Goan Pork Vindaloo (विंदालू)

This is the real deal vindaloo from Goa: traditionally made with pork and, unlike the usual curryhouse version, has a complex architecture of chilli heat.

Vindaloo has long been a favourite curry dish on the British curryhouse scene. Vindaloo is famous for being an intensely hot dish, usually with the addition of lots of chilli powder, but this couldn’t be further from true vindaloo. The real vindaloo actually comes from the coastal region of Goa, and that’s the one I’m going to teach you today. Though it’s a hot dish, it’s not one-dimensional. It has an architecture of heat: dried chillies, fresh chilli and a small amount of chilli powder, as well as a good amount of black pepper in its masala. It’s not overwhelming, but invigorating. Another surprise for many: it’s traditionally made with pork. Goa was once a Portuguese colony for many years, and with that the cultivation of pigs and boar became the norm in Goa, as well as wine and vinegar production. This is what gave vindaloo its name: ‘vinha’ and ‘alho’, or ‘wine’ and ‘garlic’. True to its name, vindaloo uses both of these in good amount, as fresh garlic and wine vinegar, which originally preserved the dish during the time of no refrigeration. So try the real deal, you could be tickled red. Let’s go!