Mushroom Vindaloo

now for a spicy and hot recipe of mushroom vindaloo… vindaloo/vindalho is a portuguese goan recipe and is usually made with chicken or pork. i have seen the pork & chicken vindaloo featured in many of the restaurants’ menus in goa.

the portuguese goan cuisine offers really good recipes like xacuti recipe, ambotik recipe, cafrael recipe, bafad recipe, sorpotel recipe… but they are all made with meat. so the only option for vegetarians is to make the same recipe with veggies or eggs if you are an eggetarian.

generally the vindaloo paste is made and the meat is marinated in the paste. however, for vegetables you don’t need to do this, as whilst cooking the veggies will absorb the flavors of the vindaloo paste.

what you need to make the vindaloo paste is some dry red chilies, our usual indian whole garam masala and vinegar, preferably malt vinegar. using kashmiri red chilies gives a nice red tinge to the vindaloo.

vindaloo is best had with plain boiled rice or the goan bread/pav. the spiciness of the dish can be reduced by using less amount of red chilies.

adding fried potatoes is optional and you could skip this part if you do not want potatoes in the vindaloo. but let me tell you, potatoes taste good in the vindaloo.

this recipe of mushroom vindaloo is strongly flavored with the spices and is a fiery, hot and very spicy recipe. reduce the amount of red chilies, ginger, garlic and spices if you want a less spicy mushroom vindaloo.

so here we go with the step by step recipe pictorial of mushroom vindaloo recipe…

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Serving Size: 4-5

ingredients

    For the Vindaloo Paste:
    10-11 kashmiri red chilies, deseeded
    2 tbsp coriander seeds
    1 tbsp cumin seeds
    4 cloves each of 1 inch
    2 inches piece of ginger
    11-12 small to medium sized garlic
    1 tsp turmeric powder
    3 tbsp vinegar/malt vinegar
    For the Vindaloo:
    2 packet of button mushrooms, rinsed and chopped
    2 medium sized potatoes, cubed
    2 medium sized onions, chopped
    2 green chilies, chopped
    4 green cardamoms
    4-5 cloves
    10-12 black peppercorns
    3/4 cup oil
    1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
    2 to 3 cups water (add more water if you want a thin curry)
    salt to taste

method:

    Preparing the Vindaloo Masala Paste:
    Grind all the spices and herbs mentioned for the vindaloo masala paste with vinegar to a smooth paste.
    Preparing the Mushroom Vindaloo:
    heat oil and fry the potato cubes. drain and keep aside.
    in the same pan, fry the whole spices which are cardamom, cloves and peppercorns.
    once they sizzle, add the chopped onions & fry till they become transparent.
    now add the masala paste and fry the paste for some 12-15 minutes on a low flame.
    keep on stirring the paste in between to ensure it does not get burnt.
    add the green chiles and mushrooms and mix these well with the vindaloo paste.
    saute the mushroom for 8-10 minutes.
    add water, salt and simmer the gravy for 10-12 mins.
    finally add the fried potatoes and simmer for 1 minute.
    garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

lets begin with the masala ingredients. in the pic below you see all the ingredients for making the vindaloo paste.

take all of the above from the plate to the grinder jar. add turmeric powder.

add vinegar and grind to a smooth paste.

peel, wash and chop potatoes into cubes. deep fry the potato cubes in oil and keep them aside.

in the same pan, add some more oil if required. sizzle the cardamoms, cloves and black peppercorns.

add onions and fry till they become transparent.

now add the vindaloo masala paste.

and start frying the vindaloo paste for some 12-15 mins on a low flame.

add the green chilies.

add the chopped mushrooms and mix the mushrooms plus green chilies with the masala paste.

saute the mushrooms in the paste. they will start to leave water and the whole mixture will become moist. no issues…. continue to saute the mushrooms for 8-10 minutes.

then add water according to the desired consistency you want. i made it a little watery.

add salt and cook the mushroom vindaloo for some more 10-12 minutes. add the fried potatoes and simmer for a minute.

finally garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with cooked plain rice.

tips:

    while grinding the paste with vinegar, if the paste is too dry and you are not able to grind it… add some water to make the paste moist and for ease of grinding.
    i have cooked the mushrooms while making the vindaloo, but if you have the time and patience, you could also fry the mushrooms and keep aside. once you have fried the masala paste well, add water and let it simmer. then you add the fried mushrooms and potatoes and simmer for 8-10 minutes so that the mushrooms absorbs the flavors of the vindaloo paste.
    i have used kashmiri red chilies, but you could use any kind of red chilies or even a combination of red chilies.
    the vindaloo can also be made with veggies like aubergines, cauliflower, mix veggies and also tofu and paneer. if using tofu or paneer, then marinate the tofu/paneer with the vindaloo paste for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
    reduce the number of chilies if you want the vindaloo to be less spicy.
    if you are not going to fry the potatoes, then use 3 tbsp oil instead of 3/4 cup oil.