Vindaloo implies garlic and vinegar, and this dish certainly has plenty of both. Make it as hot as you like. The heat balances the tartness. This dish holds well and, because it does not have too much sauce, is wonderful to take on picnics.

Ingredients

　　4 tablespoons olive or canola oil

　　4 teaspoon whole brown mustard seeds

　　5 teaspoon whole fenugreek seeds

　　1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

　　15–20 fresh curry leaves or 10 fresh basil leaves, torn up

　　8 chicken thighs

　　6 cloves garlic, chopped

　　1 cup apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

　　15 teaspoons salt

　　14 teaspoons ground cumin seeds

　　1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds

　　4–1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more if you wish

　　1 tablespoon bright red paprika

　　Pour the oil into a very wide pot, large sauté pan, or wide frying pan—anything large enough to hold the chicken in a single layer. Set over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as they pop, a matter of seconds, put in the fenugreek seeds and peppercorns. A few seconds later add the curry leaves, chicken, and all the remaining ingredients. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Remove the cover, turn heat to high, and cook, stirring and turning, until all the liquid evaporates and the chicken browns on all sides.

　　Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.Buy the full book from Amazon.