Vindaloo
Encyclopedia
Curry
Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...
dish from the region of Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
. It is popular globally in its Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian cuisine
Anglo-Indian cuisine is the often distinct cuisine of the Anglo-Indian community in both Britain and India, as well as in America and Australia....
form as a staple of curry house
Curry house
A curry house is a typical Indian restaurant or takeaway which is abound particularly in the UK, Australasia, and Europe. The term is not as widely used in the U.S. and Canada.-Background:...
menus, often renowned as a particularly spicy dish, though it is not necessarily always the hottest available. The name Vindaloo is derived from the Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
dish "Carne de Vinha d' Alhos
Carne de Vinha d' Alhos
Carne de Vinha d' Alhos is a Portuguese dish. The name means "Meat of Wine Garlic", that is meat with wine and garlic, the meat usually being pork or rabbit. It is traditionally served at Christmas time. In the Azores it is known as vina dosh...
", which is a dish of meat, usually pork, with wine and garlic. The dish was originally modified by the substitution of vinegar for the wine, and the addition of red Kashmir chillies (not as spicy but abundant in colour). The dish evolved into the vindaloo curry dish in Goa, with the addition of plentiful amounts of traditional spice
Spice
A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...
and using palm vinegar instead of red wine. Alternate terms are vindalho or vindallo. Restaurants often serve this dish with chicken
Chicken (food)
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...
or lamb sometimes mixed with potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es. Traditional vindaloos do not include potatoes, the discrepancy arising because the word आलू "aloo" means "potato" in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
.
Vindaloo is a popular dish in many parts of India.
In eastern states of India viz. Orissa and West Bengal, the same dish (not referred as Vindaloo) is prepared in marriage parties as well as in home food. The idea behind adding potatoes in lamb curry is that lamb meat is costlier than chicken in India (three times costlier than chicken), hence people add potatoes to have more quantity and to make the curry thicker and tastier. According to folklore, a cook added too much salt to the lamb curry by mistake. To balance the salt quantity in the curry, he added some boiled potatoes. Since then, it has become a practice to add potatoes to goat curry or lamb curry in Orissa and West Bengal.
Vindaloo outside of South Asia
Vindaloo has gained popularity in Britain, Germany, the Middle East, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, where it is almost universally featured on Indian restaurantIndian cuisine
Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterised by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruit. Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society...
menus. However Vindaloo served in western restaurants usually differs from the original dish of that name; it is simply a hotter version of the standard "medium" restaurant curry, with additional chilli and including potatoes. In addition the Vindaloo is usually not available with pork, only with chicken, lamb/mutton, or prawn.
Vindaloo is one of the hottest dishes available on the menu where it is served, although some establishments serve a "Tindaloo" in addition, which is another completely different dish originating in Bangladesh. Another hotter curry is the "Phall
Phall
Phall is a British Asian Indian curry dish, which originated in Indian restaurants in the UK, and is not to be confused with the char-grilled, gravyless, finger food phall from Bangalore...
". These two dishes are sometimes omitted from the menu but can be prepared by special request, because they are too hot for all but a minority of customers.
The popularity of the dish inspired the song "Vindaloo
Vindaloo (song)
"Vindaloo" is a song by British band Fat Les. The music was written by Blur bassist Alex James and the lyrics were written by comedian Keith Allen. It was released as a single in 1998 and recorded for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The song was originally written as a parody of football chants, but was...
", the unofficial anthem of the England football team for the 1998 FIFA World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
and it was prominently mentioned in the 1978 punk rock song "I Just Want to Have Something To Do" by American punk rock group the Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
. It is also the favourite food of Dave Lister
Dave Lister
David "Dave" Lister, commonly referred to simply as Lister, is a fictional character from the British science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf, portrayed by Craig Charles...
in the science-fiction comedy Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
, and is frequently depicted in the show. It was mentioned on the American TV show Outsourced
Outsourced (TV series)
Outsourced is an American television sitcom set in an Indian workplace. It was based on the John Jeffcoat film of the same name and adapted by Ken Kwapis and Universal Media Studios for NBC. The series originally ran from September 23, 2010 to May 12, 2011...
where the main character Todd was tricked into the believing there was an Indian holiday honoring this dish.
Vindaloo in the U.S.
Vindaloo served in the United States is generally chicken cooked with potatoes. The Hindi translation of potato is "AlooAloo
Aloo is an Indian term for potatoes.It can be found in the name of a number of dishes:* Aloo gobi, potatoes and cauliflower* Dum aloo, fried potatoes with gravy* Saag aloo, fried potatoes with spinach curry...
" and hence most of the non-authentic Indian restaurants serve an "Indian Chicken with Potato" dish as chicken vindaloo due to its similarity with the name chicken aloo.