Vindaloo. It is lip-smacking delicious, spicy curry. Authentic Goan Vindaloo is made with pork, but you can also use beef or mutton. In today's recipe, I have used mutton. It is popular among Christians, and the Anglo-Indian community. Most Indian restaurants have Vindaloo on their menu. This curry is even popular outside India. It has a familiar pickle sourness, and taste because of its star ingredients- vinegar and mustard. There are chilies- lots of them for a fiery look. But there is a right balance of taste and flavor.

This dish has a history of its own. It was inspired by Portuguese culture but slowly adapted to Indian tastes. It is an Indianized version of popular Portuguese dish Carne de vinha d'alhos in which meat is marinated in wine and garlic. It is often refereed to as pickled pork or garlic pork.It was mispronounced and became vindalho or vindaloo in India. The variations of this Portuguse recipe is also found in Brazil, Angola and, Mozambique.

Coming to the Goan recipe, the natives of Goa made it their own by adding local ingredients like palm wine, spicy chilies, and earthy spices. It was adapted and changed to suit local tastes along the coastline regions like Goa, Konkan, Maharastra, and Kerala. British also popularized this dish and it found its way to England.

Today this dish is a must among Christians of the region, especially during Christmas.Vindaloo is usually made ahead of time and tastes best the next day. The sauce is chilly based, which gives it a fiery red color along with garlic, mustard, and vinegar. Goan Vindaloo contains Feni. It is a local liquor which adds a pungent flavor to the sauce. If you are lucky to get hold of this liquor try adding it to the curry. Other options are sugarcane vinegar or malt vinegar. Serve this with crusty bread, pulao,rice or naan. Get your ingredients together and give this recipe a try, you will surely love it.

How to Make Goan Mutton Vindaloo

Cooking time- 30 minutes
Recipe type- Side dish/Meat
Cuisine- Goan/ Indian

Ingredients

Mutton-1 kg
Onion finely chopped- 1 large
Kashmiri chilly whole-12
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Ginger- 2 inch thick piece
Garlic- 10- 12 pods
Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon- 2 pieces
Clove- 4
Vinegar-3 tbs
(or you can use coconut vinegar or
red wine vinegar)
Tamarind- small goose berry size
Jaggery- 1 tsp
Thick coconut milk- 2 tbs (optional)

Oil and salt as needed

Remove the seeds ( if you want it less spicy) from the dry chilly and soak it in vinegar and coconut milk for about half an hour.
Make a fine paste of this along with ginger and garlic,mustard seeds,cumin seeds, clove and cinnamon.Combine pepper powder,turmeric powder, salt, jaggery and tamarind pulp. The marinade is ready.

Pour this marinade over the mutton, mix well, cover and refrigerate for about 3-4 hour.

Drain and squeeze the excess marinade liquid into a separate pot. Do not discard it add enough water and simmer this gravy separately in a low medium flame.
Heat oil in a pan and add the marinated meat and stir fry it for about four to five minute till it gets slightly browns. Add chopped onion and continue to fry for another two to three minutes till the onion becomes golden brown. Pour the simmering sauce over the mutton and adjust consistency. Cover and cook till the mutton is soft and tender and till the oil separates.This may take up to 20 minutes. Serve this with rice or naan or chapati.