Chicken Vindaloo

30m

4 servings

In our household, we like it HOT. Especially when it comes to food. My partner has been a "chilihead" since before we met and he started converting me right after (not that I'm complaining). Indian dishes in particular are a staple in our lunch rotations and chicken vindaloo has been one of my favorites ever since I first tried it. I was surprised to learn however, that despite what pretty much every Indian restaurant I've been to have led me to believe, a vindaloo dish doesn't traditionally contain any potatoes! So here's a version without them (though I personally still prefer it with my favored starch).

Ingredients

500 g chicken (breast or thighs, both work)
30 ml oil (whichever you have on hand)
1 large white onion
500 ml tomato puree
250 ml chicken stock (or water with optional stock cube)
2 bay leaves

Marinade

120 ml light-colored vinegar (e.g. white wine or apple cider)
5 garlic cloves
2 cm ginger
30 g light-brown sugar
chili powder to taste (make it as hot or mild as you want)
1/2 tbsp sweet paprika powder
1/2 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp coriander leaves
1/2 tbsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
7 g salt

To serve

rice (pictured is a mix of basmati and wild rice)
parsley

Directions

Cut your chicken into bite-sized cubes.
In a larger bowl mix together all marinade ingredients, then add the chicken to it. Cover the bowl, put in the fridge and allow to marinate at least two hours (up to overnight).
Once ready to prepare, heat a wok or larger pot and add your oil of choice to it.
Finely chop the onion and add it to the hot oil, cook it until translucent and keep stirring it, until it's soft and almost a bit mushy.
At this point you should probably start cooking your rice as well (depends on the type of rice you chose, of course).
Add the chicken and marinade into the pot and cook until the outsides of the chicken don't look pink anymore.
Add the tomato puree, chicken stock (or water) and bay leaves to the pot, bring to a boil and let cook uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until sauce has thickened to your preferred consistency. The thicker the sauce becomes the more likely the chicken at the bottom of the pot is to burn, so make sure to stir it occasionally the longer you're cooking it for.
Once the desired viscosity of the sauce has been achieved, plate the vindaloo up with the rice and sprinkle some freshly cut parsley on top, for an additional pop of flavor and color.

Notes