MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

     Title: Chicken Vindaloo (Chicken In A Tangy Red Sauce)
Categories: Chicken, Indian
     Yield: 2 Servings

 2 1/2 tb Distilled white vinegar;
          - see notes
    10    Whole dry red Kashmiri
          - chilies; up to 12, broken
          - into small pieces -OR-
 2 1/2 ts Cayenne powder;
          - adjust to taste
     5 cl Laung
   1/4    Star anise; (break the whole
          - flower and use a quarter
          - piece)
   1/2 ts Black mustard seeds
   1/2 ts Cumin seeds
     1    Cinnamon stick (2")
   1/2 tb Whole black peppercorns;
          - scant
     2 tb Water; up to 3 tb, or as
          - required, warm
     5 cl Garlic; roughly chopped
     1    Ginger shoot (2");
          - roughly chopped
 1 1/2 tb Fresh grated coconut
     1 tb Tamarind pulp
     5    Fresh curry leaves
     6    Chicken thighs; boneless,
          - skinless, cubed
   1/3 c  Oil; divided
     2 md Potatoes; peeled and
          - quartered
   3/4 c  Onions; finely chopped
     6    Fresh curry leaves; up to 8,
          - roughly torn
          Salt
   1/2 c  Water
   1/2 ts Powdered jaggery or light
          - brown sugar; adjust to
          - taste

 Notes:

 * In case you do not get tamarind pulp, bump up the vinegar quantity
 to 4 tb.

 * Fresh curry leaves are not substitutable. Even though the recipe
 doesn't remain the same, you can skip if you cannot get them.

 Deseed all or half quantity of the dried chilies if you want. In your
 blender jar, add vinegar, dry chillies, cloves, star anise, mustard &
 cumin seeds, cinnamon. Add 2 to 3 tb warm water. Let sit for 10
 minutes. Once the chilli skins are slightly soft & the spices have
 soaked, add garlic, ginger, tamarind, coconut & 5 fresh curry leaves
 to the jar, cover the lid, and blend to a smooth paste. You can add
 more water (1 to 2 tb) if needed but do not make a very runny paste.

 In a bowl, add the chicken, add 1/2 ts salt and add about half of this
 paste, coat the chicken in the paste and let sit not more than 15
 minutes. Reserve the remaining spice paste.

 While the chicken is marinating, heat up 3 tb oil in a heavy bottomed
 wide pot. Once the oil is hot, add the quartered potatoes to the pot,
 sprinkle a generous pinch of salt, and saute them, stirring on medium
 heat for 5 minutes until you see that their edges start to brown
 lightly. Take out the potatoes from the pot on a plate. Set aside.

 Add the remaining oil to the pot and heat up. Once the oil is hot,
 add the onions and on medium-low heat, saute the onions until they
 are golden brown. About 3 to 5 minutes if the onions are finely
 chopped. Once the onions have browned, add the reserved spice paste &
 torn fresh curry leaves to the pot. Stir around and on low heat,
 saute continually to cook until you see that the spice paste darkens
 in color and the water evaporates. About 3 to 4 minutes on medium
 heat.

 Layer the marinated chicken in the pot. Turn the heat to medium high
 and let the chicken brown. After about 2 minutes, flip the chicken
 pieces and let brown on the other side. If you see that the heat is
 getting quite high, reduce it. You will slowly see lot of liquid in
 the pot but that's okay. Once the chicken has browned, reduce the
 heat to low, cover the pot and let cook for about 10 minutes on low
 heat (adjust this time depending on how large or small your chicken
 pieces are). Once the chicken is about 90% cooked, add the browned
 potatoes to the pot cover and let cook for another 10 minutes on low
 heat, until the chicken is completely cooked and the potatoes are
 fork tender (ensure that the potatoes do not turn mushy.)

 Uncover, add the jaggery (or sugar), water (depending on how
 thick/thin you want the sauce), check & adjust the salt. Let simmer
 uncovered or another 5 minutes.

 Let sit for 30 minutes before serving. Serve warm with steamed rice.

 Recipe by sanjuro

 Recipe FROM: <gopher://sdf.org/0/users/sanjuro/indian-food/
 chicken-vindaloo.txt>

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