Chicken Vindaloo

Ingredients

Whole cumin seeds - 2 tsps
Dried red chillies - 2-3
Cardamom seeds - 1 tsp
Stick of cinammon - 3 inches
Whole black mustard seeds - 1.5 tsp
White vinegar - 5 tbsp
Salt & Sugar to taste
Vegetable oil
Onions - 4-5 medium, sliced
Boneless chicken - 900 gms
Ginger - 1" cube, chopped
Garlic - 1 whole, separated and peeled
Ground coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Ground turmeric - 1.5 tsp

Method

Grind cumin seeds, red chillies, pepercorns, cardamom seeds, cinnamon and black mustard seeds in a grinder. Put the ground spices in a bowl. Add the vinegar, salt and sugar. Mix and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wide, heavy pot over a medium flame. Put in the onions. Stir frequently, and dry the onions till they turn brown and crisp. Remove the onions and puree them in a blender. Add this puree to the ground spices in the bowl. (This is the vindaloo paste. It may be made ahead of time and frozen.)

Dry off the chicken chunks with a paper towel and remove large pieces of fat, if any.

Make a paste out of the garlic and ginger.

Heat the oil remaining in the kadhai once again over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken chunks and brown them lightly on all sides. Remove from oil and keep aside.

In the same kadhai, add the ginger-garlic paste and stir. Add the coriander and turmeric. Stir for another few seconds. Add the chicken, vindaloo paste, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer gently for an hour or so, until the chicken is tender. Stir occasionally.