Chicken Vindaloo Punjabi Style in Hurry 30 minute recipe

This recipe has been streamlined for ingredients and optimized for time efficiency to make Chicken Vindaloo in under 30 minutes

This was my most challenging effort. Let us see how I accomplished this.

1. Use Skinless boneless chicken breast. Pound the chicken to flatten it out. This helps break down tissue to permeate marinate quickly, and cook evenly. Cut it into about one ounce pieces. We will stab each piece twice with a sharp pointed knife. This helps marinate to penetrate deeper. Lower connective tissue allows to marinate in 15 minutes and cook in 6 minutes.

Note: There is a lot of salt in the marinate. This is to 'brine the chicken' and make it juicy. The marinate is discarded any way. In the Vindaloo Masala Paste, we only use nominal amount of salt.

Cooking Chicken in a hurry

3. We will prepare and start chicken to marinate at room temperature. While, the chicken is marinating we will start making Vindaloo Masala Paste

4. While the Vindaloo Masala is still cooking, remove the chicken from the marinate and dry cook (pan stir fry) it.

5. As soon as the chicken is cooked, add the Vindaloo sauce.

Chicken Vindaloo is spicy hot dish from Goa, made with coconut vinegar and lots of hot red chili peppers

Ingredients

Chicken Marinate

1. Skinless boneless chicken breast cut into 1" pieces: 1 Pound
2. Whole-milk Yogurt: ¾ Cup

3. Salt: 1½ teaspoon

4. Cayenne pepper: 1 teaspoon

5. White Vinegar: 2 teaspoons

May substitute with Cider vinegar, Wine vinegar

6. Fresh minced ginger: 1½ teaspoon

7. Mustard oil: ½ teaspoon

Vindaloo Masala Paste

1. Ghee: 2 Tablespoon

2. Mustard oil: 2 Tablespoon

3. Finely chopped onion (Preferably ground): 2 Cups

4. Salt: ¾ teaspoon

5. Lal Mirch (Ground Hot Cayenne): 1 teaspoon

6. Minced Garlic: 2 Tablespoon

This not a mistake. You need one whole garlic bulb containing about 10 cloves
7. Finely chopped fresh ginger: ½ teaspoon

8. Serrano: 2

Remove seeds and white membrane to reduce heat for your taste. Chopped

9. Curry Powder Standard Onset Punjabi: 1 Tablespoon

10. Garam Masala Standard Frying Punjabi: 1½ teaspoon

11. Hot mustard powder: ½ teaspoon

12. Degi Mirch (Paprika): ½ teaspoon

13. White Wine Vinegar: 2 Tablespoon

May substitute with Cider vinegar, Wine vinegar

14. Tamarind paste: 1½ teaspoon or to taste

15. Brown sugar: ½ teaspoon

16. Water: 2 Tablespoon

Cooking

1. Ghee: 2 Tablespoons

Method

Chicken Marinate Chicken Marinate in Hurry

1. Lay the chicken breast on a flat surface. Cover it with wax paper. Now, use a Mallet to pound the chicken to a uniform ½" thickness. This allows all the pieces to cook at the same time. Pounding also helps break down tissues, and enable marinate to permeate the chicken quickly.

2. Remove the wax paper. Cut chicken into 12 equal size pieces. Stab each piece twice with a sharp pointed knife.

3. Mix all ingredients. Rub each chicken piece with the mixture. Let the chicken soak in the mixture for 15 minutes at room temperature

Vindaloo Masala Paste

1. Heat Ghee and oil in a pan

2. Add onions, salt. and cayenne pepper. Fry til onions start to turn brown. About 3 minutes

3. Add Garlic, Ginger, and Serrano. Sauté about one minute.

4. Add curry powder, Garam Masala, Mustard powder and Degi Mirch. Sauté 30 seconds to one minute

5. Add Vinegar, Tamarind, Brown sugar, and water.

6. Bring it to a boil. Keep your eyes away from the pan. The cooking vinegar will irritate your eyes. Cover. Simmer on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes

Cooking

1. Heat Ghee in Karahi or a Heavy bottom deep pan.

2. Remove chicken from the marinate mixture. Discard the Marinate mixture. Add Chicken to Karahi. .

3. Cook on medium heat. All the moisture evaporates. Chicken gets white opaque. Chicken pieces start to turn brown. Keep stirring continuously during this process.

Pick a chicken piece cut it, it should be all juicy white inside without any redness.

This step should take about 6 to 8 minutes. Cook till the internal juices will start to run out

4. Add Vindaloo Masala Paste. Simmer about 3 minutes shut off heat