Chicken Vindaloo (Restaurant Style)
Updated: June 2, 2025, By Swasthi
Chicken Vindaloo is a spicy, hot and tangy Portuguese influenced Indian dish originated in Goa. Chicken is marinated in a spicy vinegary paste and simmered to perfection for a delicious curry. My step-by-step recipe & video will help you make a real good restaurant style Vindaloo that’s easily customizable to your palate.
About Vindaloo
Vindaloo is a spicy, hot & bright red Goan curry, traditionally made with pork. It was derived from the Portuguese dish carne de vinha d’alhos, which refers to meat in wine & garlic. The dish is traced back to the times when Portuguese colonized Goa. They brought with them carne de vinha d’alhos. Chilies & vinegar making from toddy were also introduced to the locals during that time.
Table of contents
Goans derived a similar dish but spiced it up with locally available spices and called it Vindaloo. Later it became a celebratory dish made often in the Goan & Anglo-Indian homes, especially during Christmas, Easter, weddings & even when the cravings kick-in.
Since Goa was one of the top tourist destinations of India, foodies who visited the place tried to replicate the dish after returning to their home country. That’s how Vindaloo became world popular. It is now served in Indian restaurants & British curry houses across the world.
There are as many versions of Vindaloo in India as there are cooks. Goans, Anglo-Indians and even Keralites have their own versions. The combination of spices and the kind of vinegar used vary widely.
While vinegar, garlic and red chilies are the 3 essentials of a basic vindaloo, you will find ingredients like ginger, curry leaves, tamarind & coriander being used in some versions. I have seen a lot of Anglo-Indians make their dish even without onions and tomatoes. A traditional vindaloo is made with pork. But a lot of Indians don’t eat pork, so it is also made with chicken and mutton.
Faqs
No! It is medium hot. The western world had misinterpreted Vindaloo to be one of the hottest and fiery curries from India. Honestly if you ever eat this in Goan restaurants or homes, you will realize it is moderately hot like any other curry but not super-hot.
An authentic Vindaloo is not too vinegary with a sharp biting taste but has a lovely tang. A generous amount of red chilies, tone down the sharp acidic taste of vinegar. The dish smells garlicky and mildly aromatic from the minimal spices used.
No! A lot of non-Indians use potato (aloo) in a vindaloo assuming the last few characters “aloo” (in Hindi) to be potato. But actually there is no potato in a traditional Vindaloo.
My Recipe
This Chicken Vindaloo is made the authentic way by marinating meat with a fresh ground vinegary spice paste known as vindaloo paste. It is simmered until the meat is tender and the sauce achieves a thick consistency similar to that of a curry.
Chicken being a delicate white meat cooks much faster when marinated and simmered with vinegar. So if you add a lot of vinegar, your chicken is going to turn mushy and the sauce won’t get enough time to thicken. If you cut down the spices or use a lot of liquid, you will end up with a runny sauce.
Ingredients to make Vindaloo
Like any other Indian dish, this recipe turns out best with whole spices but you may use ground spices if that’s all you have. I have provided the recipe for both – whole and ground spices. Here is what you need.
- Vinegar: Use malt vinegar, coconut palm vinegar/Goan Vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sugarcane vinegar or red wine vinegar. I find white vinegar to be too harsh for this recipe. If you are using high acidity vinegar (above 5%), cut down the amount and dilute it with little water.
- Garlic and Ginger: This recipe essentially requires high amount of fresh garlic and ginger. Blending these 2 spices brings out the real flavors but you may use them grated if you want.
- Red Chilies: Whole dried red chilies are a vital ingredient in a vindaloo. Kashmiri or Byadgi variety impart a bright red color & strong flavors to the dish. If you do not have them, simply use Kashmiri red chili powder. To make the dish extra hot, you may use high heat chilies.
- Spices: Cumin, pepper, cinnamon, cloves and mustard are the key spices used.
Special spices
- I love using 2 extra spices, green cardamoms and coriander in my Chicken Vindaloo. Green cardamom helps cut down the sharp taste of vinegar.
- Coriander seeds helps thicken the curry without altering the flavor of the dish. It won’t impart strong flavors like the other spices. But will thicken your curry by soaking up some of the excess liquid your chicken may release while cooking.
However if you are making a Vindaloo with pork or other kind of red meat omit the green cardamoms and coriander.
