This spicy vegetable vindaloo is packed with veggies, kicky spices, and a touch of sweetness...thanks to sweet potatoes! Serve with rice and fresh cilantro for a delicious knock-your-socks off vegan Indian-inspired meal.
Vindaloo was always one of my favorite dishes to order at Indian restaurants, but I never actually knew what it was all about until recently. Potatoes are an important part of vindaloo. The "aloo" part of vindaloo literally translates to potatoes. I always thought the dish was all about the super spicy sauce!
This is kind of funny because at this point I'd invented some vindaloo recipes of my own, without any potatoes.
So, do sweet potatoes count as "aloo"? Probably not. But that's okay! We can still have some fun by including them in this vegetable vindaloo.
Vindaloo Paste
An awesome vindaloo starts with a great vindaloo paste. You'll need onion, garlic, ginger, and lots of spices, but it'll be totally worth it. Other than gathering your ingredients, making the paste is super easy. Just stick everything in a food processor bowl.
And blend it up to make a smooth paste.
Tip: I like to make a double batch of the paste and freeze half for later.
How to Make Vegetable Vindaloo
Most of my curry and stew recipes start with a step of sautéing some aromatics in a bit of oil. With vindaloo, your aromatics are in the paste, so you'll be sautéing the paste.
Once you've cooked the paste for a minute or so, add some broth, followed by your sweet potatoes. Bring the liquid to a simmer and let the sweet potatoes cook for about 5 minutes before adding the rest of your veggies. Simmer everything together until the sweet potatoes are soft.
Serve your vindaloo with some rice and fresh cilantro.
FAQ & Tips for Making Awesome Vindaloo
- Feel free to adjust the heat level to your liking. Vindaloo is typically very spicy, and this version is comparatively mild. Add more chili paste at the end if you like.
- Feel free to switch up the veggies with your favorites. Broccoli, carrots, and even regular old potatoes (in place of the sweet potatoes) would be excellent.
- Is this recipe gluten-free? Yup!
- Want to add some protein? Pan-fry some tofu cubes according to this method and stir them in at the end.
- Vindaloo paste freezes well. Make a double batch and freeze half for later!
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📖 Recipe
Sweet Potato & Vegetable Vindaloo
Ingredients
For the Vindaloo Paste
- 1 small onion, quartered
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons sambal oelek (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander seed
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground fenugreek
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
For the Vindaloo
- 2 tablespoons canola oil (or high heat oil of choice)
- 1 ¼ cups vegetable broth
- 1 ½ pounds fresh sweet potatoes, cut into ½ inch cubes, optionally peeled (I didn't peel mine)
- 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 2 cups cauliflower florets (about ½ of a medium crown)
- 1 ½ cups fresh green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 medium red bell pepper, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
For Serving
- Cooked rice
- Fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Begin by making the paste. Place all ingredients into a food processor bowl and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with oil and place it over medium heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the vindaloo paste and sauté it for about 1 minute, until it begins to become fragrant.
- Stir in the broth and sweet potatoes, raise the heat to high, and bring the liquid to a simmer.
- Lower the heat and allow the mixture to simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, cauliflower, green beans, and bell pepper.
- Continue simmering the mixture until the sweet potato is fork tender, about 15 minutes.
- Remove the pot from heat and taste-test. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add some extra sambal oelek for extra heat, if desired.
- Divide onto plates with rice and top with cilantro. Serve.
Notes
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lovely dish , I added tamarind paste instead of vinegar , don't knock it til you have tried it , next day it was even better served a toasted sandwich
love the look of this but shouldn't a Vindaloo paste have vinegar in it, or like a lot of dishes, regional variations ?
Vinegar in the sauce or meat marinade makes Vindaloo vs. Curries.
Yes, I am surprised there is no vinegar in this recipe. If I make it, I will add vinegar!
This was unfortunately my first "miss" of a recipe from here. I followed the directions and even went heavy on the spices but this dish came out very bland. Ate one serving then went back and threw every spicy thing I could find in my kitchen into the pot for leftovers.
Delicious recipe exactly as written! Ty!
I don't own a food processor or blender because my kitchen is incredibly and insultingly small. Just a super-cheap Magic Bullet that isn't great for pureeing things that don't have a lot of liquid. However, if I were to take a shortcut and use jarred vindaloo paste, how much should I use for this recipe?
I'd try 5 or 6 tablespoons. Good luck and enjoy!
I didn’t care for the flavor of this dish and thought the sambal oelek added a sour taste. To try to improve it, I added a small amount of coconut milk (lite version) and then my husband loved it.
Actually, the name Vindaloo has nothing to do with Potato. Its from the Portuguese carne de vinha d'alhos (literally "meat in garlic wine marinade"),
Interesting! I'd heard that this dish had Portuguese origins, but I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing!
This was excellent! I made it as the vegan offering for a mixed group of carnivores, vegetarians and a vegan, and all agreed it was great, loads of flavor and just the right amount of heat. I didn't change anything about the recipe and, after making it once, don't see any changes I'd make. This one is definitely going into the rotation.
Yay! I'm so happy to hear that! Thanks Denise!
This was so good! I had it for lunch the next day and I was looking forward to it all morning!
Made this tonight. My husband liked it, but I didn’t love it. The paste smelled amazing and the dish looked beautiful when it was done. I taste heat, but not a lot of flavor, if that makes sense. Maybe it’s a dish that tastes better the second day.
So many curry misconceptions out there! I always thought it was the spice blend! My Mom always thought that almost all the curry spice blends were the same, and thought that curry had no "spice" and you could just add the pepper to the heat level you like. And my sisters and I were like "No.... not at all" I mean maybe they do that in restaurants lol
Ha! There was a time that I thought all curries were the same too, and that it was specific herb! I guess it didn't help that curry leaves are actually a thing. It wasn't until I started cooking Thai food that I realized curry is a generic term that applies to lots of things!
Looks incredible and I will be trying it later this week. Actually, Vindaloo is a Portuguese dish, not Indian, although they do serve it in Indian restaurants.
Oh, interesting! I've never heard that before! I hope you enjoy this!
It's not Portuguese dish. It was influenced by the Portuguese marinating meat in red wine vinegar and garlic. However with time it became more and more Indian with the addition of Indian pickling spices like mustard, chillis, cumin, black pepper, etc. This is a recipe for a great curry, just not a Vindaloo.
I am sure it’s a great dish but it’s not Vindaloo because it’s wrong at so many levels. First of all vindaloo cannot be made without vinegar - it’s an integral part of the dish. There is no aloo in vindaloo a😂. Vindaloo is a standard dish in former Potuguese colony of Goa and it’s cooked with pork marinated in garlic, spices and vinegar. The dish gets its name from Portuguese ‘carne de vinha d'alhos ‘ which translates as "meat in wine and garlic marinade. ‘Vinha’ is wine and ‘alhos’ is garlic. The Goans replaced the wine with locally made coconut vinegar.
As I said the dish sounds great but don’t call it vindaloo as it’s not authentic
This vindaloo looks so incredibly flavorful! I'd love to eat this with a side of naan bread :)
Naan would be perfect with it! Thanks Sarah!