This is a recipe from the Pondicherry region of India and is an adaptation of a recipe from Rick Stein, a brilliant British Chef. Pondicherry was a French base for 300 years. If you haven’t heard of it, just watch the movie “The Life of Pi” for some stunning views of this place. It starts off in a beautiful zoo in Pondicherry – before taking you on a wild ride (sail) but comes back in view through flashbacks lived by the main character. Although there isn’t a lot of French influence in this dish, the name translates to “containing vinegar” – a riff if you will on the Goan vindalhoo. I adapted only because I didn’t have some of the ingredients and we are in quarantine. But as always, I’ve indicated my changes with an “*” in the ingredient list and process steps. The process used is how I typically make a curry. I have made this many times following the recipe, but this time didn’t have all the ingredients previously used – still, so delicious!

I really like this dish, it comes together really well and tastes great. What makes this dish is the addition of vinegar and sugar at the end. That unmistakable sweet/tart blend leaves your taste buds tingling for more. My mum used to make a Shrimp and Radish curry where this was also a star finish for the dish. This is not a spicy curry, although I did add chilies to my version. If you’ve taken one of my Indian cooking classes you will often hear me speak of Kashmiri Mirchi – chilies from the Kashmir region. They don’t contain a lot of heat, really very mild – in my opinion, but have this brilliant red color when ground. It makes it very suitable for curries and other Indian dishes. For a vegetarian option, try chickpeas, potatoes, paneer etc. In other words, the chicken can be replaced with what you have in your freezer/pantry, just adjust the cooking time.

I’m using bone-in/skin-off chicken thighs as well as boneless/skinless chicken thigh pieces (cut up). I only did this as I didn’t have enough pieces with the bone-in. Also subbed cherry tomatoes for whole tomatoes and dried methi leaves instead of the fenugreek seeds (methi is grown up fenugreek – like coriander and cilantro – I know right?!).  Make this dish and serve it with rice or naan. It’s a thick dryish dish – delicious! As always – enjoy!

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 stick cinnamon – about 3” long
2 cloves
1 star anise
1 large onion, chopped
2 tbsp garlic paste – about 10 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder – this isn’t a hot chili powder, so if you don’t have this you can use paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper – to taste
½ tsp toasted ground fenugreek or a good sprinkle of dried methi
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
*2 large tomatoes (500g) roughly chopped – I used about 2 cups/1 lb of cherry tomatoes cut in half
*1 kg chicken thighs and drumsticks on the bone, skin off – I used 4 bone-in/skin-off thighs and 5 boneless/skinless thighs, what I had in the freezer
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp sugar

*Mix the dry spices together, sprinkle ½ of the mix over the chicken pieces and rub – set aside
Heat the oil in a heavy bottom pot – when hot, add the cinnamon, star anise and cloves – toss in the oil until fragrant
Add the onion and stir to coat in the oil – cook for about 15 minutes until golden
Add the garlic paste – stir
Add the tomatoes – stir to cook – about 5 minutes – you want them to release some juices
Add the remaining spices and stir into the onion/tomato mixture – if too dry, add ¼ cup (or less) of water and stir – do not let the spices burn or you will get a bitter taste that cannot be removed
Add the chicken and stir to coat – spread out in a single layer as much as possible
Cover with a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for about 40 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken meat is 165f – get a thermometer!
Add the vinegar and sugar and stir – let simmer for 5 more minutes to bring flavors together – it must have that tart/sweet taste to it – adjust amounts by taste
Taste, season if needed – salt, pepper, cayenne, chilies, sugar, vinegar etc., and taste again
Serve with rice or flatbread