I have always liked Goan flavours. The spices used are unique with coriander being the main spice which differentiates the dish from other cuisines. Came across this recipe on this blog and decided to try it. I have made my own variations to the dish and it was yummy. 
A very good side dish for lunch/dinner.

Here is my take on this Goan dish

Method

1. Make a marinade of 1 small onion, 2 inch ginger, 4-5 garlic pods, 3 green chillies, juice of 1 lemon and salt. 
2. Marinate 500 gms of chicken(I used chicken with bone) in this marinade for atleast 1 hour.
3. Make a spice powder by dry roasting 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 tsp coriander seeds, 1 inch cinnamon, 3-4 cardamoms, 4 cloves, 4 dry red chillies on a hot tawa till they leave out an aroma. Cool the spices and then pound them or grind them to a fine powder. Keep aside
4. Take a non stick pan and add 2 tbsp ghee. Fry the marinated chicken till golden brown and almost 80% cooked. See to it that the heat if maintained at all times and all the chicken pieces are fried well.
5. Cut 2 onions into cubes and separate the florets and add to the chicken
6. Add the spice powder to the chicken. Add 1 tbsp of tomato puree and mix well. Add ghee if needed.
7. Add 1 tsp of sugar and adjust the salt. Add 1 tsp of vinegar to add some acidity to the dish.
8. Mix well, garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot. This goes well with chapatis as well as a side dish.

Chicken Vindaloo is a Goan dish which proudly sits on the menus of many famous Indian restaurants abroad, next to the Indian Chicken curry. I have been wanting to cook this dish for long. Recently saw this in dish being featured again in one of my favorite shows "Twist of Taste - Coastal curries" by Vikas Khanna and that spurred me to find the best recipe online and cook it.

Just finished cooking this dish and must say its a beautiful dish. The tanginess of the vinegar dominates; followed by the sweetness from the caramalised onions and jaggery and the spiciness of the chillies.

History has it that this is a Portuguese dish which means Wine, Garlic and Pork (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vindaloo). The original dish has no "aloo" or potatoes but I found many recipes online with potatoes. Decided to cook mine without potatoes or tomatoes. So this recipe has just the goodness of chicken with onions, vinegar and spices.

Here is my version of Chicken Vindaloo.

Method

1. Dry roast 2 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds,1/2 tsp fenugreed seeds,  7-8 dried red chillies (I used Byadgi chillies), 1 tsp pepper seeds, 1 bay leaf, 2 inch cinnamon, 2 cardamoms, 4-5 garlic pods, 1/2 inch of ginger for 2 mins on a low flame ensuring you dont char out the spices. Cool these spices and then grind them to a fine powder in the mixie.
   
2. Marinate 750 gms of chicken with the spice mixture, salt, 1/2 tsp turmeric and 4 tbsp white vinegar. Add 1 tsp of grated jaggery and mix well. Let it rest on the kitchen counter for 3-4 hours. You can also leave the marinade overnight.
3. Now take a pan and add 2 tbsp ghee to it. Once the ghee is hot, add 1 tsp of mustard seeds. 
4. When the seeds start spluttering, add 3-4 cloves. Now add 3 finely chopped medium sized onions. Add some salt and start sweating the onion till it is brown. finely grate 3-4 garlic pods and another 1/2 inch ginger into the pan and saute for another minute
5. Now add the marinated chicken and saute it for 7-8 mins.
6. Add 2 cups of water and let it cook with lid on for 30 mins on a low flame. Keep stirring occasionally. When the chicken is cooked, open the lid and cook for another 10 mins for the water to evaporate
7. You will be left with a fine thick gravy. Garnish it with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve with rotis or rice.

Chicken Cafreal is a Goan chicken dish. I find it very easy to cook and has almost always turned out good. Here is the recipe I follow

Method
1. Dry roast 1 tsp coriander seeds,  1 tsp cumin seeds,5-6 cloves,2  green cardamoms, 5-6 black peppercorns and 1 inch cinnamon till the spices are slightly brown. 



2. Add 1 inch ginger, 4-5 cloves of garlic, 2 green chillies, ,and half onion roughly chopped. I also added 5-6 stalks of coriander leaves and sauteed all these till they are slightly cooked. 

3. Now grind all this  to a fine paste using a little water and salt. Make deep incisions in the 500 gm chicken and add all this fine paste and refrigerate for two to three hours (no need to freeze).

4. Heat three tablespoons of oil in a pan, add the marinated chicken and cook covered on medium heat stirring occasionally. Add a little warm water if required to avoid scorching. 
5. Cook for 15 mins. When almost done add vinegar/lime juice according to taste and cook for two to three minutes. Serve hot as a side dish.