A Traditional Goan Pork Vindaloo Recipe From The 1875 Restaurant
I love Goan pork vindaloo and this is a lip smacking good one!
Traditional sweet, sour and a little bit spicy Goan pork vindaloo
I’ve been lucky to have met so many talented chefs and restaurateurs over the past couple of years. It’s been a dream come true for me. To be able to learn such amazing recipes and really get to know the food I am so passionate about has made writing my blog so much more enjoyable.
Last week I was invited by Majinder Singh Sarai, the owner of The 1875 Indian Restaurant near Leeds to visit his restaurant. What a great place! Nestled upstairs in the Menston train station it’s quite literally a hidden gem.
While there I met the head chef Vivek Kashiwale. Vivek from Gwalior, a city in the middle of northern India has been cooking most of his life. Vivek even trained under Michelin starred chef and author Vineet Bhatia for five years. Let’s just say he really knows his stuff.
If you like this Goan pork vindaloo,
be sure to watch out for Vivek’s other recipes!
Vivek is currently busy working on a new menu for The 1875. Reading through the current menu you will notice so many Indian delights such as authentic Goan Vindaloo, Sur Turka which are succulent marinated and seared pork chops, dosas and Idli Sambar – steamed rice cakes served on spiced lentils and topped with ghee.
This is Vivek’s traditional Goan pork vindaloo recipe. I got to try it during my visit and couldn’t wait to make it for my family when I got home. Sweet, sour and just a bit spicy, this recipe just plain gets it.
Goan vindaloo being prepared at The 1875
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| A Traditional Goan Pork Vindaloo Recipe From The 1875 Restaurant |
- 800g pork leg cut into bit sized pieces
- 1 quantity vindaloo marinade
- 2 onions – finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes – finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder
- 10 fresh curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
- 1 head of garlic – cloves cut into slivers
- 2 bay leaves
- For the vindaloo marinade
- 3 dried red chillies
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon black cardamom seeds
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 5 cloves
- 1 inch cassia bark stick
- 10 black peppercorns
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 4 green chillies – finely chopped
- 75ml red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soft brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste (or another two tablespoon of vinegar)
- 7 cloves garlic – smashed
- 1 inch piece of ginger – washed, chopped but with the skin left on
- Start with the marinade.
- Place all the spices except the turmeric in a dry frying pan over medium heat and fry until they become fragrant but are not yet smoking.
- Place the warm spices in a food processor with the turmeric and blend to a fine powder.
- Add the chillies, vinegar, tamarind paste, brown sugar, garlic and ginger and blend until smooth.
- Put the pork in a large glass bowl with the marinade and stir well to combine.
- Leave the pork to marinate for eight to 48 hours. The longer the better.
- To finish
- When ready to cook, heat the ghee or oil in a small saucepan over low heat.
- Add the garlic slivers and allow to cook gently for about 20 minutes. It is important not to burn the garlic so watch carefully. The garlic should be soft and translucent but not browned.
- Remove the garlic from the saucepan and set aside.
- Pour the ghee/oil you used to cook the garlic into a frying pan.
- When hot, add the curry leaves and mustard seeds.
- When the mustard seeds begin to pop, toss in the chopped onions.
- Fry for about ten minutes over medium high heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Be sure to stir regularly so that the spices don’t burn.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, chilli powder and the pork with its marinade to the pan and then pour in just enough water to cover.
- Leave to simmer for about an hour until the pork is very tender. You may need to add a drop more water while simmering.
- Stir in the cooked garlic.
- squeeze the lemon juice over the top and serve.
Group pic. From left Manjinder, me and Vivek
WIN A Selection Of DishMatic & EcoForce Products Worth £50.00
Have I got a great prize draw for you!
The DishMatic makes cleaning up a lot easier!
When you consider how many curry pans I’ve had to clean over the past few years, you might wonder how I ever got through it all without my new Dishmatic Scourers! I did but I sure don’t want to be without them again.
Dishmatic is an everyday household device that has made life as The Curry Guy a lot easier!
It’s a fillable washing up sponge scourer. Washing up liquid goes inside the handle and it dispenses as you clean. It’s functional, efficient and long lasting because all you do is replace the sponge scourer heads.
It reduces dishwasher usage too and is the natural way to wash up! (and it’s eco-friendly because it’s made from recycled components).
I’ve also been using the products by EcoForce – an everyday, practical range of effective household products made from recycled materials including recycled kitchen sponges, scourers, cloths and dusters.
These are eco friendly green cleaning products which include recycled pegs, a pegbasket and clothes line for laundry drying.
