Crock Pot Chicken Vindaloo

“By Indian cooking standards, this recipe delivers an authentic taste.Both myself and my Indian wife were quite pleased with the results, although by personal preference I’d recommend a couple of changes:cut down the vinegar, add a little brown sugar, and add some salt.This one’s a winner in our household!”

“great flavor!!! sure DOES have an authentic Indian taste; i doubled the recipe,added about 3 or 4 tablespoons of brown sugar and less vinegar as previously suggested…also added a pound of peeled baby carrots and browned a whole cut-up chicken instead of using chicken breasts…next time i will add mushrooms…it’s on my “favorites” list”

“Ohh!This was soooo good!As Replicator suggested, I cut the vinegar down, and added salt to the dish.I also added extra curry and cumin, as well as extra cayenne.I will make this again! (and again, and again, and AGAIN!)Thanks for a great recipe!”

“I could give you 500 stars for this, Najwa! I got around to making this this afteroon in a skillet on my stove top. I used a 1kg 400 gm chicken(cut into pieces), 1 1/2 tbsps. vinegar, 4 tbsps. brown sugar, 6 cloves garlic, 3/4 tbsps. + 3/4 tbsps. curry powder, 2 tbsps. cumin seeds(powdered), 1/2 tsp. green cardamoms(powdered), 1/2 tsp. red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp. cloves(ground), 2 tbsps. mustard seeds, 2 tbsps. oil, 1 cup Heinz Tomato Ketchup, 1 cup water, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 medium onions(chopped)and corriander leaves for garnishing. How I made my chicken: I heated oil in the skillet. Then, I tossed in the onions and stir-fried them till brown in colour. Then, I added the freshly prepared paste and brown sugar(I didn’t use oil to make the paste as I’d already used it to stir-fry the onions; hence, leaving aside oil, I used all the other ingredients as mentioned in your recipe to make paste) and stir-fried it for 8-10 minutes on low-medium flame. Next, I added in the chicken pieces and mixed them well with the paste-onion mixture. Then, I added the tomato ketchup, salt and water. I mixed this all well into the gravy and a beautiful red colour emerged that was so tempting, it made me want to turn into a non-vegetarian! I covered the skillet after mixing in the pieces into the gravy mixture and allowed it to cook on low-medium flame for 40-45 minutes until the chicken was tender and ready to be served. I garnished it with cilantro and served it to my mom and brother with hot white Basmati rice. My brother did full justice to this dish. He had some with white rice, some with rotis and some with bread! My mom enjoyed it thoroughly too with rice and rotis. I’m sure I’ll be repeating this very soon! This is a definite keeper recipe!Thank YOU AND YOUR DEAR SISTER, SOOOOOO MUCH, for sharing it!! The quantity of chicken I used made about 4 servings.”

“I think if one enjoys authentic Indian food this is the recipe to try. I couldn’t locate any cardamom but that didn’t appear to hurt this in any way. Initially I thought that perhaps 1 tbsp of cumin was a bit much, giving it a heady earthy taste but by the end of the dish I changed my mind … it was just fine. I personally didn’t find the vinegar to be excessive as many others did. I served this with none other than Basmati rice and it was well received. I’m submitting a photo in gratitude. Thanks again najwa, by the way canarygirl recommended your recipe to me for my “Slow Cooker Contest”.”

“A really enjoyable meal. I reduced the vinegar to 2 tablespoons but felt it could be reduced further, perhaps to 1 1/2 next time. I also added some brown sugar as suggested.I served this along with Lhassi #22405 and Kaha Bath (Yellow Rice) #28815 for a lovely Indian style meal.”

“I made this recipe but used Beef…it was fabulous….I did cut down on the hot pepper a little but thoroughly enjoyed it and the leftovers were fantastic!Thanks”

“I cut down amount of vinegar, as suggested earlier, and served it with curried rice (recipe given to me by an Indian friend of mine).It was so wonderful!!Thanks a lot…”

“I found this recipe surprisingly good and easy to make!I made a few adjustments i.e. used tomato puree as I didn’t have tomato sauce, and about 2/3 of a cup instead of a cup because of the more intense flavour. Also substituted canola instead of olive oil.Instead of 1/4 tsp of hot pepper, I used a conservative tablespoon of chilli (vindaloos are hot and so without more chilli, in my opinion, it’s just a spicy stew), next time I will use a lot more. I took on board Replicator’s advice and reduced the vinegar by half and added about a teaspoon of brown sugar.Also ground the cloves with a mortar and pestle and so instead of blending the first 10 ingredients I just mixed them well (saved time). Oh yes, I used beef instead of chicken (with all fat removed).I cooked this longer than the 5 hours specified (about 8 hours) and about 15 minutes or so before serving, sprinkled about three quarters to one teaspoon each of ground coriander and cumin- this really helped to ‘refresh’ the dish (I would have used garam masala if I hadn’t run out!).We all enjoy curries, having lived in Asia for a few years, and so I curiously waited for my husband and childrens reaction. Well they thoroughly enjoyed it (although they all felt it could have been hotter i.e. more chilli) and I will certainly be cooking it again and again! Oh a tip: if your curry (or stew for that matter) sometimes tastes a little flat or ‘tired’ a squeeze of lime or lemon very often perks it up.Thank you for the recipe.Canchi”

“I made this for a bunch of international students at our local college and it was a big hit!Don’t worry about getting the exact measurements.As with any stew-type recipe, add what you want and have fun with it!”

