Lamb Vindaloo with Kashmiri Chilies and Vinegar

Vindaloo is not a heat contest. The name comes from the Portuguese vinha d alhos, wine and garlic, which the Goans turned into vinegar and garlic and then loaded with chili and whole spice. The vinegar is the point. It preserves, it tenderizes, and it gives the finished dish a sharpness that no other curry has. British curry house vindaloo, the one that exists only to hurt people, has almost nothing to do with it.

We build the masala from whole spices toasted and ground, soaked with dried Kashmiri chilies in vinegar, then blended with a genuinely aggressive amount of garlic. Twelve cloves is not a typo. The lamb marinates in that paste overnight, which is where most of the work happens while you are asleep.

Heat is yours to set. Kashmiri chilies bring color and very little burn, so the dish is deep red either way. Add bird eye chilies if you want it to bite.

Why this lamb vindaloo works

• Vinegar does three jobs. It carries the spice paste into the meat, it tenderizes the shoulder overnight, and it keeps the finished dish sharp against all that fat.
• Whole spices, toasted and ground fresh. Pre ground masala tastes dusty here. Two minutes in a dry pan and a spice grinder is the single biggest upgrade in the recipe.
• Kashmiri chilies set the color, not the heat. Fifteen of them give a deep red paste you can still eat comfortably.
• Overnight marination. Twelve hours in an acidic paste changes the texture of lamb shoulder in a way four hours does not.
• A little jaggery at the end. One tablespoon does not make it sweet. It rounds the vinegar off so the dish lands balanced rather than sour.

Ingredients

For the vindaloo paste

• 12 to 15 dried Kashmiri chilies, stems and most seeds removed
• 4 to 6 dried bird eye chilies, optional, for real heat
• 1/2 cup palm vinegar or cider vinegar (120 ml)
• 12 garlic cloves
• 2 inch piece ginger, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp cumin seed
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp black mustard seed
• 6 whole cloves
• 2 inch cinnamon stick, broken
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp kosher salt

For the curry

• 3 lb boneless lamb shoulder (1.35 kg), cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
• 3 tbsp coconut oil or ghee
• 2 onions, chopped fine
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 cup water (240 ml)
• 1 tbsp jaggery or dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp vinegar, to finish

Substitutions: cider vinegar is the easiest stand in for palm vinegar and lands close. Malt vinegar is too assertive. Without Kashmiri chilies, use 3 tbsp sweet paprika plus 1 tsp cayenne stirred into the paste. Pork shoulder is the traditional Goan choice and works with no other changes.

Method

1. Soak the chilies. Cover the dried chilies with the vinegar in a small bowl. Leave 30 minutes, until they soften and the vinegar turns red. If they float, weigh them down with a small plate.
2. Toast the whole spices. In a dry pan over medium, toast the cumin, peppercorns, mustard seed, cloves and cinnamon 2 minutes, shaking the pan, until they smell warm and the mustard seeds start to pop. Tip them out immediately so they stop cooking, then grind to a powder.
3. Blend the paste. Put the soaked chilies with their vinegar, the garlic, ginger, ground spices, turmeric and salt into a blender. Blend to a smooth thick paste, adding a tablespoon of water at a time only if the blades stall.
4. Marinate. Rub the paste through the lamb in a glass or stainless bowl, cover with a plate, and refrigerate overnight, 8 to 12 hours. Four hours works if you are pushed, but overnight is noticeably better.
5. Brown the onions. Heat the coconut oil in a Dutch oven over medium. Add the onions and the 1 tsp salt and cook 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often, until deep golden. Pale onions give a thin vindaloo.
6. Cook out the paste. Add the marinated lamb, paste and all, and raise the heat to medium high. Cook 10 minutes, stirring, until the paste darkens and the oil starts to separate at the edges of the pot. This step cannot be rushed, and skipping it leaves a raw garlic edge in the finished dish.
7. Simmer. Add the water, bring to a bare simmer, cover, and cook on low 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours. Stir every 30 minutes. The lamb is ready when it gives with no resistance and reads 195 to 203F (90 to 95C).
8. Reduce. Uncover and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce clings to the meat and a layer of red oil floats on top. That oil is the signal it is done.
9. Balance it. Off the heat, stir in the jaggery and the final tablespoon of vinegar. Taste. It should read sharp first and warm second. Add salt only after this step, since reduction concentrates what is already there.
10. Rest. Let it sit 20 minutes before serving, and overnight if you can wait. Vindaloo is one of the dishes that genuinely improves in the fridge.

Pro tips and common mistakes

• Do not skip cooking out the paste. Ten minutes until the oil separates is what turns raw garlic and vinegar into vindaloo.
• Remove most of the chili seeds. Kashmiri chilies are mild, but fifteen chilies worth of seeds adds up to more heat than you planned.
• Grind your own spices. A cheap electric grinder pays for itself on this recipe alone.
• Marinate in glass or stainless. Acidic pastes sit for 12 hours here, and we keep that off plastic. A bowl with a plate on top does the job.
• Taste before the final salt. Between the paste salt and the reduction, it is easy to overshoot at the end.

Storage and leftovers

Vindaloo keeps 5 days refrigerated, longer than most curries because of the vinegar, and days two and three are the best of it. Reheat gently on the stove with a splash of water. The red oil sets on top when cold, and it should be stirred back in rather than lifted off.

It freezes 3 months with no real loss. Leftovers make an excellent filling for a pao roll with raw onion, and shredded through rice with a fried egg on top it is one of the better things you can eat on a weeknight.

What to serve with it

• Plain basmati rice to absorb the sauce.
• Pao or soft bread rolls, which is how it is eaten in Goa.
• Cucumber and onion salad with lime and salt.
• Cold beer or a sharp white, because the vinegar wants something dry alongside.

Nutrition

About 560 calories, 40g protein, 40g fat, and 10g carbs per serving. These are estimates and vary with the exact cut, trim, and any substitutions.

Frequently asked questions

Is vindaloo supposed to be extremely hot?

No. Goan vindaloo is sharp and garlicky, with heat as one element rather than the whole dish. The scorching curry house version is a British invention from the 1970s and 1980s.

Does vindaloo have potatoes in it?

Traditionally no. The aloo in the name is a coincidence of sound, since vindaloo comes from the Portuguese vinha d alhos, meaning wine and garlic. Some restaurants add potato anyway, and you can if you want, adding chunks for the last 30 minutes.

What vinegar should I use?

Goan palm vinegar is the authentic choice and worth seeking out. Cider vinegar is the best common substitute. Avoid malt vinegar, which overwhelms the spices, and avoid balsamic entirely.

Can I use lamb leg?

Shoulder is much better here. Leg is lean and the long acidic braise dries it out. If leg is what you have, cut the simmer to about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Can I make the paste ahead?

Yes. The paste keeps 2 weeks refrigerated in a glass jar and freezes for 6 months. Making a double batch is the easiest way to make this a weeknight dish later on.

Where to buy the lamb

Shoulder is the cut, and the long braise means you want one with fat still on it rather than something trimmed clean. Ask a lamb producer near you through our Find a Farmer directory for a boneless shoulder, and keep any bones they will give you for stock.

More on the cut in our lamb shoulder guide and on the animal in the lamb wiki. The method is covered in our guide to braising. For another spiced lamb braise, see our lamb rogan josh, or go the grilled route with lamb kofta.