Vindaloo Paste
Skip the store-bought jar and make your own homemade Vindaloo paste in minutes! Packed with bold Indian spices, garlic, ginger, and a tangy touch of vinegar, this versatile paste is the secret to creating authentic Goan curries at home.
Use it to whip up the classic chicken Vindaloo, potato Vindaloo, or just a simple seafood curry in just minutes.
Scratch-making curry powders and pastes is my newest obsession. I recently made a classic Tikka Masala sauce and instant Rasam powder over the weekend and it made my weekday meals a total breeze.
This time, I wanted to try something more spicy and flavorful, and a nice curry paste seemed like the perfect idea.
Quick Look: Vindaloo Paste
- 🔪Prep time: 10 mins.
- ⏲️Cook time: 10 mins.
- 👪 Servings: 8.
- 📋Main ingredients: Whole spices, red chilies, vinegar, ginger, garlic, brown sugar and tamarind paste.
- ♨️Cooking method: Dry roast spices 🡢 soak dried chilies 🡢 brown onions 🡢 blend to a paste 🡢 cook down to thicken 🡢 store.
- ⭐Difficulty: Easy.
- 🥣Serving ideas: Use the paste as a base for your stir fries and veggie and meat curries- like I do with my yellow curry paste.
Jump to:
What's So Great About the Recipe?
- Authentic Goan flavor: A fiery blend of spices, garlic, ginger, and vinegar gives this paste its bold, signature taste.
- Versatile and customizable: Use it for chicken, lamb, seafood, or vegetarian curries- adjust the spice level to your liking.
- Meal-prep friendly: Just like my Shashlik sauce, you can store in the fridge or freezer so you always have fresh, homemade curry paste ready in minutes.
Recipe Ingredients
Whole spices: I used a mix of dried red chilies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. You'll also need the classic Indian spices of cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black peppercorns.
Ginger + garlic: The staples of an Indian curry. It's best to use fresh ginger and garlic here, but you can also use homemade ginger garlic paste if you want to.
Onion: Use red onion, for that pungent kick.
Vinegar: The hero ingredient! I love sticking to white vinegar here, but apple cider vinegar works well too, if that's what you have. Sometimes, I add hot pepper vinegar for some extra heat.
Turmeric: To add that color to the curry paste.
Red chili powder: For that fiery kick and the brilliant red color.
Tamarind paste: For that beautiful tart, acidic flavor.
Seasonings: Salt and brown sugar, to balance out the other flavors. Salt also acts as a natural preservative for the paste. You can also use homemade date sugar as a natural sweetener instead of brown sugar.
Oil: Any regular cooking oil will work!
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Don't have the individual whole spices? Use half a teaspoon of garam masala powder instead.
- Ran out of vinegar? Add some freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice and zest for that tangy flavor.
- You can also add some air fried roasted garlic instead of fresh garlic to lend the Vindaloo paste a smoky flavor.
How to Make Vindaloo Paste
Step 1: Soak the dried red chilies in warm water for 10-15 minutes.
Step 2: Meanwhile, dry roast the whole spices in a pan over low heat until fragrant.
Step 3: Add a dash of oil to the same pan and sauté the onions on medium heat until light golden brown.
Step 4: Transfer all the ingredients to a blender jar and blend.
Step 5: Add the turmeric, red chili powder and seasonings and blitz again until you get a coarse paste.
Step 6: Transfer the paste back to the pan and cook it down on low heat for 10 minutes until it thickens.
💭Top Tip
Want the paste to have a smoother consistency? Blend it for a couple of extra minutes.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Use store-bought garam masala powder and some crispy fried onions (or my Air Fryer shallots) to whip up this paste in under 10 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the ingredients to make the paste more or less tangy, spicy and salty.
- Dry roast the spices on low heat, stirring continuously. Make sure they don't burn.
- Add some tamarind date chutney (a staple in Indian households) to the paste to tone down the heat.
- You can store the paste in Souper cubes in serving sized portions and freeze it for months. Then, use a cube to whip up a quick Vindaloo curry.
How to Use Homemade Vindaloo Paste
You can use the paste to make a quick Vindaloo curry using any protein or veggie of your choice. I've loved making my shrimp Vindaloo and paneer Vindaloo with it- and a side of my Boondi Raita and Jeera rice.
And of course, the paste is splendid to use as a marinade for your grilled meats too. In fact, you can also add a small spoonful of the paste to your veggie stir fry- I sometimes do this with my homemade Thai seasoning mix too.
Troubleshooting and FAQs
Any kind of dried red chilies can work! If you're looking to make a slightly mild-tasting paste, use more of Kashmiri red chilies, which have that brilliant color, but less heat.
You can store the leftover curry paste for up to 2 months in the refrigerator. Make sure you use an airtight container to keep it fresh. I like to top the jar with a layer of oil to maximize its freshness.
More Indian Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried this Vindaloo paste recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Vindaloo Paste
Ingredients
- ½ cup dried red chilies
- 1 red onion
- 3-4 cloves
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1-2 cardamom
- 5-8 black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoon ginger
- 2 teaspoon garlic
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
- 2 teaspoon vinegar
- 2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon oil
Instructions
- Soak the dried red chilies in warm water for 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, dry roast the whole spices in a pan over low heat until fragrant.
- Add a dash of oil to the same pan and sauté the onions on medium heat until light golden brown.
- Transfer all the ingredients to a blender jar and blend.
- Add the turmeric, red chili powder and seasonings and blitz again until you get a coarse paste.
- Transfer the paste back to the pan and cook it down on low heat for 10 minutes until it thickens.
Notes
- Use store-bought garam masala powder and some crispy fried onions (or my Air Fryer shallots) to whip up this paste in under 10 minutes.
- Taste and adjust the ingredients to make the paste more or less tangy, spicy and salty.
- Dry roast the spices on low heat, stirring continuously. Make sure they don't burn.
- Add some tamarind date chutney (a staple in Indian households) to the paste to tone down the heat.
- You can store the paste in Souper cubes in serving sized portions and freeze it for months. Then, use a cube to whip up a quick Vindaloo curry.