EcoForce Bag Grips make storing left-over easy.
There are also recycled food bag grips for storing left overs. You all know these will come in handy at my house.
Both Dishmatic and EcoForce are available in most supermarkets nationwide, and EcoForce is in Oxfam, B & Q and Homebase.
I love the products so much, I’ve decided to offer them as a prize with my sponsors Dishmatic and EcoForce. You could be the WINNER of £50.00 worth of cleaning products that should last you a whole year!
Here’s what you get…
Dishmatic Steel Scourer
Dishmatic Brush
Dishmatic Refills x 3
EcoForce Pegs x 2
EcoForce Beg Basket x1
EcoForce Clothes Line x 1
several of each of the following: sponges, sourers, cloths and dusters
EcoForce Bag Grips x 1
So what are you waiting for? I know you will love these products!
HOW TO ENTER…
Fill in the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries
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Closing date 12:01am 15 June 2013 EST
5 Ways To Prepare Garlic For Indian Cookery
Did you know that the way you prepare your garlic for cooking makes a big difference to the flavour of the end dish? I have discussed each of the ways I prepare garlic in previous recipes but I thought it would be a good idea to have them all in one post for easy reference. By varying your garlic preparation method, you can give one curry recipe five different flavours.
Garlic Paste
Garlic paste
Garlic paste is what I use most often in my recipes. It’s easy to make. Simply take your garlic cloves and smash them a little. Then place them in a food processor with just enough water to blend to a smooth paste.
The resulting garlic paste is used both in authentic Indian and also British Indian restaurant style recipes.
Add a tablespoon to your marinades or spoon some into your curry sauce for a quite subtle garlic flavour. By subtle I mean you really can’t taste the garlic very much at all but you know it’s there.
Chopped Fresh Garlic
Two essentials! Chopped garlic and chopped ginger
British Indian restaurant style curries usually call for garlic paste but chopped fresh garlic can be used instead. Just like with garlic paste, chopped garlic will lend a subtle garlic flavour to your cooked dishes.
Used raw, it can be added to chunky raitas, pickles and raitas. It’s also nice mixed into side salads and can be quite strong in flavour.
Slow Cooked Garlic Slivers In Oil
Slow cooked garlic in oil
Slow cooked garlic slivers are often added to curries to give them a deeper more complex flavour. I use this preparation when I want a garlicky flavour in curries such as Goan vindaloo and chicken chilli garlic.
Preaparing your garlic in this way is easy but you do need to watch the garlic as it cooks quite carefully.
Heat about 250ml of olive oil or rapeseed oil in a small saucepan over low heat. Cut your garlic cloves into thin slivers and then add them to the simmering oil. You want to cook the garlic over low heat for about 30 minutes. Be sure not to brown the garlic or it will become bitter. You want the garlic to be soft and translucent. The longer and slower you cook the garlic, the sweeter it will become.
Dried Garlic Flakes
To be honest, I usually purchase my dried garlic flakes from my local Asian market. The quality is quite good and a lot less work.
That said, making your own garlic flakes is a great way to use up garlic cloves that would otherwise go off. To make them, simply skin the garlic cloves and slice the cloves into thin slivers.
Preheat your oven to 70c (About 150f)
Place the garlic slivers on a baking tray and allow to roast until nice and dry. You’ll know they are ready when the garlic becomes lightly browned and obviously dryer.
Use as they are of process further by grinding the garlic flakes in a food processor to a fine garlic powder.
I often use the dried flakes to spice up vegetable dishes or to decorate a dish in a tasty way.
I use garlic powder in my tandoori masala powder recipe and other spice blends.
Fire roasted garlic
Roasting garlic!
You may have seen me use this method in a few of my recipes. Place the garlic cloves in their skins onto skewers and the roast over a hot flame until the skins are blackened and the garlic is still crisp but tender in places.
These fire roasted garlic cloves can be used to add a nice garlic flavour to curries or even in salads such as my Bangladeshi tomato salad.
Making Chicken Tikka
Chicken tikka can be used in so many different recipes!
Chicken tikka being cooked by chefs at Hasan’s
I remember last year’s World Curry Festival in Bradford. I was walking around checking out the food stalls and noticed a very long queue in front of Hasan’s stall. That day they must have served tons of chicken tikka to hungry visitors! I ordered mine served on fresh naans. Those succulent pieces of chicken were to die for.