“I am obsessed with this dish.Luckily, so is my boyfriend.Perfect amount of everything, although I don’t really measure cumin b/c I love it that much!I use ground ginger because although I love it that way, I don’t love it fresh.Other than that, I make it as is… all winter long.”

“Thanks to both you and your sister for sharing this recipe. I had intended to cook this in the crockpot, but ran a bit short on time. Instead I started mine on the stove and then finished it off in the oven while I finished up remaining dishes. (Recipe #230158 & Recipe #24351) Without the moisture from the crockpot method I found that it required adding in some broth. I also knocked back the vinegar to 2 TLBs,added 1/2 tsp sugar and salt, and tossed in a Tlb of a Penzeys’ Vindaloo seasoning mix. Would have been helpful if you’d indicated what type of vinegar you prefer to use, and what type of peppers “ground hot peppers” are. (I went with white and cayenne) I found that it was necessary to add the tomato sauce to the blender in order to get things moving, but think that perhaps next time I’ll follow Spinarita’s advice, grate the ginger, and skip the blender entirely.”

“Based on previous reviews, I added 2 tbsp brown sugar, reduced the vinegar by 1 tbsp, used 1/4 tsp chili powder instead of ground hot pepper, and 3/4 tbsp of ground mustard instead of mustard seeds.Very good, I will definitely make again!”

“This is definitely one of my favourite things to make with my crock pot now! It was soo easy to boot. I doubled the sauce ingredients like suggested and it was perfect. I had it on high for about 3 hours and it smelled so incredible the entire time. I loved how the sauce really thickened up all on its own, since usually I have to thicken things up at the end with flour or cornstarch, but I’m so ecstatic that I didn’t have to do any of that! Thank you soo much for this recipe!!”

“YUM!i made this with three thigh fillets, skin off.next time i would use a bit more chicken and not cut it so small as it almost disappeared after 5 hours!i used all the same ingredients, yellow mustard seeds, and malt vinegar (should it have been white?)toward the end i added some brown sugar, maybe 1 TBSP, per the other reviews.maybe next time i won’t add it or i will add it earlier as it seemed to obvious?it only cooked another 30 minutes maybe after i added it?i also sprinkled a bit of garam masala about 30 minutes before to freshen it up.served it with basmati rice and cucumber raita, we were very happy!had a small portion left over, which we spread on pita breads and put under the grill in the oven.tasted amazing on the second day.thank you, will use again and again!p.s. i added two red potatoes, skin on, 1 inch pieces, and some courgettes (half moon size) which i will make bigger next time too.”

“Delicious.I mixed the leftovers with some rice and and chicken broth for a great spicy chicken soup!”

“I use a variation of this recipe on the stovetop regularly.Who knew Indian cooking could be so easy?!And, I love to say it but it’s better than what I can buy at the local Indian restaurants and much cheaper.Changes with my variation include:2 tablespoons of white vinegar2 medium onions10 cloves of garlic, minced1 tablespoon of Pataks Hot Curry Paste1/2 teaspoon of ground tumeric2 bay leaves12 boneless skinless chicken thighs4 or so red or yukon gold potatoesfrozen peas to taste (I like to shoot for a pea or two in every bite)Cayenne pepper to desired level of heatIn addition, I buy whole spices which I toast and grind.They are…1 tablespoon cumin seed1 tablespoon mustard seed1 tablespoon coriander seed1 teaspoon whole black pepper1/4 teaspoon cloves1/4 teaspoon cardamom (remove them from green pods)1 stick of cinnamonThrow all those into a cold pan and bring them up to toasting temperature over medium heat until you can smell the nuttiness of the spice in the air.Quickly get them out of the pan when you start to smell them or they’ll burn.Let them cool and grind them in a spice grinder.My variation in process is that I don’t use a slow cooker to do it.I pre-heat a pan with some olive oil over medium high heat.I chop the onion into strips and brown it.When I have the onion where I want it (browned but not fully carmelized) I add the chicken thighs, garlic, ginger, curry paste and spices.I get that thoroughly mixed and let it cook for a few minutes over medium heat.I then add a can of tomato sauce and the bay leaves.If the mixture is thick, I’ll add a bit of water until it’s the consistency that I want it.Bring that to a boil, reduce the heat to low, put a cover on and let it cook for as long as you want.20 minutes or so before you’re ready to serve it, cut your potatoes into quarters and throw them in there.A couple of minutes before you serve it, throw in your frozen peas and let them cook.It’s good stuff for sure.”

“I thought this was a great idea!First of all, the thought of a curry bubbling away in the afternoon, making the house smell delicious and comforting…mmm!First of all, the prep for this recipe takes about 5 minutes!It is very quick – I whipped it up in the time my dh finished writing a quick email! I did tweak it a bit.I usually only use chicken thighs, so I used them instead, just personal preference.More hot – I like it spicy, more curry powder (I used 3 TBSP), and a bit of salt, a couple of TBSP of brown sugar.I added a splash of cream to finish (would also finish with a dollop of plain yogurt or coconut milk.)It was very yummy, and we had lots of sauce!We served over spinach.I would cook and drain the spinach next time and just toss it in at the end too.Either way, delicious!At first I was going to give the 4 stars, but I think that although it could be tweaked a bit to suit, it’s still the core idea, and the tweaking is to personal preferences, not a fault of the recipe. 🙂 “

“Very tasty!I followed the recipe exactly, including adding the full amount of vinegar and it turned out great.Next time I make this, I’ll add some potatoes and peas, and probably double the sauce since we like lots of sauce with our Basmati rice!Thanks for sharing!”