Enjoy this dairy-free and gluten-free Chicken Vindaloo with rice or naan for a satisfying dinner!
Vindaloo is a popular curry to order at restaurants, similar to Chicken Korma, Kadai Chicken, and Chicken Tikka Masala. The most common version of this curry is made with pork. However, we will change it up and make Chicken Vindaloo.
Authentic vindaloo curry gets all of this flavor from chicken marinated in freshly ground whole spices. So don't skip that step when making this delicious curry!
We loved this Chicken Vindaloo. My daughter, who is super fussy and does not typically like much spice in her food, devoured this chicken. She just cut it into pieces and enjoyed it with a fork. So I am sure you will love this Chicken Vindaloo. Enjoy it with this delicious Mango Lassi.
If you are looking for a vegetarian version of this curry, check out my paneer vindaloo recipe.
Vindaloo comes from carne de vinha d'alhos, which literally means "meat in garlic wine marinade". This was "Indianized" by the local Goan cooks with the substitution of vinegar for the red wine, and the addition of dried red chili peppers with additional spices.
Vindaloo has become synonymous with ‘super hot and spicy curry’. However, in reality, this curry is not the most spicy. Yes, we add lots of spices, but it does not have the heat as other curries.
Traditionally, Vindaloo is eaten with pav (similar to dinner rolls). Now people around the world enjoy it with naan, rice, or any Indian flatbread.
Some Misconceptions about Vindaloo Curry
- Vindaloo is a very spicy curry - Vindaloo curry gets a lot of this flavor from the whole spices that are blended to make a vindaloo sauce. With these whole spices, dry red chilies are added. However, these chilies do not make the curry very hot.
- I like to add dry Kashmiri red chili when making Vindaloo sauce. These chilies give a wonderful red color to the curry but are mild. You can definitely add more or another variety of red chilies to make the curry spicier.
- Vindaloo has the word "aloo" in it. "Aloo" means potato in Hindi. You will find that many restaurants add potatoes to vindaloo curry. However, the traditional recipe for vindaloo does not have any potatoes in it.
How to make Chicken Vindaloo in the Pressure Cooker?
Now let's see how to make this delicious vindaloo curry. If you are new to the Instant Pot (pressure cooker), check out this Instant Pot Quick Setup Guide to get you started.
The main steps are
- Making the vindaloo curry paste
- Marinating the chicken
- Making the curry
Making the Vindaloo Paste
- Turn on the pressure cooker on sauté mode and add the dry whole spices to the pressure cooker - dry red Kashmiri chilies, coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns, cumin and mustard seeds.
- Sauté for about a minute until they are fragrant and slightly browned. Make sure they do not burn. Turn off sauté mode.
- Transfer the whole spices to a grinder.
- Add ginger, garlic, tamarind paste, and vinegar. Vinegar adds a wonderful tangy taste to the curry. I used rice vinegar in this recipe.
- Grind to make a smooth paste. I added about ¾ cup of water when grinding.
Marinating the Chicken with Vindaloo Paste
- Cube chicken thighs to about 2 inches in size.
- Add the ground curry paste to the chicken.
- Mix well and refrigerate for 15 minutes to overnight.
Making the Pressure Cooker Vindaloo Curry
- Start the pressure cooker in sauté mode and heat the oil in it.
- Add onions and saute for about 4 minutes until they turn golden brown.
- Then add turmeric and salt.
- Add the marinated chicken and saute for 3 minutes, while stirring frequently.
- Mix in any remaining vindaloo paste from the marinade in ¼ cup water, and add to the pressure cooker.
- Deglaze the pot. Make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom.
- Pressure cook for 5 minutes, then do a 5-minute NPR. This means after the pressure cooker beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then do a quick release manually.
- Add brown sugar and stir in the curry.
Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!
Look at that color! Doesn't it look gorgeous?
My daughter who is super picky, devoured this chicken. She did not even bother to dip the naan in it, she ate the chicken with a fork.
Perfect to enjoy even on weeknights!
Give this Chicken Vindaloo a try, and do share how it turns out!
