Vindaloo Curry, has its origins in Goa, a state on the Southwestern coast of India first colonised by the Portuguese who made it their major anchorage for Armadas headed to Asia. Vindaloo is a mispronunciation of Carne Vinho d'alho,’ a dish of pork marinated with garlic and wine vinegar from the Madeira region.
The culinary use of vinegar in Portuguese cuisine derives from its abundance as a by product of Portugal’s wine industry and also from its Moorish past with the technique of vinegar marination being an Arab legacy. Jewish merchants also brought the technique of preserving cooked foods with vinegar as well as the importation of pickles from the Eastern Meditarranean. Vinegar marination and preservation would prove to be an important way of carrying meat on long ship voyages hence its passage to Asia in the 15th century as Portugal began its global conquests. In Asia the introduction of Vinegar’s preservation capabilities also had meaning, extending the life of dishes beyond their usual expectancy in the hot and humid tropics . See A Culinary History of the Portuguese Eurasians by Janet Boileau.
‘A stew of chicken simmered with cloves cinammon black pepper saffron and vinegar and thickened with ground almonds was standard Portuguese fare in the 16th century’ from Curry: A tale of Cooks and Conquerors by Lizzie Collingham.
Whilst spices from the East Indies began to exert their influence on food in Europe, in Goa the Carne Vinho d'alho,’ evolved into its spicy Asian form, becoming ‘Vindaloo’ picking up Mustard, Tamarind and Black Peper, ingredients popular in Indian cuisine at the time. The Goans did not make vinegar which gave rise to Franciscan priests developing palm vinegar made from the local alcoholic drink of coconut toddy.
Newer innovations were the addition of Chillies from the New World brought by the Portuguese and dried spices from the Indonesian spice islands like Cloves, Cinammon and Anise, now being traded around Asia. The traditional use of pork in Vindaloo, may perhaps be a colonial attempt to test the religious faith of Indian converts, as pork (and beef) is forbidden in major religions practised in India.
The Goan Vindaloo, is not like the British Vindaloo, popularised by Indian restaurants in the UK that opened quite extensively in the 1970’s. The British version is more associated with its heat, usually the hottest curry on the menu, unlike it’s aromatic and tangy Goan cousin. In 1998 the song ‘Vindaloo’ became an unofficial anthem for English football fans during the 1998 Fifa World Cup making the British Vindaloo an intrinsic part of popular British culture.
The Malacca Vindaloo, follows more closely the Goan Vindaloo with the addition of more localised ingredients such as nutmeg and palm vinegar. Whilst still evident in some Eurasian households and cookbooks its popularity has waned, overtaken by its derivative Devil Curry, that has become more synonomous with Eurasian cuisine.
In the photo a Pork Vindaloo (centre) is served with vegetable Chap Chye, Lamb Stew, rice, pickles and sambals.