Baiki Vindaloo – Basa Curry Ethnic East Indian Style

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5 out of 5 Stars!

Baiki Fish Vindaloo is a delicious tangy fish curry made in the traditional East Indian style. Serve with rice, chapatis, or fluffy chitaps and a tasty salad on the side for an enjoyable meal!


Baiki or Indian Basa is a catfish that is found in Asian or Indian freshwater, and it has slightly pink and fatty meat. The books say its scientific name is pangasius or pangas, but it’s not to be confused with the basa fish found in Vietnam which we usually receive bleached white and frozen. Baiki has a lovely sweet taste and not many fine bones, so it is quite enjoyable to eat. I love it in curry, and I love fried baiki too! Plus, you do not need too much oil for cooking, as the fish oozes oil itself. It supposedly has a good amount of natural Omega 3… so yay…

Here’s my mom’s recipe for baiki vindaloo using East Indian masala. For someone who loves eating chicken skin and pork skin and ghee and fatty food, I think it’s just delicious! But that’s what I think about all of mom’s food, so why not comment and let us know what you think too!

What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Baiki Vindaloo?

To make this delicious fish vindaloo you need baiki (Indian basa). We used a baiki fish weighing about 1.5 kgs this time. The weight varies depending on the size of the fish, so anywhere from 750 grams to 2 kgs or more a fish.

You’ll need red chilies (Kashmiri if possible), jeera, a large pod of garlic and an inch of ginger, haldi or turmeric, wine or vinegar, water, and salt.

How To Make Baiki Vindaloo?

So here’s how to cook Indian basa fish in a vindaloo. We wash the fish pieces and keep them aside. That’s because we need to remove the stray splinters of wood that get into it from the fishmonger’s chopping board. Yes, you know, India and all! Hopefully, you don’t have to do that!

Ingredients on the plate baiki fish, spices, ginger and garlic.
Ingredients for the Baiki Fish Vindaloo curry

Grind all the ingredients for the fish vindaloo masala in a mixer. Traditionally it’s ground with vinegar. So use about 100 ml vinegar and about 400 ml water. But if you prefer, you can substitute the vinegar with about 500 ml of wine. We usually use any second run of homemade wine that I’ve made for this.

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Even if you grind it coarsely, it will do. Methinks the coarse version actually tastes better. If you’re too lazy, you can use store-bought vindaloo masala, but fresh homemade masala is always better.

Grind the spices and turn it into paste in a grinder.
Grind the spices

Pour the ground vindaloo masala into a kadai and put it on the stove.

Cook the masala.
Vindaloo Masala is ready

Heat the vindaloo masala for the seafood and add oil, allow it to cook for about 10 minutes on a high flame while stirring at regular intervals so it does not stick to the bottom of the pan.

Add the masala paste in a kadhai and add oil to it.
Add oil

After this, add the baiki fish pieces to the vindaloo masala and cook on medium fire for about 5 to 10 more minutes. You’ll know when the fish is cooked because the flesh changes color from pinkish to whitish.

Add raw baiki fish to the curry and allow it to cook.
Add the baiki fish to the curry
Add all the raw fish pieces to the curry.
It looks like the fish is more than the curry, but it’s not
Allow the fish to cook for sometime.
Allow to cook for a while

Serve this awesome baiki vindaloo with puris or chapatis even with foogias or chitaps and you have a tasty meal. Although the best way to eat it might just be with plain white rice and kachumber salad.

Serve the cooked vindaloo with puri.
Spicy Indian basa vindaloo with puri

And if you can’t find this fish, remember this, my mom uses the same fish vindaloo masala recipe for many other fish, so you can too! Comment and let us know how you liked it!

Serve the Indian Basa Curry with chapati.

Baiki Vindaloo

Abby
Baiki Vindaloo is a delicious tangy fish curry made in traditional East Indian style. This Indian basa is oily and fatty, and goes well with plain rice and kachumber salad!
5 out of 5 Stars!

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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine East Indian, Indian
Servings 8 Servings
Calories 192 kcal
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Ingredients
  

  • 1.5 Kilogram Baiki
  • 6 Dried Red Chillies Kashmiri if possible
  • 3 teaspoon Cumin (Jeera)
  • 1 pod Garlic Large
  • 1.5 inch Ginger
  • 2.5 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
  • 1 Tablespoon Salt
  • 100 ml Vinegar Or substitue the water and vinegar with 500 ml homemade wine.
  • 400 ml Water

Instructions
 

  • Wash the pieces of fish and keep them aside.
  • Grind all the ingredients mentioned above with water and vinegar to make a vindaloo paste. (If you wish, you can substitute the 100 ml vinegar and 400 ml water with 500 ml wine.)
  • Add the vindaloo paste to a kadai, add oil and cook.
  • Allow the vindaloo to cook for about 10 minutes on a high flame while stirring in intervals.
  • Once the vindaloo masala has cooked, add the pieces of fish and cook for 5 more minutes.
  • And your Baiki Vindaloo is ready! Easy peasy!

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Notes

  • You do not have to use too much oil to cook, as the fish oozes yummy fat.
  • You do not have to marinate the fish, as it will cook in the vindaloo masala.
  • You need to cook the fish for just about 5 to 10  minutes.
  • If you’re in a hurry, you can use vindaloo paste.
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Nutrition (Per Serving)

Calories: 192kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 150mg | Sodium: 1006mg | Potassium: 523mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 278IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 2mg

Disclaimer: Nutrition Information per serving is estimated by a third party software based on the ingredients used, and is for informational purposes only. It will vary from product to product, based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients. Please consult the package labels of the ingredients you use, or chat with your dietician for specific details.

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Serve the Indian Basa Curry with chapati.
Tasty and spicy Indian basa curry with East Indian vindaloo

Cooking Tips & Tricks

  • You don’t have to use too much oil to cook, as the fish oozes yummy fat.
  • You do not need to marinate the fish. It will absorb the vindaloo masala while cooking.
  • The fish is cooked when its flesh changes color from pinkish to whitish.
  • This same fish vindaloo recipe can be used with different fish or prawns! So, it’s really a seafood vindaloo recipe.
  • Pair it with a pineapple wine made at home or a minty wine soda.

Things we’re asked About This Baiki Vindaloo Recipe

What Is Baiki?

Baiki is the local name for Indian basa which is a catfish found in freshwaters. It is not to be confused with the Vietnam basa fish which is bleached white and frozen.

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How Long Can Indian Basa Be Stored?

Raw uncooked Indian basa fish can be stored in the freezer for a few months. Cooked baiki fish can be stored in a refrigerator for 2-3 days and in a freezer for 3 to 4 months in an air-tight container.

Why do you eat fatty fish like Baiki?

Indian Basa fish or Baiki as it’s locally known is a fatty tasty fish. Fatty or oily fish are known to be rich in Omega-3 fatty acids which are good for health. But it’s best to ask your nutritionist about it.

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Pinterest images of adding the Indian basa to the Vindaloo curry and serve Baiki Vindaloo in a plate with puri.
Pinterest image of tasty and spicy East Indian Baiki Vindaloo with chapati.
Pinterest image of Baiki Vindaloo.

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