110421 Tue Mar 05 17:44:50 -0800 2002 12 7 Chicago Area 0 595921 Help! I bought a jar of Vindaloo seasoning from Penzy's Spices, but I misplaced the recipe and I cannot seem to recall how to make the dish (with chicken or pork). Any Indian foodies out there that have some good recipes? Thanks. Tue Mar 05 17:44:50 -0800 2002 0 KP 1 595922 It's funny that you posted this, in about 10 minutes, I am going to toss a Trader Joe's chicken vindaloo into the microwave. In honor of the coincidence, I threw vindaloo into google.com. Do the search yourself, you will find mucho recipes. Rob Tue Mar 05 17:48:40 -0800 2002 595921 0 Vital Information 2 595934 WOW - I have never used this message board before and everyone's thoughtful and quick responses are very impressive! Thanks for your help - I am going to make it tonight, so keep your fingers crossed. KP Wed Mar 06 09:43:00 -0800 2002 595922 0 KP 3 595935 For what it's worth, I am sure what you will make will be much better than the Trader Joe's stuff I had last night. A lot of nice aroma but not much substance. rg Wed Mar 06 10:06:38 -0800 2002 595934 0 Vital Information 1 595923 What's in your vindaloo seasoning? I'm curious - haven't ever used a pre-made spice blend for it (though I don't have a recipe handy - I'm sorry - I'll see if I can get it tomorrow) (or check online as was suggested. You're bound to find something) Coincidences all around - my husband and I are making pork vindaloo tonight from the paste that he made double of last time we did it and froze. OK - here's a question, by the way - does anyone know why on earth we cannot make our vindaloo as spicy as we like? We are now up to 4 chili peppers , chopped with seeds, that normally blow our socks off (same batch, so it's not a question of a different lot of peppers). With this dish we still have to add extra cayenne at the end to make it spicy enough. Can it be the vinegar? That doesn't seem right, since so many hot sauces are made with vinegar. Onions, garlic, ginger...none of that would interfere. We are absolutely stymied by this, and it's definitely not our imagination. Any ideas? Tue Mar 05 18:11:23 -0800 2002 595921 0 AndreaOK 2 595925 My mum's Goan and her recipe calls for dried red chillies. If your recipe is made from scratch, put in a few (2-3 and then increase if necessary) when you grind the spices. Cayenne really doesn't have the same impact as these fiery monsters. hope this helps Tue Mar 05 18:33:20 -0800 2002 595923 0 rishano 3 595941 Thanks. We have made this recipe many times and I think last night finally got it right...We do use ground dried chilis in the paste (I don't remember how many - my husband made a double batch and froze half a few weeks ago) and then blended 5 fresh chiles, seeds and all, (habaneros actually, it was what we had on hand, but we've used these before in this dish too) with the garlic and ginger. No cayenne this time and it was just about what a vindaloo should be in terms of heat. I know that pepper heat can vary and that frequently, lamentably, what passes for a "hot" pepper is really pretty mild. But - usually when we buy peppers we buy a lot since we like to use them in a lot of different dishes. Our experience with this dish is that when we do get peppers from the same batch that make one dish searing hot with one or two peppers, we get to the vindaloo and we need, say, 5 (from the same batch) to match that. It's not the age of the peppers either, since we've made dishes after the vindaloo that are also perfectly spicy. It's strange. Maybe next time I'll try tasting it step by step and see if I can narrow down where the heat goes away, then maybe I'll know why we have this experience... Thanks, all, for the input. Wed Mar 06 11:41:15 -0800 2002 595925 0 AndreaOK 2 595927 You are right in not using the premade pastes - to get an acceptable level of flavor you have to use so much of the pastes that the salt level (and heat level for some) gets too high. One trick on the heat factor. As with most indian spicing you fry the chiles and/or chili powder (should be real ground chiles not the stuff diluted with cumin etc.)in the oil before adding the rest of the stuff. this will increase the heat level of the dish. Also, what type of chile are you using? For Indian dishes the best ones are the long thin green chiles or thai bird peppers. Tue Mar 05 20:35:06 -0800 2002 595923 0 zim 2 595933 Fresh hot peppers are variably spicy. One week you can eat them fresh, the next week they're killer. I think they're trying to reduce the heat in some varieties to meet market demand for peppers that aren't "too hot". Also, the weather may be a factor. What type are you using? The teeny thais work good for me, but might not be appropriate for your dish. I agree that the dried ones are the way to go for reliable heat. Wed Mar 06 07:48:40 -0800 2002 595923 0 ironmom 3 595937 Ironmom, I totally agree on the fact that certain peppers here are being bred to reduce heat. It was an eye-opener when i tried similar varieties of peppers when i was in india a few months ago. that being said, for vindaloo, i think fresh peppers are more in line with the taste you want to achieve. Wed Mar 06 10:51:03 -0800 2002 595933 0 zim 1 595926 Check out Penzeys.com. Full listing of recipes. Vindaloo is definitely on there (I know because I've made Pork Vindaloo with their recipe). Pretty handy. Tue Mar 05 19:44:28 -0800 2002 595921 0 David Hammond 1 595932 If you live in Chicago you should skip Penzy's Spices, they are really a bunch of dicks, check out The Spice House, (www.thespicehouse.com) the nicer part of the same family, located here in Chicago. They have a store in Old Town as well as in Evanston. Tom & Patty Erd would be more then happy to help you with any spice questions, they are very helpfull. The Spice House 1941 Central Street Evanston, Illinois 60201 USA Phone: 847 328-3711 The Spice House 1512 North Wells Street Chicago, Illinois Phone: 312 274-0378 Wed Mar 06 00:24:56 -0800 2002 595921 0 Less Then Vital Information 2 595944 Though it is difficult to argue with your trenchant analysis of the people at Penzey's, I have to disagree. The Oak Park store is filled with friendly people who recognize me every time I go in, offer helpful advice, and have good spice. Also, I find their website useful. Obviously, you get along well with your spice sources, and that's a good thing -- but did you have a bad experience with Penzey's. Do you want to talk about it? Wed Mar 06 11:50:12 -0800 2002 595932 0 David Hammond