The Kitchen: Beef Vindaloo

The Kitchen Beef Vindaloo [Right-click image & select 'Open Link in New Tab' ] *spelling error 'Portuguese' on pic ... I always forget the final 'u'. Beef Vindaloo inspired by:   Sehar Syed - recipe The dish is from Goa.  Portuguese occupation:  1510 to 1961 http://www.lonelyplanet.com/india/goa/history Portuguese Empire History http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab48   ---------------------- ---------------------- COMMENT Adjusted this a little bit by adding a tin of diced tomato, diced carrots (they go in just about everything ... lol), small diced capsicum, fresh red and green chillies as well as several dried chillies, & I amped up the vinegar content to 5 TBSP total + added 1 TBSP brown sugar. *my 'tablespoons' are dessert-spoons because I like it like that.  Couldn't be bothered with small fiddly measuring spoons. Basic idea here is to fry up a vindaloo spices to a reduced 'paste' in which to coat meat before simmering: seal / lightly brown meat & set aside; fry key (crunchy) spices, bay leaves etc; toss in onion, garlic, ginger; add ground spices (eg tumeric, coriander, chilli); add tomato paste (lots -- key);  add vinegar (key); add liquid; simmer 1 hr; final (garam masala (I think), green chillies, coriander). 'Garam' is 'hot' and 'masala' is 'spice mix'. I threw in my garam masala, along with other ground spices (so as not to forget, & I reduced the amount as I was worried it would be too overpowering for me). DIY garam masala here ... but I've got a massive amount of store-bought right now, so I used that. I added tomato & water to mine, for more flavour & more liquid, as I was worried about sticking & prefer to rapidly reduce things down after a long simmer, than to worry about sticking.  Works out the same, I think.  Flavour eventually gets intensified. I stuffed up that bit -- forgot to reduce it right down before throwing in the beef.  But it worked out fine.  I've made a note, so I'll get it right when I do this again ... I hope.  lol If doing the end stage rapid reduction, watch the base sticking -- it doesn't take much to reduce it & it sticks quickly. With the additional chillies that I've thrown in, it's very hot.  But yoghurt helps.  This is very good.  I'm no Indian food expert, but it tastes really good to me.  Well worth trying. ** Amount of chilli, all up, that I put in is sooooo hot, you've got to puff like you're in labour to take off the edge ... & it breaks a sweat to go with the runny nose and eyes.  lol