More Chicken Curries You'll Love
📖 Recipe
Chicken Vindaloo - Authentic Pressure Cooker Recipe
Ingredients
For Vindaloo Paste
- 5 Whole Dried Kashmiri Red Chili Pepper
- 2 tablespoon Coriander Seeds
- 5 Cloves (Laung)
- 1 inch Cinnamon (Dalchini)
- 3 Green Cardamom (Elaichi)
- ¼ teaspoon Black Peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- 1 teaspoon Black Mustard Seeds (Rai)
- 8 cloves Garlic
- 1 inch Ginger
- 2 tablespoon Vinegar I used rice vinegar. White vinegar will work too.
- 1 tablespoon Tamarind paste
- ¾ cup Water
For the curry
- 1 lb Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 4 tablespoon Oil
- 2 cups Onions diced
- ½ teaspoon Ground Turmeric (Haldi powder)
- 1 teaspoon Salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon Brown Sugar
- ¼ cup Water
- Cilantro to garnish
Instructions
Making the vindaloo paste
- Start the instant pot on saute mode and add the dry whole spices – dry red kashmiri chilies, coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns, cumin and mustard seeds.
- Sauté for about a minute until they are fragrant and slightly browned. Make sure the spices do not burn. Turn off the instant pot.
- Transfer the whole spices to a grinder. Add ginger, garlic, tamarind paste and vinegar.
- Add ¾ cup water and grind to a smooth paste.
Marinating the chicken with vindaloo paste
- In a large bowl, add the chicken pieces. Add the vindaloo paste to the chicken. Mix well and refrigerate for 15 minutes to overnight.
Making the curry
- Start the pressure cooker in sauté mode and heat oil in it.
- Add onions and saute for about 4 minutes until they turn golden brown.
- Add turmeric and salt.Add the marinated chicken and saute for 3 minutes, while stirring frequently.
- Mix in any remaining vindaloo paste from the marinade in ¼ cup water, and add to the instant pot. Deglaze the pot and make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom.
- Pressure cook for 5 minutes, then do a 5 minutes NPR. This means after the pressure cooker beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then do a quick release manually.
- Add brown sugar and stir in the curry.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice, naan or roti.
Video
Notes
Note: Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Jeff says
I made the dish and loved it. I was surprised there was no tomato. Also, the dish was too thick. Can you add chicken stock. Way under salted.
Alex says
For whatever reason, the flavour just turned out completely dull when it was done pressure cooking. Had to add a heap of salt and garam masala to get some flavour.
Varada says
I made this today exactly as the recipe says! The flavours are tasty, but I also found masala a bit bitter. Not sure where this came from, must be the spices - but it evened out in the curry. I also found the water proportions way off. I added about half the amount suggested to the spice mix and it was still too much for the paste. And overall all my curry turned out too watery, although I again only added about half the water before pressure cooking. My pressure cooker gave me a burn message even though there was so much water in there, so don't know what happened there.
Ryan says
My turned out awesome! Thanks for the recipe. My entire family said it tasted better than take out so that is a win. It did end up a little too thin but I used 1/2 Tbs. of corn starch at end and it thickened right up and looked like the restaurant.
Sonia says
Hi … I love your recipes. They are close to what my mother would make when I was a child. What could make the curry taste bitter? Perhaps the rice vinegar? … I followed the recipe but find it a touch too sour and bitter.
Meeta Arora says
Hi Sonia - Thank you. It must be the vinegar, try with skipping it. Sometimes the onions can add bitterness too. Try to sauté them a bit more. Hope you enjoy it!
Cam says
Burning the spices can also create a bitter flavour.
Sarah says
Hello! I’m so excited to try this recipe, as I’ve enjoyed several from your site. I don’t think I’ll ever order out again from mediocre places. That said, I’d like to recreate a recipe that I previously ordered frequently: fish vindaloo. Would you have any recommendations on what type of fish and any modifications to cooking time or other concerns? Thank you!
Meeta Arora says
Hi Sarah - So glad that you have been enjoying the recipes. For fish curry, I would suggest to use firm fleshed white fish such as cod, tilapia. You can also use salmon. That said, I would suggest to check my salmon tikka masala recipe for how I cook fish in the instant pot. Otherwise, you can also make it on the stovetop similar to my paneer vindaloo recipe.
Deborah Prajapati says
Too much turmeric will cause a bitterness!