Vindaloo Curry with Lentils and Potatoes

Lentil Potato vindaloo is a plant-based version of vindaloo curry with a lot less work. No need to soak and blend the chilies, I give you a quick vindaloo spice mix. Hearty lentils and potatoes are absolutely delicious in this tangy Goan curry sauce! Gluten-free with soy-free and nut-free options

Vindaloo is a popular stew from Goan cuisine, which is a Western state in India. Goan cuisine has Portuguese influences, because of Portuguese explorers that came to India centuries ago.

Portuguese cuisine has a lot of meaty dishes, and such as meat cooked with lots of wine and garlic. People in Goa took that and converted it to vindaloo curry, replacing the wine with vinegar, adding a lot more spices and a lot more heat, and generally making it their own.

They called this adapted curry vindaloo curry. Vindaloo curry paste has a lot of spices, Kashmiri chilis, and, depending on the recipe, it usually has a couple of steps where you toast all the spices and the Kashmiri chilis, soak the chilis, then blend them to make the sauce. If you want to check out that version of homemade vindaloo paste, you can find that on my tofu vindaloo recipe.

For today’s recipe, I’m making a simple version of the curry by making this vindaloo spice mix using ground spices, rather than grinding down whole spices in a spice grinder. You can adjust the heat of the spice by adjusting the Kashmiri chili powder and black pepper. This spice mix is delicious and potent, you can use it many ways! Use it on roasted veggies, sprinkle as a finishing spice(instead of garam masala), use as a marinade over tofu with soy sauce and vinegar and many more!

To make the vindaloo sauce, we cook the onion and then toast the spice mix with the onion in a little bit of oil. From there, you add the rest of the ingredients, including cooked lentils and crispy potatoes, for this absolutely delicious lentil curry. 

You can use other beans, such as white beans, black beans, kidney beans, or chickpeas or you can use crisped up tofu or vegan chicken instead. If you don’t want to add potatoes, you can use other vegetables or just skip the potatoes altogether. 

This lentils vindaloo is a very flexible recipe. All that flavor is in the spice mix and the curry sauce, so you can just make that sauce, and then add whatever additions you like to it. Also try my Goan Peri peri sauce!

Why You’ll Love Lentils Vindaloo

• one-pan Indian curry with an amazing, zesty sauce, crispy potatoes and hearty lentils
• so versatile! Use plant-based protein of choice in place of lentils and/or the potatoes.
• simplified vindaloo spice mix saves tons of time and effort
• naturally gluten-free with easy soy-free and nut-free options

Ingredients and Substitutions

• grounds spices – For the vindaloo spice mix, you need: Kashmiri chili powder or sweet paprika, coriander, cumin, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and mustard. You’ll also need garlic powder and salt for the potato.
• oil – To crisp up the potatoes and sauté the onion.
• potato – Cube up a yellow potato or your potato of choice. You can omit the potatoes or use other veggies of choice instead, if you prefer.
• aromatics – Onion and ginger-garlic paste bring lots of umami to the vindaloo sauce!
• tomato paste – Adds richness and umami to the sauce.
• white vinegar – For tang. You can also use apple cider vinegar, if you prefer.
• lentils – This is your protein. You can use other beans or other plant-based protein of choice, if you like.
• garnishes – Top your lentils vindaloo with non-dairy yogurt, cilantro, and lemon juice

How to Make Lentil Vindaloo Curry

Add all of the spices to a small bowl, and mix really well. Set aside. 

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the potatoes, and toss well to coat. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then add 1 teaspoon of the vindaloo spice mix into the potatoes, tossing well to coat. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid, and cook until the potatoes are almost cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir them once in between to crisp up some of the other edges of the potatoes, as well.  Remove the potatoes from the pan. 

To the same pan, add a teaspoon of oil, then heat it over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Mix and cook until the onion is golden, about 7 to 9 minutes, adding splashes of water in between to help the onion brown evenly and stirring every minute, as well. 

Once the onion is golden, reduce the heat to medium-low, mix in the other teaspoon of oil, then add in all of the remaining vindaloo spice mix, and mix well. If the pan is getting a little too dry, mix in splashes of water, which will also reduce the heat of the pan a little bit, so that the spices don’t burn. Then, cook for 10 seconds, and stir in the ginger-garlic paste, tomato paste, and vinegar.

If your pan is too hot, then add in a splash of water, as well. If you’re using minced ginger and garlic, just add the minced ginger and garlic first, cook for a minute, then add in the tomato paste and vinegar and mix in.

Mix in 1/4 cup of the water, stir really well, increase the heat back to medium, and bring to a boil, cooking until the whole mixture thickens a little bit and starts to leave the sides of the pan and you can see a sheen of oil on top. That will take anywhere from 3 to 4 minutes. 

Add in the remaining 3/4 cups of the water and mix well.

Depending on how it’s saucy you want the lentils vindaloo to be, you can add in more water at this point. Bring to a boil, fold in the lentils, potatoes, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. If you want the sauce to be creamy, fold in 2-3 tbsp yogurt at this point. then cover with the lid and cook for 3 to 5 minutes for the flavors to meld, then switch off the heat.

Taste and adjust salt and flavor, and garnish with a drizzle of non-dairy yogurt or cream, chopped cilantro, and lemon juice. Serve with rice, flatbread, or naan. 

What to Serve with Lentils Vindaloo

Serve with rice, flatbread, or naan.