More Chicken Recipes
Chicken Jalfrezi
Madras Chicken
Palak Chicken (Spinach Chicken)
Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken Korma
Indian Chicken Curry
Photo Guide
How to make Chicken Vindaloo (stepwise photos)
I prefer to soak my red chilies (20 dried Kashmiri or byadgi) in ¼ cup hot water and ¼ to ⅓ cup vinegar (60 to 80 ml), for 10 mins. This helps to grind them better. If you are using chili powder, omit this step.
Make Vindaloo Paste
1. Add the following spices to a grinder/blender. (Or if you are using ground spices, simply mix all the ingredients for paste in a mixing bowl and jump to step 5)
- 1½ teaspoon cumin seeds (or 1 teaspoon ground cumin)
- 10 black pepper corn (or ½ to ¾ crushed black pepper)
- 2 inches Ceylon cinnamon (or ¼ to ⅓ teaspoon ground cinnamon)
- 6 cloves (⅓ teaspoon ground cloves)
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds (or ¼ teaspoon ground mustard)
- 2 green cardamoms (optional, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom)
- 1½ tablespoon coriander seeds (or 1 tablespoon ground coriander)
2. Grind them to a fine powder.
3. Add the following:
- 10 garlic cloves (25 grams or use 2 tablespoons fine grated)
- 1½ inch ginger (25 grams or use 2 tablespoons fine grated)
- 20 Kashmiri dried chilies soaked in hot water & vinegar (mentioned below) for 10 mins (deseed for low heat) or use 1¼ tablespoon Indian chili powder
- ¼ cup vinegar (malt/Goan/apple cider/red wine vinegar, to soak)
- ¼ cup water (to soak)
4. Grind to a thick smooth paste. You may taste test to adjust the heat levels and vinegar if you want.
5. In a mixing bowl, take ¾ to 1 kg (2 pounds) skinless bone-in chicken or 1½ pound boneless. Sprinkle ¾ to 1 teaspoon sea salt and ½ teaspoon turmeric. Marinate, cover and rest aside for 1 hour to overnight in the refrigerator. If using bone-in, don’t rest for longer than 2 to 3 hours else the chicken will fall off the bone soon.
Make the Curry
6. Pour 3 tablespoons oil to a pan/pot and add 2 cups fine chopped onions (from 2 onions). I processed yellow onions in a food processor. Saute until they turn golden to light brown, for about 9 to 10 mins.
7. Deglaze the pan with 2 tablespoons water and cook down for 2 to 3 mins until jammy.
8. Stir in the marinated chicken and saute on a medium heat for 4 to 5 mins.
9. Add the tomato puree (optional, 2 medium tomatoes pureed or 1 tablespoon tomato paste like mutti).
10. Mix well and cook for 3 to 4 mins.
11. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick.
12. If the pan dries out (when using bone-in always use), pour ¼ to ½ cup hot water. I use about ½ cup but it may be different for you. If your chicken vindaloo is runny, evaporate the excess moisture by cooking further. It thickens a bit more upon cooling. Taste test and add more salt or 1 tsp sugar to balance the tang.
Chicken Vindaloo tastes best the next day. You may refrigerate for the flavors to develop. Reheat and serve it with steamed rice, poee (Goan bread) or any kind of artisan breads or flatbreads like Naan or Tandoori roti. Flavored rice Jeera rice, Basmati rice or even plain Parathas go well. A cooling Raita is a great addition.
Expert Tips
- I use a spice grinder that can do dry and wet grinding both. However if your spice grinder can’t do the wet grinding, you may powder the spices first in the spice grinder. Transfer it to a jar, throw in the wet ingredients like soaked chilies, ginger, garlic and vinegar to use a stick blender.
- If you have a high speed blender, you can transfer the sauteed onions along with all the ingredients required to make the vindaloo paste. Grind with an additional 1/4 cup water. Avoid using additional water when you cook the chicken.
- Be extra cautious while using water. Chicken releases some of the juices while cooking. This can make your sauce runny so use water in smaller batches.
- It is essential to cook down the onions well.
Related Recipes
This Recipe was first published in December 2019. Updated in June 2025.
