Beef Vindaloo

Vindaloo, sometimes spelt 'vindalho', is a Portuguese-inspired curry from the state of Goa, which lies on the southwest coast of India and was a former Portuguese colony from 1510 to 1961. Vindaloo has its origins in the Portuguese dish 'carne de vinha d'alhos', which when translated into English means 'meat in garlic marinade'. When Portuguese sailors made the journey from Portugal to Goa during the days of colonisation they carried with them wooden barrels containing meat (most likely pork) soaked in a mixture of garlic and red wine as a means of preservation during the long journey. This concoction was eventually adapted and popularised by Goan cooks who then began adding other ingredients, such as chilli peppers, local spices and vinegar as a substitute for the red wine.

Beef Vindaloo

Most Indian cooks say that traditional Goan vindaloo should not contain potatoes. The reason why potatoes are sometimes added to vindaloo has to do with a linguistic misunderstanding between the Portuguese word for garlic (alhos) and the Hindi word for potato (aloo). Over time, cooks came to believe that the 'aloo' in vindaloo meant that the dish should contain potatoes. The type of vindaloo served at most British Indian restaurants and takeaways nearly always contains a few chunks of potato, but this type of vindaloo is a world away from the authentic Goan version, which is a somewhat sweet and tangy dish due to the use of jaggery, tamarind paste and vinegar (palm or coconut vinegar). With authentic Goan vindaloo the emphasis is on flavour, whereas with the British Indian restaurant (BIR) style vindaloo the emphasis is on how much chilli it contains.

To most curry house owner's in Britain, vindaloo just means a very spicy curry. They also invented 'bindaloo', which is hotter than vindaloo, and 'tindaloo', which is hotter than bindaloo and just a few notches below phall, the hottest curry they make. Vindaloo is often synonymous with British lager louts who flock to the local Indian restaurants and takeaways on Friday and Saturday nights after having a 'skinful' down at the local pub. Britain is very much a curry-loving nation, so much so that a British band by the name of Fat Les even released a song called Vindaloo, which was recorded for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and reached number two on the UK Singles Chart in June 1998.

Lots of Indian cooks now like to use the so-called Kashmiri chilli, which is favoured for its mild heat and bright red colour that it gives to sauces. Nowadays, Kashmiri chillies are also commonly used in traditional Goan vindaloo. In a small book I have called Quick and Easy Cookery Course, which is written by Madhur Jaffrey and came free with a cast iron karahi pot I purchased many years ago, she writes, "Vindaloos are hot. Goans would use 4 teaspoons of chilli powder here. Under my husband's 'spare me' gaze, I have used half a teaspoon to make a mild dish. It's up to you." This leads me to wonder whether traditional Goan vindaloo has always been milder than the British Indian restaurant style vindaloo, or whether it has become milder over time due to the type of chillies now used. Incidentally, the Kashmiri chillies being sold in the West (and even to some extent in India) are typically not the true Kashmiri type, but mild cash crop varieties instead, with Byadgi being the most common one.

Traditional Goan vindaloo is made with pork, but nowadays other meats are also used, such as chicken, mutton, goat and beef. There are also vegetable and seafood version. Traditionally, when making vindaloo a paste is made from dried chillies or chilli powder (or both), cumin, black pepper, clove, cinnamon (usually cassia cinnamon), turmeric, white poppy seed, fresh garlic, fresh ginger, tamarind paste and vinegar. Sometimes, star anise and fennel seed may also be added. This paste is then used to marinate the meat for several hours or overnight. Later, onions are fried in oil until they turn soft and translucent and then the meat and marinade mixture is added, along with water and whole spices, such as black peppercorns, cloves and cinnamon pieces. The mixture is then simmered gently for about an hour or until the pork is thoroughly cooked and tender. However, some Goan cooks don't use onion when making vindaloo. Instead, they just simmer the meat and marinade mixture.

