Vindaloo is an Indian dish from the Goa region, and is known for being fiery hot. It’s usually made with chicken or lamb, but seitan makes a great stand-in and really absorbs the flavors of the vindaloo paste. My vegan version is heart healthy, with only a tablespoon of oil in the whole pot. The vinegar and lemon juice give it a major tang factor. I used green peppers and carrots, but next time, I may add potatoes, which are ubiquitous in restaurant versions of vindaloo. By the way, did you know that vindaloo was originally brought to Goa by the Portugese? Neither did I (thanks, Wikipedia!)

Seitan Vindaloo [Vegan]

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Calories

134

Serves

3 - 6

Ingredients

  • 1 small onion
  • 3 fresh hot peppers (preferably serrano), halved and seeded
  • 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1/4 cup vinegar (cider or white wine)
  • 2 dried hot red chiles, soaked in water for 15 minutes (omit if you don’t like spicy food)
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
  • 1-inch piece cinnamon stick
  • 5 cardamom pods
  • 1 large or 2 medium carrots, chopped (about 2/3 c.)
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 8-ounce package seitan, drained and cut into bite-size pieces
  • 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preparation

  1. To make the vindaloo paste, put the first 11 ingredients (through the cayenne pepper) in a food processor and process until smooth.
  2. Heat the oil in a large skillet or dutch oven. Add the mustard seeds, cinnamon and cardamom pods and cook for 1 minute or until the mustard seeds pop. Add carrots, green peppers and seitan, and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add your vindaloo paste and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, 1/2 c. water. lemon juice, sugar and salt. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until carrots are tender. (Add another 1/4 c. water if the mixture gets too dry.)

Notes

If you happen to see any of the cardamom seeds in the finished dish, take them out. It’s kind of a drag to bite into them.

Nutritional Information

Per Serving: Calories: 134 | Carbs: 10 g | Fat: 4 g | Protein: 15 g | Sodium: 377 mg | Sugar: 4 g Note: The information shown is based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.


About The Author

Cathy Elton

See My Recipes

Cathy Elton is a Brooklyn–based writer whose blog focuses specifically on heart-healthy food. She came to this subject the hard way due to finding out she had hereditary heart disease in her 40s. But she turned her health problem into a cooking challenge and developed a heart-healthy vegetarian cooking style that’s still spicy, satisfying, and adventurous. She shares her original recipes on her blog, What Would Cathy Eat?.

Comments

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  1. This was my first foray into the world of seitan, and the flavour of this dish is quite good – but even with the dried chiles it\’s fairly mild for a vindaloo.

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