Recipe Card
Chicken Vindaloo Recipe (Restaurant Style)
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
To make Vindaloo paste
- 1½ teaspoon cumin (or 1 teaspoon ground cumin)
- 2 inches Ceylon cinnamon (or ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon)
- 6 cloves (⅓ teaspoon ground cloves)
- 10 black pepper corn (or ½ to ¾ crushed black pepper)
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds (or ¼ teaspoon ground mustard)
- 1½ tablespoons coriander seeds (or 1 tablespoon ground coriander)
- 2 green cardamoms (optional, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom)
- 20 dried Kashmiri red chilies soaked in vinegar + ¼ cup hot water for 10 mins (or use 1¼ tbsp Indian chili powder)
- ¼ to ⅓ cup (60 to 80 ml) vinegar (malt/goan/red wine/ apple cider)
- 10 (25 grams) garlic cloves (or 2 tablespoons fine grated)
- 1½ inch (25 grams) ginger (or 2 tablespoons fine grated)
Other ingredients
- 2 lbs. (¾ to 1 kg) skinless bone-in chicken (or 1½ lbs. boneless chicken)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons oil (I use coconut oil)
- 2 cups (2 medium) onions (fine chopped or processed)
- 2 small tomatoes (optional) (pureed)
- 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
- ¼ to ½ cup hot water (adjust as required)
Instructions
Make Vindaloo Paste
- Option 1 with whole spices – Grind cumin, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, mustard, cardamoms and coriander to a fine powder. Add the garlic, ginger & soaked red chilies along with the liquid. Grind to a smooth paste.
- Option 2 with ground spices – Add all the ground spices, red chili powder, grated garlic & ginger to a bowl. Pour vinegar and water only as required to make a thick paste.
- Marinate chicken with the prepared vindaloo paste, salt and turmeric. Cover and set aside for a minimum of 1 hour to overnight in the refrigerator. If using bone-in chicken, don’t rest longer than 2 to 3 hours.
How to make Chicken Vindaloo
- Heat oil in a wide pan/skillet and add the onions. Saute till golden, for about 9 mins. Deglaze the pan with 2 tablespoons water and cook down for 2 to 3 mins until jammy.
- Stir in the marinated chicken and saute on a medium heat for 4 to 5 mins. Mix in the tomato puree if using and cook for another 4 mins.
- Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick. If the pan dries out in between, pour ¼ to ½ cup hot water. I use about ½ cup but it may be different for you.
- If your chicken vindaloo is runny, evaporate the excess moisture by cooking further. It thickens a bit more upon cooling. Taste test and add more salt or sugar to balance the tang.
- Chicken Vindaloo tastes best the next day. Refrigerate for the flavors to develop & reheat before serving. Steamed rice, poee (Goan bread) or any kind of artisan breads or flatbreads like Naan or tandoori roti go well with this.
Video
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Very good! Yes, hot and spicy. A very flavorful recipe. Made for dinner tonight. Enjoyed by all. Will definitely make this again.
Thank you so much Paul. So glad you all like it.
Often you specify the type of cinnamon in your recipes; Casia or Ceylon. This recipe doesn’t. When an Indian recipe calls for cinnamon, but doesn’t state which type, is there a ‘rule of thumb’ to follow?
There is no rule of thumb. But it is okay to use cassia while using whole like for tempering. But when ground it is best to use Ceylon. In the past, all cinnamon used in India was only cassia but in the last decade more cooks have moved to Ceylon. I will update the recipe to be clear. Hope this helps
That is helpful. Thank you.
Would gochujang, cili boh or sambal oelek work in this vindaloo recipe? I have all these but not the chilies or Indian chili powder? How important is it to use Indian chili in this recipe? Please advice I’m excited to try this.
Hi Karin,
Each variety of chili has a different flavor profile and produce different results. Kashmiri or bydagi dried chili are known for bright color and medium heat levels. If you want to produce the same autnthetic flavors you may order Kashmiri chili powder online. However you can still use other variety of chili powder/paprika/ cayenne or a combination of low heat and medium heat kinds. Adjust the heat level while making the vindaloo paste. I’m not sure how gochujang or samabal oelek will taste in a Indian recipe like this. Hope you get to try!
Excellent chicken vindaloo. I’ve come back to this recipe so many times and my family loves it. Since we make a large batch of the paste making this recipe is very easy now. Keep up the great work!!
That’s lovely Pat. I agree making the dish becomes easier when you have the paste ready. Thank you for letting us know how the recipe went for you
Delicious! Tried this chicken vindaloo and it was top rated by my friends. We made it with ground spices but my wife is excited to try with whole dried chilies. I know the whole spices would be more potent and better for a recipe like this. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the world
So happy to read that Robert. Yes whole spices give a slightly different results. Hope you both get to make it again. Thanks much for letting me know
This may be a question but I’ll go ahead anyway. Is there a particular dried red chili I should use, or should I just go ahead and pick whatever I like?
