In article >,
"Kevin Childers" > wrote:

> > I had a side order of Vindaloo sauce with my fries last night, double
> > nyeh.
> >
> > Cam
> >
> What exactly is "Vindaloo" of more specifically "Crab Vindaloo"?

From Wikipedia:
Vindaloo is a popular Indian food dish.

It was first brought to Goa by the Portuguese and soon became a pleasing
Goan meal often served during special occasions. Historically this was a
pork dish cooked with plenty of wine vinegar and garlic, known as "Vinha
d'Alho", however it soon received the Goanese treatment of adding
plentiful amounts of spice and chili. Restaurants often serve this dish
with chicken or lamb sometimes mixed with potatoes. Traditional
vindaloos do not include potatoes, the discrepancy arising because the
word "aloo" means "potato" in Hindi.

The dish gained added popularity in Britain, and became a common fixture
at Indian restaurants and curry houses there. In colloquial English it
is often referred to as "A Vindy" and is well known for its heat, being
one of the hotter curries available.


From the website for Patang: A Name for Indian Hospitality
(A restaurant in Yonkers, NY)

Crab Vindaloo (Very Spicy)
Very Spicy crab meat cooked with potatoes in a sharp, tangy sauce.


Vindaloos are powerfully hot dishes at Indian restaurants, the hottest
of curries. The heat level compares to T-Bell's Fire sauce, but as with
all curries, there are many other flavors that make it a much richer
flavor.

From the Epicentre (a cooking website), I found this recipe at:
http://www.theepicentre.com/Recipes/ivindalo.html

Vindaloo

The king of curries, the fiery hot vindaloo, is of Portuguese origin.

Ingredients:

1 tsp. cardamom seeds
1tbsp. chilli powder
4 cinnamon sticks, 3² (75mm)
12 cloves, whole
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp. cumin seeds
2 tsp. fenugreek seeds
2 tsp. ginger, fresh, minced
1 tsp. black peppercorns, whole
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. garlic, minced
2 tsp. mustard powder
2 tsp. turmeric powder
1 1/4 cups (285 ml) vinegar, malt or wine
4 lb (1.8 kg) pork (or beef, chicken, lamb) cubed
4-6 tbsp mustard oil or ghee
2 onions, medium, chopped
4 bay leaves

Preparation:
see the above website for the body of the recipe.

I true vindaloo will use a few different ingredients.
Cardamon pods instead of seeds.
Ground hot and/or chile peppers of specific types instead of chili
powder.
Cinnamon bark (unprocessed) instead of processed cinnamon sticks.

But this gives you an idea on vindaloos. Done right, these are
powerfully hot and flavorful, and very low salt. Most places in America
put way more salt in them, to the point the salt is tasteable.

Hope this helps.

jt