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Authentic Beef Vindaloo

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Well this is definitely an authentic recipe Nutty did not invent!icons8 chef cooking It can be traced back to a dish prepared by Indian chefs for the Portugese settlers in southern India some while back!

I've never tasted anything like it in this country and in India you do not see beef on the menu.

Traditionally this Vindaloo would have been made with pork, that was until James Martin's guest @aktarislam made it.

I was so excited icons8 growing heart my mind raced to India and my taste buds screamed you must make it now! So I bought braising steak on my very next shopping trip. It's taken us a couple of goes to get this right, but I think we nailed it — drop us a Nutty note and let us know what you think.

Do not be daunted — it is a chefs recipe but I have tried to break it down using accessible ingredients and indeed methods.

The only change I've listed as optional is because we found it a little bit too much on the mild side — so added 2 tsp of extra hot chilli powder — then we found it perfects ;-).

Just do these three tasks the day before you want to cook...

...then you will have two little pots of magic and your beef all ready to go.

Courtesy of Aktar Islam - Thank you Aktar for sharing this with us: Spiced Braised beef in vindaloo paste with coconut, tamarind and curry leaves.

It is a myth (or perhaps misconception sometimes) that the aloo in vindaloo means potatoes. It does not! The name Vindaloo is derived from the Porugese words for wine (or wine turned to vinegar) and garlic.

Click the Method tab below to see a step-by-step guide on how to make Authentic Beef Vindaloo along with some pictures as a guide.

beef vindaloo and pickled onion plated

ingredients

Here's what you need :¬)

serves 4

*Vindaloo paste

Note:>This paste is enough for 1kg of meat so we only need half of it!

  • 18 Kashmiri chillies (18g)
  • 2 whole bulbs Garlic (100g)
  • 2" Ginger (60g)
  • 150ml white wine vinegar
  • 4 tsp Black peppercorns (10g)
  • 14 cloves
  • 2" cinnamon stick (5g)
  • 8 Cardamom pods
  • 2 tsp mustard seeds (6g)
  • 1 Tbsp cumin seeds (7g)
  • 3 Tbsp coriander seeds (13g)
  • ½ tsp Turmeric (2g)
  • 2 tsp extra hot chilli powder*

* optional if you like your curry with a bit of kick :¬)

Vindaloo Garam Masala (powdered)

This powder is enough for several dishes so we only need a tsp of it!

  • 2.5 Tbsp Cardamom (15g)
  • 1 Tbsp Cloves (5g)
  • 2.75" Cinnamon stick (7g)

Beef vindaloo

  • 500g Beef braising steak cut in to 3” pieces
  • 100ml coconut oil
  • 300g — aproximately 2 diced brown onions
  • 2 ripe tomatoes chopped
  • 1/4 Tbsp tamarind
  • ½ tsp (5g) Jaggery or 1 tsp sugar (to taste)
  • Pack of curry fresh leaves
  • 1 OXO™ beef stock cube
  • 250ml water
  • 37.5ml thick coconut milk
  • Salt to taste

Method

A brief guide to the three stages ;-)

Vindaloo paste

you will need a small frying pan, a pestle & mortar or spice grinder and a small blender.

Find a sealed pot large enough for all your meat and half of your paste as this is enough for two curries. Gather all your ingredients measure them and keep in order.

Vindaloo garam masala

The same frying pan, pestle and mortar or spice grinder. A sealed pot to keep the masala in — as this is enough for 4 to 5 recipes

Beef Vindaloo

Choose a non stick pan suitable to brown everything — I then switch to an oven proof dish when ready to slow cook. The onions are going to take a while as we do need them well browned.

Okay lets do this ting ;-)

Vindaloo paste

So, get a plastic or glass container with a lid to marinate the beef in and add the following ingredients:

  • 150ml of white wine vinegar
  • 18 Kashmiri chillies (18g)
  • ½ tsp Turmeric (2g)
  • 1 - 2 tsp extra-hot chilli powder (optional)

Now peel your garlic and ginger and add them to the marinade pot while you prep' your whole spices.

