Introduction
Vindaloo (or Vindaloh) is a staple Indian dish famous for being fiery and spicy. The traditional recipe is typically meat-based, but today we will show you how to make a vegan vindaloo using sweet potatoes and red lentils.
Although aloo means potato in Hindi, there are no potatoes in the original recipe. The name vindaloo comes from the Portuguese dish "carne de vinha d'alhos", which roughly translates to "meat marinated in vinegar and garlic". This recipe was first brought to India by Portuguese explorers of the old days, and then transformed over time in the fiery hot curry it is today.
To give our humble contribution to this historic dish, and to pay tribute to other Aloo curries, we replaced the meat with sweet potatoes and turned this recipe vegan. To get back the lost proteins, we added a generous amount of red lentils, that also contribute to the fiery look of the curry.
What makes this recipe unique after all is not the meat, but the spicy paste. Building on the original Portuguese vinegar marinade, the vindaloo paste has evolved to encompass many seeds and spices typically used in Indian recipes.
And so you will soon be grinding cumin, clove, and other fragrant seeds, splashing in healthy amounts of apple cider vinegar and adding flavour with ultra-spicy chillies, turmeric and gram masala powders.
What comes out is a creamy curry with incredible flavour, rich in healthy fibres and vitamins, and loaded with plant-based proteins. Serve it with a bowl of rice for a wholesome and balanced dish. The best thing about it? It's ready in just 30 minutes!