Beef Vindaloo

Vindaloo – From Portugal to Your Indian Breakfast Plate

Vindaloo traces its roots back to 16th-century Portuguese cuisine, particularly a dish called “Carne de Vinha d’Alhos,” which means meat marinated in wine and garlic. Naturally, the Portuguese brought this dish to Goa when they arrived in India.

As Goa became part of India, Goans adapted the dish using local ingredients, giving it an Indian identity while keeping its soul intact.

Now, how did vindaloo get “baptized” into Indian cuisine? First, the wine was swapped with vinegar, and not just any vinegar-toddy vinegar is considered the best for an authentic vindaloo. Then came the Indian magic-dried red chilies and local spices were added to give it that bold, spicy edge. To balance the sourness of vinegar, a touch of sugar or jaggery was added for mild sweetness.

This gives vindaloo its signature taste-a blend of tangy, spicy, and slightly sweet flavours. Since the original wine had a subtle sweetness, replacing it with vinegar made the dish more sour. That’s where sugar helps in rounding out the taste. If you prefer, you can skip the sugar-it’s all up to your personal taste.

Traditionally, vindaloo is made with pork and often prepared on special occasions in the Christian community. But at home, we often use buffalo meat instead of pork, simply because it’s easier to find. And honestly, it works wonderfully.

It’s perfect for a hearty breakfast or lunch. Pair it with appam, kallappam, idiyappam, puttu, dosa, or just plain rice-it’s a delicious way to start the day or end it on a satisfying note.So go ahead-give your regular breakfast or lunch a bold twist with vindaloo. Once you try it, there’s no going back.

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Beef Vindaloo

Author: Ushadevi Cooking Method: Roasting, Sauteing Cuisine: Goan, Indian Courses: Curries & Side Dishes

Difficulty: Intermediate Prep Time 10 mins Cook Time 20 mins Rest Time 20 mins Total Time 50 mins

Servings: 9

Best Season: Suitable throughout the year

Ingredients

Scale

1/2x 1x 2x 3x

• 1 kg Beef (Cubed)
• 3 Onion sliced
• 2 Tomatoes chopped
• 15 Garlic cloves
• ¹⁄₂ inch Ginger
• 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon Kashmiri Chilly powder
• 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon Red Chilly Powder
• ¹⁄₄ teaspoon Turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• ³⁄₄ teaspoon Fenugreek seeds
• 1 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 tablespoon Vinegar (Toddy vinegar is preferred)
• 1 ¹⁄₂ teaspoon Sugar (Optional)
• Salt and Oil as required

Instructions

1. 0/14 steps made
2. Vindaloo is Origin from Portuguese. Today, its the day of Beef Vindaloo, So let’s start
3. First of all lets marinate Beef pieces with salt (only) and keep it aside
4. Now we make Masala paste by grinding 10 clove Garlic, Ginger, Fenugreek seeds, Cumin seeds, Mustard seeds, Chilly powder, Turmeric powder,
5. Next thing we do, mix Vinegar and Sugar and keep it aside
6. Deep fry Onion and keep it aside
7. In a Pan add a teaspoon Oil, add tomatoes, saute for few minutes
8. When its done, Add Masala paste and saute in low flame
9. Saute it till Oil start to separate
10. Now you can Add Beef pieces and Onion fry
11. As final step we will add Vinegar and Sugar mix.
12. Transfer the mixture to a pressure cooker and cook it till everything cooked well.
13. When you open the cooker, you may see some excess water. Its from cooked beef
14. We will cook it open till it reach the right consistency . Beef Vindaloo is ready
15. Best with Appm, Kallappam