Here is my recipe for beef vindaloo and it has been a favourite curry of mine for as long as I can remember. However, I don't make any claims to it being a traditional Goan vindaloo. For a start, I don't eat pork or lamb, and so whenever I make vindaloo I always use beef instead. Also, I don't use fresh garlic, fresh ginger or tamarind when making the vindaloo paste either. I'm not particularly fond of the rancid aroma and flavour of raw garlic, and even after three hours in the oven, whenever I've used fresh garlic in the vindaloo paste this curry has always had a subtle aroma and flavour of raw garlic. I used to use tamarind paste when making it, but nowadays I prefer to use a small amount of blended chopped tinned tomato instead. Not only does traditional Goan vindaloo contain no tomato, it doesn't contain green cardamom, coriander seed or fenugreek seed either, yet all four of these ingredients go into my version. Either way, it's still a very tasty curry and can be served with side salad and plain boiled rice, chips or naan bread.

Ingredients:

• 10g dried red chillies (see notes)
• 3 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1-1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 8 cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon green cardamom seeds (seeds not pods)
• 1-inch piece cassia bark
• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (see notes)
• 3 good-sized petals star anise
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic granules or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 tablespoons (60ml) malt vinegar
• 1kg beef brisket, cut into 1cm pieces
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 500g finely diced white onion
• 3–4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1-1/2 teaspoons coarse sea salt or salt to taste
• 4–8 fresh finger chillies (red or green), sliced into thin rings
• 6 tablespoons (100g) blended chopped tinned tomato
• 1/2 teaspoon Demerara sugar or jaggery
• 300ml hot water
• 8–10 fresh curry leaves (optional)

Method:

1. Place the dried red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, cloves, green cardamom seeds, cassia bark, fenugreek seeds, star anise and fennel seeds into an electric coffee grinder and grind until fine. Add the chilli powder, turmeric, ginger powder and garlic granules and pulse a few more times until everything is well mixed. Transfer the ground spice mixture to a bowl; add the malt vinegar and mix thoroughly to form a thick paste.


2. Place the beef brisket into a mixing bowl and add the spice paste. Mix thoroughly, ensuring that the meat pieces are evenly coated with the spice paste and then set aside and leave to marinate for at least 1 hour, but preferably 6–8 hours.


3. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat and add the onion. Mix well and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking, until soft and translucent.


4. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, ginger and salt. Mix well and continue to fry for a further 40–50 minutes or until the mixture turns golden brown.


5. Once the onion mixture has turned golden brown add the marinated beef, along with any remaining spice paste that may be sticking to the bowl and the fresh finger chillies. Mix well and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. If at any point the spices start sticking to the bottom of the pot before the meat has started releasing its juices then just add a tablespoon of hot water and scrape them off with your spoon. Do not allow the spices to burn or it will ruin the flavour of the curry.


6. Add the blended chopped tinned tomato, Demerara sugar or jaggery and hot water. Mix well, cover and then place into a preheated oven at 180C/350F/Gas 4 and cook for 2 hours.


7. After 2 hours, increase the heat to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and cook for a further 45 minutes.


8. If using fresh curry leaves, stir them into the curry after 45 minutes and return the pot back to the oven for a further 15 minutes. If not using fresh curry leaves then skip this step and just cook the curry for 1 hour at 200C.

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Notes:

• The temperatures listed in this recipe are for standard ovens and not fan assisted or convection ovens. Typically, when cooking with a fan assisted oven one would reduce the temperature by 20C/50F, but given how ovens do vary slightly I'll leave it up to you to decide. After all, you know your oven much better than I do.


• The recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds to be ground when making the spice mixture. I normally grind whole spices as and when I need them, but if all you have available is fenugreek powder then you can just use 1/2 rounded teaspoon of fenugreek powder instead.


• The best chillies to use in this curry are Capsicum annuum or Capsicum frutescens varieties. This is true for both the dried chillies, which are used to make the vindaloo paste, and the fresh chillies, which are added later in the recipe. The type of dried chillies you choose to use when making the vindaloo paste will affect the heat and flavour of the curry. Nowadays, it appears that many Goan cooks like to use the so-called Kashmiri chilli when making vindaloo paste. Whether it is the authentic Kashmiri type or another cash crop variety labelled as Kashmiri chilli, such as Byadgi, these chillies are mild and won't make the curry very spicy. Other dried Indian chilli varieties can be significantly hotter and will therefore make for a much spicier curry. Personally, I normally use a mixture of my own dried home grown chillies.


• You can give this curry an added chilli flavour by stirring in one or two thinly sliced fresh chillies (red or green) at the end of the cooking process.


• Always use the best quality beef that you can afford. Curries made with poor quality beef will always have an inferior flavour.