Now for your whole spices:

Pre-heat an empty frying pan then add:

  • 4 tsp Black peppercorns (10g)
  • 14 cloves
  • 2" cinnamon stick (5g)
  • 8 cardamom pods
  • 1 Tbsp cumin seeds (7g)
  • 2 tsp mustard seeds (6g)
  • 3 Tbsp coriander seeds (13g)

gently toast whole spices
whole spices toasting

Gently warm through until they smell fragrant, then tip them into a pestle and mortar to cool.

set whole spices aside to cool
whole spices cooling

Once your whole spices have cooled — give them a bash and set into your spice grinder. Grind to a powder then transfer to a mini blender.

Tip the ingredients soaked in vinegar (including the vinegar) into the blender.

Blitz well till smooth then set half the paste into a sealed jar and the other half into your marinade pot.

vindaloo paste
marinade paste

Add 500g of beef to your spice paste mixture in the marinade pot, stir well & shake then set into the fridge for 24hrs.

mix beef with marinade
marinating beef

And relax! The rest is easy from here. Honest!

Vindaloo garam masala

This garam masala is added right at the end of the cook — and there's enough here to make a few curries, so get a decent air-tight pot to store it in :¬)

  1. pre-heat an empty frying pan to med-hot, then add:
    • 2.5 Tbsp Cardamom (15g)
    • 1 Tbsp Cloves (5g)
    • 2.75" Cinnamon stick (7g)
  2. Once they smell fragrant set them into a pestle and mortar to cool.
  3. Once cooled give them a bash and set into your spice grinder.
  4. Once you have a very fine powder — set into a jar and label.

Beef Vindaloo

So 24 hours have passed and we have some more to prepare!

First lets get our meat out of the fridge to warm and brown our onions.

Let's Cook icons8 chef cooking

  1. Heat oil in a heavy based pan, add onions and curry leaves and caramelise till golden — about 20 minutes.
browning the onions with curry leaves
onions browning with curry leaves
should take about 20 mins
onions browning with curry leaves
  1. Now turn the pan to highest heat and add the marinated beef along with all the marinade in the bowl. Rinse the bowl with a little water and set this aside to add to the pot along with the tomatoes.
seal the beef on high heat
beef searing
  1. Stir fry the beef until sealed and the oil separates
  2. Add chopped tomatoes
add tomatoes and rinse water
add tomatoes
  1. Add the rinse-water from the marinade pot
  2. Another handful of curry leaves
add more curry leaves
curry leaves added
  1. Cook till the tomatoes soften down
soften the tomatoes
ingredients cooking
  1. Add the jaggery or sugar
  2. Add the coconut milk & stock cube
add jaggery, coconut milk & stock cube
curry leaves added
  1. A few more curry leaves - cook for a minute
  2. Add the tamarind
  3. Now add the remaining water.
  4. stir & transfer to a stewing pot or similar (optional)
transfer to stewing pot & cover
transfer to long cook pan
  1. Cover and simmer on low heat for 2 hours, keep stirring occassionally so it doesn't catch.

Once 2 hrs are up and the beef is tender check the seasoning — I find that I need to add ½ - 1 tsp of table salt.

add salt
add salt

Uncover and turn the heat to medium to reduce the sauce until its thickened to your liking and the oil separates.

uncover & reduce the sauce
beef vindaloo cooked

Finish with 1 tsp of the vindaloo masala, check seasoning and adjust as necessary.

Serving suggestion

For the best result, keep this Authentic Beef Vindaloo in the fridge overnight to let those complex flavours develop.

Finishing the dish with a few slices of pickled red onion really brings the flavours of this unique curry together.

Serve simply with any Indian flat bread. We adore it with lovely soft chapatis here at Nutty's :¬)

authentic beef vindaloo
beef vindaloo and pickled onion plated

A Simple Pickle

To make a delightful little pickle to finish this dish, thinly slice a red onion, place in a container and cover with white wine vinegar and a pinch of sugar and salt.

  1. Thinly slice a red onion
  2. Place in a container
  3. Cover with white wine vinegar
  4. Add a pinch of sugar & salt
  5. Leave soaking for a couple of hours or overnight

This is NOT your typical high street curry! IT's simply amazing.

Enjoy this one!

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