A Long Travel for Goa’s Vindaloo

The period of colonisation in world history led to the insemination of various socio-cultural ideals and the amalgamation of the native culture with that of the colonisers. Trade welcomed a variety of indigenous vegetables and traditional recipes from the motherland to the colonised regions which led to the creation of a new dish altogether. This can be said for the traditional Goan dish of Vindaloo.

A plate with vindaloo, other curries and rice. Image Source: abc

The traditional dish of Goa, known as Vindaloo, is a globetrotter too. The meaty, spicy curry of Vindaloo is one of the most popular Indian dishes that has gained international acclaim. However, interestingly, vindaloo is not a native Goan dish. It is attached to the long colonial history when it travelled from Portuguese, besides the numerous trading items, and came to the coastal lands of Goa.

The story of Vindaloo travels back to the 16th century, back to the Portuguese lands of Madeira, where Vindaloo was known as "Vinha d’alhos."  Madeira, a Portuguese archipelago was under Portuguese rule since the 15th century. The land was known for its immaculate collection of wines. Vinha d’alhos was a native dish where people used to marinate the meat in a stock made of vinegar, salt, garlic and the famous Madeira wine. This combination of marination added to the flavour that was loved by all.

From the lands of Madeira, the traditional Vinha d’alhos travelled to different continents through trade and became a loved dish with the amalgamation of local spices to its traditionality. In America, it came to be known as "Vinyoo Dayge" and was made by adding oregano and paprika to the traditional recipe.

Coming back to the inception of Vindaloo in the Indian subcontinent, the dish travelled from Brazil in the 16th century along with the various Portuguese soldiers and cooks. As the dish landed in the coastal region of Goa with the soldiers, it got a new Indian name for its identity- Vindaloo. One of the most revered food historians. Lizzie Collingham, stated that "Vindaloo became a garbled mispronunciation of the original name".

However, to make Vindaloo in India, the Portuguese had to twerk the original recipe a lot since India didn’t have vinegar. However, it was the era of invention and experiments. Franciscan priests of the Goan coastal region solved the problem by making vinegar from the alcoholic drink called coconut toddy which was fermented from the sap of the palm tree.  

Interestingly, India had a production of black pepper before red chillies were transported to India during the ‘Columbian Food Exchange’ in the 1500s. Since then, Goa became the dominant land for the production of red chillies and also became a significant element in the Vindaloo.

Over some time, Vindaloo became a signature dish of the Goan cuisine and a staple in the Catholic household. When the British took over the Indian subcontinent as the colonisers, they were mesmerised by the hot curry of Vindaloo. Most of the cooks for the British were Goans since Britishers always felt them be the safest option due to no caste-based restrictions on cooking pork or beef in their tradition.

After independence, Indians started to settle in the United Kingdom and around the 1970s, numerous Indian restaurants dominated the culinary business in the UK. One dish that became mandatory in most restaurants was Vindaloo. The English population loved the crispy and hot taste of Vindaloo, making it a popular dish in yet another country. It gained a new name of ‘the spiciest dish on the menu’ and brought the spice to land that preferred bland food.

The dish soon became so famous that during the 1998 Fifa World Cup, the fans made an unofficial anthem with the name of Vindaloo. Today, you can indulge in the authentic taste of Vindaloo all over the world along with the original dish of Portugal.

The Goan Vindaloo created a fanbase of its own by adapting to the original flavours of Portugal and painting it in the Indian palette of flavours. It became the face of Indian cuisine and stayed so for a long time.

A plate of Pork Vindaloo. Image Source: Wikipedia