8 Foods That Don't Come From Where You Think
5. Vindaloo Is From Portugal?
Vindaloo! Vindaloo Vindaloo! Sorry. When discussing vindaloo it's important to remember three things. One: You don't need to break out in song every time it's mentioned. Two: chilis are not indigenous to to India. Three: the Portuguese really got around.
Indian vindaloo is a variation on the Portuguese dish 'carne de vinha d'alhos'. The original dish usually involves pork marinaded in wine vinegar, when Portuguese sailors came to Goa in the 15th century palm vinegar was substituted and local spices like cinnamon and cardamon were added.
The vindaloo you eat when you're pretending to be hard is far different from the complex subtle vindaloo someone finds in India, English-Indian Vindaloo substitutes a lot of flavour for heat, it's a variation you see it's become short-hand for 'hot curry' like how 'salted caramel' is now just code for 'expensive caramel'.