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venison curry vindaloo with squash and chickpeas on a bed of rice

Indian Venison Stew - Venison Vindaloo Curry

This Indian Venison Vindaloo Curry is my favourite venison stew recipe out there! Loaded with flavor from a homemade vindaloo spice mix and served over fluffy basmati rice, this is the perfect Indian comfort food recipe for the cold season. 

Course Main Course
Cuisine Canadian, Indian
Keyword comfort food recipes, curry recipe, fall food, Indian vindaloo marinade, venison curry, venison stew
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Marinating 8 hours
Total Time 2 hours 35 minutes
Servings 4 people
Calories 409 kcal
Author Kiki Johnson

Ingredients

  • 800 g venison cut into bit sized pieces
  • 3 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
  • 1 x vindaloo marinade see below
  • 4 cloves garlic sliced
  • 10 fresh curry leaves
  • 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
  • 2 onions finely chopped
  • 2 tomatoes finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon chilli powder
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 250 g kabocha squash in cubes
  • 1 can chickpeas 400 g

For the vindaloo marinade

  • 2 dried red chillies
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
  • 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 1 inch piece cinnamon bark or 1 tsp cinnamon powder
  • 10 black peppercorns
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 4 green chillies – finely chopped
  • 75 ml red wine
  • 1 tablespoon tamarind paste or another two tablespoons of vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 7 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
  • 1 inch piece of ginger chopped but with the skin left on

Instructions

For the marinade:

  1. Place the first eight spices in a dry frying pan over medium heat and fry until they become fragrant but are not yet smoking.

  2. Place the warm spices in a food processor with the turmeric and blend to a fine powder.
  3. Add the chillies, red wine, tamarind paste, brown sugar, garlic and ginger and blend until smooth.

  4. Put the venison in a large glass bowl with the marinade and stir well to combine.

  5. Leave the meat to marinate for eight to 48 hours. The longer the better.

  6. When ready to cook, heat the ghee or oil in a small saucepan over low heat.
  7. Add the garlic and allow to cook gently on very low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes. It is important not to burn the garlic so keep the temperature low and watch carefully. The garlic should become translucent but not too browned.

  8. Once you’ve reached that stage remove the garlic from the saucepan and set aside.
  9. Pour the garlic infused ghee/oil you used into a frying pan and put on medium heat.
  10. When it is hot, add the curry leaves and mustard seeds.
  11. When the mustard seeds begin to pop and sizzle, throw in the chopped onions.
  12. Fry them for about ten minutes over medium high heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Be sure to stir regularly so that the spices don’t burn.
  13. Add the chopped tomatoes, chili powder, bay leaves and the venison with all its marinade to the pan and then pour in just enough water to cover.

  14. Leave to simmer for 2 hours until the meat is very tender. Add salt and sugar to taste. Also, you may need to add more water while simmering. For the last 30 minutes, add squash and chickpeas.

  15. Before serving, stir in the cooked garlic and serve with basmati rice.