That’s a nice question Brian. It’s mentioned in the post. You can use Kashmiri or byadgi red chilies. If you can’t find, use any medium hot chilies. Hope you get to try
This was an incredible vindaloo & my husband loved it. I deseeded the chilies so mine wasn’t very hot. But overall great flavor profile! Next time I would double the chilies for extra heat. Thank you for posting.
Happy to read that Dee. Double the amount of chilies could be a lot. Retain the seeds instead that should add enough heat. The other option is to top up with some chili powder. I do this some times after taste testing the vindaloo paste. Hope this helps.
Follow the recipe 100% for my first chicken vindaloo from scratch. Great flavor! Love it very much. Only thing I would like to improve is the sauce turned out a bit watery. Should I just cook it longer? also, if I want to add more sauce to the dish, how can I do it without weakening the flavor? Double all the ingredients except the meat? Love to have your advice.
Hi Lynn,
Thank you and glad you like it. Yes cooking a little longer will evaporate the liquid. You can double all the ingredients except meat.
This is awesome. Iloved it.
Thanks Geet
I have tried a lot of vindaloo recipes and my search ends here. This was a *****! I used ground spices and my husband says he wants it every week. Thank you and keep up the great work!
Glad the chicken vindaloo recipe helped Catherine. Thank you
This was truly one of the best vindaloos I have ever eaten. I chose to kick up the heat level a bit with some hotter chilis that have both a higher heat profile and aromaticity (ie. habaneros and a couple of Carolina reapers) in addition to the dried red chilis and chose to leave out the onions and tomatoes. I used the whole spice method. I did an overnight marinade as well. It’s worth the additional time to marinate longer. These beats everything I have had in Indian restaurants down the entire Eastern Seaboard of the USA. Great recipe and looking forward to trying more.
That’s a great review Leon. Thanks a lot for sharing back. Love the way you made it!
I’ve tried your recipe, and the dish turned out to be delicious. I had to triple the amount of red chilli powder because I only had dried Malawi bird’s eye chillies and wasn’t sure how much to use. Thanks a lot for your recipes, do you also have a Phaal Curry recipe?
Thanks for trying Tina. I have a phaal curry recipe coming up this year.
Not yet cooked.
Looks like tasty.
Thank you. Hope you get to try!
I made this exactly how you wrote it for me and my 16 year old daughter. We don’t have Indian food available where we live but we love it. I was hoping to have some leftover so I could see how good it was the next day, but there were no leftovers!!!! It was THAT good!!! Thank you so much! I ordered the chili peppers you recommended and they were the perfect spice level.
Happy to read that Taryn. The leftovers are even more delicious. Thank you for sharing back
Thank you Swasthi for another great recipe.
I ground all the spices and chili peppers, such beautiful and intense flavours. You are absolutely right, the dish improves a lot by sitting overnight in the fridge. By the time we ate all the chicken, my hubby was insistent that we needed to keep the sauce so he could reheat it and he could dip naan in it.
I used a mix of Mexican dried chilis, that’s all I had. Would you suggest a medium heat Indian chili I could use to make the recipe more authentic.
Thanks for another great recipe!
Happy to read that Renee. Look for byadgi chilies or powder on amazon or in Indian grocery stores. This kind of chilies are moderately hot and their flavor is amazing. But 20 chilies could make the dish too hot. I generally deseed them and use for moderate heat. Hope this helps. Thank you so much for sharing back
Thanks for the tips Swasthi, you are always so helpful. I will look for those chilis and Goan vinegar for the next time I make this.
“you may use 20 deseeded dried red chilies or 1 tablespoon red chili powder or red chili flakes.” – how many fresh red chilies should i use instead? love spicy though.
I have never made this with fresh red chilies and I think the flavor would be very different. You may try with 15 to 20 deseeded fresh chilies.
I was craving Indian curries last night but the restaurants near us just aren’t good, so rather than waste money on them..
I spent 3hr in the kitchen making this and your Butter Chicken.
Usually I would have planned ahead to allow for marinating time..but I wanted it now haha.
They were both amazing (as are your other recipes I have tried).
My chicken is marinating and I am excited to make this. My kitchen already smells amazing! I am also making your cumin rice and dal. What kind of a salad would you serve this with? Thanks for your reply
Awesome chicken curry, thank you for sharing this.
Great flavor, traditional Vindaloo!
Lovely recipes Swathi. Thank you.