Potatoes Vindaloo

Tonight’s recipe is our second effort from Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi. Our first attempt was the super unique Eggplant & Mango Soba Noodles, which we loved! I love all things carbs, so a dish of not one, but two types of potatoes is right up my ally. We enjoyed cooking with curry leaves for the first time – so fresh and almost citrus-y! We got to explore a nearby Indian grocery a little more for some of these ingredients too, so that was fun! I expected this dish to be a little spicier (that’s what I think when I hear “vinadloo”), but it only has a mild spice to it. It is very spicED, but not spicY. So this lead me to research vindaloo a little bit. Turns out that ‘vindaloo’ comes from the Portuguese ‘carne de vinha d’alhos,’ which translates to ‘meat in garlic wine.’ This was a dish eaten by Portuguese sailors on the voyage to India because the meat was preserved. In India, the wine was replaced with vinegar, spices were added, and the name evolved to ‘vindaloo.’ So cool! I love the history of food!

We enjoyed this as a side dish (with scallops, so probably not a super common pairing 😂), but certainly it is meant to be a vegetarian main dish.

Potatoes Vindaloo

(Adapted from Plenty by Ottolenghi)

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 2 shallots, diced
• 1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp coriander
• 1 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 dried red chilli
• 2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated or chopped
• 25 fresh curry leaves
• 3 medium tomatoes
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 large red bell pepper
• 1 large Russet potato, diced
• 1 large sweet potato, diced
• Fresh cilantro

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy pan or a dutch oven. Cook the shallots, mustard seeds, and fenugreek over medium-high heat, for 4-5 minutes, until shallots are browned and seeds are popping.
2. Add the next nine ingredients (spices through curry leaves) and cook for another 3 minutes.
3. While those are cooking, blitz the tomatoes in a food processor. Next, add the tomatoes, along with the vinegar, stock, sugar, and salt to the dish. Bring to a boil.
4. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add the potatoes and peppers and continue cooking at a simmer, covered, for 45 minutes (or more, until potatoes are tender).
5. Once the potatoes are tender, remove the lid and simmer for another 10 minutes so the sauce thickens.
6. Remove the chili pepper and cinnamon sticks. Serve topped with fresh cilantro.

Serves 2 for dinner, 4 as a side