The thing is, it’s not difficult to make chicken tikka at home. It’s nice to go out to dinner and get spoilt with gorgeous food but let’s face it… that’s a real treat. When at home I like to make chicken tikka for the family. The kids love it and as all the fatty skin is removed so it’s also quite good for you.
There’s nothing like firing up the tandoor oven – a little birthday surprise from my wife – and cooking the tikka until they’re just cooked through and lightly charred on the outside. This recipe could also be made on a barbecue or even in a hot oven.
The meat can be served on its own or used in curries. Chicken tikka masala anyone? I love the smoky flavour barbecued chicken tikka adds to my curries.
There are many different great chicken tikka recipes out there. Here is one of mine. Enjoy.
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| How to Make Easy Tandoori Chicken |
- 1 kilo (2 lbs.) chicken breasts – cut into bite sized pieces (tikka)
- Juice of two lemons
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 250ml (1 cup) plain yogurt
- 2 tablespoons garlic puree
- 1 tablespoon ginger puree
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon citric acid powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 green chillies finely chopped
- 1 bunch of coriander leaves finely chopped
- Place the chicken tikka in a large bowl and squeeze the lemon juice over them and sprinkle with a little salt.
- Now, place all the marinade ingredients in a blender and blend to a fine paste.
- Cover the chicken pieces with the marinade ensuring the chicken tikka are completely coated with the marinade.
- Allow to marinaded for six hours or up to 48 hours – the longer the better.
- When ready to cook, light a barbecue. Gas barbecues will work but I prefer the flavour of charcoal barbecues.
- You are ready to grill when you can hold your hand two inches above the grill without it being unbearably hot.
- Cook the chicken tikka on skewers turning occasionally until the chicken is cooked through and the edges are blackened.
Mint, Coriander & Mango Chutney
Mint, coriander & mango chutney
I’m usually quite good and identifying flavours but with this mint, coriander & Mango Chutney I was stumped. Hasan from Hasan’s Restaurant in Leeds served it to me with a selection of tandoori dishes. I got the coriander and mint right but what was that other familiar ingredient?
The chutney was quite thick so I assumed yogurt even though it didn’t look or taste anything like yogurt. Silly guess I guess!
Hasan then told me it was mango chutney. Simple mango chutney that you can purchase off the shelf or if you’re so inclined make your own. This recipe is easy and worth the effort. It goes so well with tandoori dishes such as chicken tikka and lamb kebabs.
This is one you are going to need to experiment with. If the chutney is too thick for your liking, add more lime juice or smooth mango chutney. You really can’t go wrong as all of the flavours are good on their own. Just taste and adjust and you’ll soon have the perfect side dish for your favourite tandoori dishes and popadams.
For more British Indian Restaurant style recipes…
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| Mint, Coriander & Mango Chutney |
- 1 large bunch mint leaves
- 1 small bunch coriander leaves
- 200ml smooth mango chutney
- 1 – 4 fresh green chillies – finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic – finely chopped
- Juice of one lime
- Finely chop the coriander and mint leaves.
- Place them in a blender with the rest of the ingredients.
- Blend until smooth.
- Serve with popadams, naans, kebabs or whatever you fancy!
The Great Kingfisher Beer Prize Draw
My Kingfisher Beer prize draws are proving very popular!
Kingfisher tastes great ice cold and also in a curry!
Back by popular demand!
I have been a big fan of Kingfisher Beer since I can remember. You probably know as well as I do that it goes so well with a curry!
Once again I’m teaming up with my friends at Kingfisher to bring you this great prize!
This draw if for a 12 pack case of 500ml bottles of Kingfisher Beer! Assuming we have a few warm months on the way, this will be a welcome prize! Let’s hope for those warm months because at the time of writing, it feels more like Christmas!
So then… Are you ready to give it a go?
We’ve got 12 bottles of Kingfisher Premium Lager on offer here!
Dan
Chicken Keema Aloo Balti
Chicken Keema Aloo Balti
This is a nice one! It’s another of the recipes I learned when I visited Hasan’s in Leeds and definitely one you’ll want to bookmark. The recipe is easy and can be made in about half an hour. At Hasan’s Restaurant they only use the freshest ingredients and this recipe really lets those fresh flavours sing.
You could also make it with other minced meat such as lamb or beef but the lean chicken is much better for you and cooks faster too. Since cooking at Hasan’s, I’ve also made the recipe with turkey mince which worked really well.
My daughters really liked the aloo (potatoes) with the minced chicken. The soft texture of the potatoes together with the tender spiced mince worked great together.
