chicken tikka vindaloo

Chicken vindaloo in a kadai from the front.

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5 from 4 votes

If you're looking for maximum flavour hotel style chicken tikka vindaloo is a great place to start.

Prep Time40 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: chicken tikka curry, chicken vindaloo, vindaloo

Servings:

Calories: 886kcal

Author: romain | glebekitchen

Ingredients

Quick naga chicken tikka

4 chicken thighs - boneless, skinless. Cut each thigh into 3 even pieces.
2 tbsp tandoori masala - available from any Indian grocer. Look for a brand that isn't all salt.
1 tsp kasoor methi - dried fenugreek leaves, crumbled between your fingers
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp naga pickle - available from most Indian grocers. You can push this bit if you like the heat. Naga pickle is incredibly tasty and incredibly hot. Fine line to walk...
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Vindaloo paste

8 kashmiri chilies
1 large shallot chopped
2 tbsp garlic ginger paste
1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp malt vinegar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
water to get it to puree if needed. Add a litttle bit at a time.

The spice mix

1 tsp Indian restaurant spice mix - recipe link below
1-2 tsp kashmiri chili powder
1 tsp paprika for colour more than anything else
1 tsp kasoor methi - dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 tsp kosher salt

tikka vindaloo curry

3 tbsp vegetable oil - any neutral oil is fine
2-3 kashmiri chilies - dried red chilies
all the vindaloo paste from above
1 cup Indian hotel curry gravy - recipe link below. Dilute it with 3-4 tbsp of chicken stock. If you only have powder or cubes use water. That stuff is not stock.
the naga chicken tikka or whatever tikka you feel like using
1 tsp tamarind paste - paste is not concentrate. They are very different. Don't use concentrate.
1/2 tsp sugar - jaggery or brown sugar

Instructions

Do your prep

Make your spice mix. Make your vindaloo paste. Make your naga chicken tikka.
Note that the ingredients said dIlute your curry gravy with 3-4 tablespoons of water or chicken stock. You need to dilute it because the chicken is going in pre-cooked.

Make your quick naga chicken tikka

Combine the tandoori masala, kasoor methi, salt, naga pickle and oil in a bowl large enough to hold all the chicken.
Add the chicken and combine with the marinade. Use tongs. This stuff will stain your fingers. Nobody wants that.
Marinate for about an hour if you have time. Pre-heat your oven to 400F while this is going on. Place a sturdy baking sheet in the oven to pre-heat. No skewers, aluminium foil or mess required here. Easy.
Transfer the chicken (again, use tongs) to that pre-heated, sturdy baking sheet and place in the oven. Cook for about 6 minutes. Flip all the pieces and return to the oven. Cook until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165F. This should take another 4-8 minutes or so. Really depends on how big your chicken thigh pieces are. Set aside.

Make your vindaloo paste

Stem and seed the kashmiri chilies (the ones for the paste - not the ones you will put in your curry).
Soak the stemmed and seeded chilies in really hot water for a few minutes. Drain and do it again. You may need to do it a third time. At the end you want the chilies hydrated. That means soft. Take the time to get this right. It's important.
Combine all the paste ingredients in your blender. Add a bit of water and see if you can get it to puree. It will fight you. Add a little more water. Try again. You'll probably need to scrape down the sides and fight back. Eventually you'll get a paste. Keep going. You want the paste to be smooth. This is a good reason to make big batches. There's a link in the notes below.

Make the tikka chicken vindaloo curry

Heat the oil in a medium sized frying pan over medium heat until the oil just starts to shimmer.
Add the remaining 2-3 kashmiri chilies. You should see little bubbles forming around them. Cook for about 30 seconds.
Turn your heat down to medium low and add your spice mix. This is why you added 3 tablespoons of oil. You want to fry your spices in the oil. If you skimp on the oil you risk your spices sticking or burning. If your spices burn here you are starting over. Or eating terrible curry. Your choice. Personally, I would start over and try never to make the same mistake again.
Cook the spices for about 30-45 seconds.
Stir in the vindaloo paste. Fry, stirring constantly, until it starts to darken. This should take 2-3 minutes. Watch your heat. You don't want it too hot.
Add the Indian hotel curry gravy. Stir it really well. Get get the oil to combine with the curry gravy. You want everything mixed together at this point. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to maintain that simmer.
Add the tamarind paste and stir.
Cover loosely and keep simmeringfor about 5 minutes.
At this point you need to decide whether you want the sugar or not. A little sweetness is a nice touch. I like it. And I don't really like sugar in general. Notice there are exactly zero desserts on this blog. Should tell you something...
You will also need to adjust the consistency of the sauce. It will be thick. The paste makes a difference. I like about 3 tablespoons of additional liquid at this point, maybe even a little more. This is personal preference. Go for what you like.
Add the naga chicken tikka. Continue to cook for about 1 minute to warm the chicken through. When the chicken is warmed through dinner is ready.
Serve with rice or parathas and a nice dal if you like. That's an aloo keema in the pictures if you're wondering. That was good too.

Notes

Naga pickle is hot stuff. If you are not a hard core chili head tread carefully. This vindaloo is not crazy hot but if you start adding in extra naga pickle it will get there fast.

Make your Indian hotel curry gravy ahead of time. It takes time to make so think about doing it the day before.

I use this Indian restaurant spice mix in most of my Indian restaurant style curries.

For maximum flavour you really should consider making your garlic ginger paste from scratch. It makes a big difference.

If you'd rather whip up a larger batch of the vindaloo paste, it's a little easier to get to puree.

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