In authentic Punjabi cookery, this dish would have been cooked with ghee. Most British Indian restaurant versions use vegetable oil which is lighter. You could also use rapeseed oil with good results. Hasan served this dish with fresh naans which we used to dip into the curry. I suggest doing the same!
The minced lean chicken is added after the onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes
Almost finished! Just need to ensure the potatoes are cooked through.
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| Chicken Keema Aloo Balti |
- 100ml vegetable or rapeseed oil
- 800g lean minced chicken
- 3 onions – finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 2 green chillies – finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 3 tomatoes – finely chopped
- 2 potatoes – skinned and cut into small chunks
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 small bunch chopped coriander
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Heat the oil over medium heat.
- When hot, add the chopped onions.
- Allow the onions to fry for about five minutes until soft and translucent.
- Now add the garlic and ginger pastes along with the green chillies
- Fry for a further two minutes being careful not to burn the garlic.
- Spoon in the garam masala, coriander powder and cumin powder and stir to combine.
- In goes the chicken mince. Stir it all in really well so that it cooks evenly.
- Toss in the tomatoes and potato pieces.
- Stir again and then in goes the turmeric and chilli powder.
- Place the lid on the pan so that the potatoes cook faster. You may need to add a little water if the sauce looks too dry.
- When the potatoes are cooked through, stir in the fresh coriander and season with salt and pepper.
- Place the lid on it all again. The oil will rise to the top. When it does, your curry is ready to eat.
Lamb Kofta Curry With Chickpeas
This is British Indian restaurant (BIR) cooking at its best!
lamb koftas with chickpeas
I’ve been busy lately visiting some of my favourite Indian restaurants and learning their most popular recipes. Recently I was invited to Hasan’s in Leeds. Hasan, the owner and head chef taught me this lamb kofta recipe. It’s absolutely fantastic!
A couple of days ago, I showed you how Hasan prepared the minced lamb for his seekh kebabs. We used the same recipe for these koftas. I love the way they are steamed on top of the onion tadka giving them a completely different texture to the seekh kebabs.
The recipe was brought together in the end with the addition of chickpeas to the sauce which really made the dish memorable.
Each of the lamb koftas was meticulously prepared as you can see from the pictures below. A little oil was used when making the individual koftas to make rolling them into balls easier and more uniformed.
Lamb koftas ready for cooking
Once the koftas were ready, they were carefully added to the onion tadka and the lid was place over the curry to allow them to cook slowly over a very low heat.
Lamb koftas carefully placed on the onion tadka
It was important not to move the lamb koftas around much while they cooked or they would have fallen apart. When they were finished cooking, the rest of the sauce ingredients were added and the curry continued to cook for about ten minutes to give the ingredients a chance to get to know each other.
Steaming away!
Almost ready!
To finish, we checked the curry for seasoning and then stirred in the chickpeas.
I can assure you, this is going to be a regular in my curry pan!
For more British Indian Restaurant style recipes…
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| Lamb Kofta Curry With Chickpeas |
- 700g lamb mince – preferable prepared as per Hasan’s recipe
- 100ml vegetable oil (rapeseed oil could also be used)
- 3 onions – finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 2 green chillies – finely chopped
- 4 tomatos – finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon red chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 400ml tinned chickpeas
- 1 small bunch chopped coriander
- 1 teaspoon chopped mint (optional)
- Heat the oil over medium heat.
- When nice and hot but not smoking, add the chopped onions.
- Allow the onions to fry for about five minutes until soft and translucent.
- Sprinkle a little salt over the onions. This will help release some of the water in the onions.
- Now carefully add your koftas and then place a lid over it all. Reduce the heat to low.
- After about five minutes, the koftas should be almost cooked through. Check them and move around carefully if required. Place the lid back on the top to continue cooking.
- After a couple more minutes, introduce the garlic, ginger and chopped chillies. Stir them into the onions before adding the tomatoes and the spices.
- Stir everything to combine and then place the lid back on it all.
- After about five minutes, the sauce will be looking and smelling more like a curry. Yes, it does smell as nice as it looks!
- Check for seasoning and then add the chickpeas and the chopped coriander.
What Is In My British Indian Restaurant Spice Larder?
British Indian Restaurant (BIR) spice selection
I’m often asked which spices are essential for good British Indian Restaurant (BIR) style cooking. Indian curry house cooking is different to more authentic styles in that it was adapted to make great tasting meals fast in a busy restaurant.
I have about every spice going in my spice larder but there are a few spices/ spices mixes (masalas) I use all the time. These are the spices I keep topped up for quick meals after work. They are the spices you will need to have on hand if you are interested in perfecting your BIR cooking skills.
Not everyone cooks as much BIR meals as I do at home so you may wish to prepare the spices in small amounts so that your meals taste exciting and fresh.
I also recommend sourcing an Indian spice container – such as a spice dabbas (pictured below) or perhaps something more modern like the nifty air-tight stainless steel spice jars that were sent to me by my friends at Brabantia. I love these containers and highly recommend them if you are using spices often.
My daughter’s spice dabbas which I borrow from time to time
My BIR spice containers supplied by Brabantia
I visit quite a few Indian restaurant kitchens and most have a nice line up of spices at the ready. I’ve copied these spice collections for my British Indian restaurant selection at home.
So here you go. I do roast all of my spices to release the essential oils. You should do the same. To do so, simply add the whole spices to a dry frying pan and roast over medium heat until the spices are fragrant and warm. Be sure to remove them from the heat to a cool container just before they begin to smoke.
Then grind them and store as discussed above.
My British Indian Restaurant (BIR) Essential Spices
My garam masala roasting in a pan
- Garam Masala – This is my curry powder. I have many different recipes that I use. Currently I’m using this one
- Tandoori Masala – This is a very useful spice blend for you tandoori fans out there. I tend to go from this recipe to a rather more simple version which is just my garam masala recipe with a nice big pinch of citric acid powder. Both work really well.
- Turmeric – I purchase this in powdered form. Generally speaking, I use about a teaspoon or so per for person curry. You don’t need a lot.
- Cumin – I purchase the seeds and then roast them. The flavour is so much nicer than the stale ground cumin you find at most shops.
- Coriander – Look for small coriander seeds that look fresh. Coriander seeds begin to look and taste a lot like sawdust when too old.
- Red Chili Powder – I use a spicy Kashmiri powder and also a mild smoked paprika.
- Salt and pepper – I use my spiced salt blend. You can find the recipe here but plain flaky salt and black pepper will do the job just fine.
<strong>Disclaimer:</strong>Brabantia supplied me with my new spice containers free of charge. I highly recommend them.
Lamb Seekh Kebabs
This lamb seekh kebab recipe is from Hasan’s in Leeds
Lamb sheek Kebabs
I must have tried hundreds of recipes for lamb seekh kebabs over the years. Most seem to have twenty or more ingredients and take quite a while to assemble. I just love them but sometimes the recipes, including some of my own can be a bit over the top.
I met Hasan Chaudhry, owner of Hasan’s in Leeds at the World Curry Festival in Bradford last year. Hasan had a food stall at the show and handed me one of his grilled lamb kebabs wrapped in a freshly baked naan and topped with salad and a homemade raita. It was one of the best I’d ever tried.
Last week he invited me to cook at Hasan’s Restaurant where he showed me a few of his popular dishes. There was no way I could go without learning his lamb seekh kebab recipe! I have to say I was very surprised at how simple it was.
Hasan explained how he likes to keep the recipe simple so that the flavours of the chutneys and raitas and other sides that the kebabs are served with don’t have to compete with each other. So true! Try this recipe and serve the lamb seekh kebabs with a few fresh raitas or chutneys and you’ll most certainly be glad you read this post.
Before you start, however I’d like to draw your attention to the picture below of the raw lamb mince. Can you see where the meat has been smashed against the bottom of the bowl? This is what Hasan calls “lace” and it is very important to do this to achieve the right texture.
Lamb mince being prepared for seekh kebabs
While preparing the meat, Hasan worked the mince as if he were kneading dough. As he did, he smashed the meat against the bottom of the bowl. This was done for about five minutes.
I tried it myself when I got home and what a difference it makes! I’ve never read this tip in any cookbook nor learnt it from any other chef. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons Hasan’s restaurant is so popular.
Lamb seekh kebabs on the grill at Hasan’s
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| Lamb Seekh Kebabs |
- 1 kilo lean minced lamb
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons green chilli paste
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon freshly roasted and ground coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 large bunch finely chopped fresh coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Place the lamb mince in a large bowl
- Mix in the other ingredients and begin working the minced lamb with your hands.
- When all the ingredients are nicely mixed, begin pressing down on the meat as you knead it. You’ve got to achieve that “lace” texture as mentioned above.
- Once it all ready, about five minutes of kneading, form the meat into kebab shapes. If you have large skewers as pictured, be sure to squeeze the meat onto the skewers.
- Place the sheek kebabs over hot coals and grill, turning regularly until the meat is cooked through.
Note: This recipe could also be used to make koftas and kheema naans.
