Chicken Vindaloo

My brother Geoff got us all started on Indian-style food, but I've never attempted it at home before. This was super easy to make and tasted great. Once again, I have to add that Laurel ate the chicken and liked it - helped that I told her that it was cinnamon chicken. She avoids tomatoes, but at least she liked to flavor of it. Will didn't touch it, but he's entering that picky stage - I served it this time with just rice but next time I'm going to make some naan, although I hear you can buy it frozen too.

1/3 cup white wine vinegar
6 large garlic cloves, peeled
3 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon (generous) dried crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs (about 10), cut into 1-to 1 1/2-inch pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 14 1/2- to 16-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Place first 8 ingredients in blender. Add 1 tablespoon mustard seeds and blend until smooth. Transfer spice mixture to large bowl. Add chicken and 2 tablespoons oil and toss to coat well.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add chicken mixture and stir 3 minutes to blend flavors. Add tomatoes with their juice and cinnamon stick; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until chicken is tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Season chicken mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Mix in remaining 1 tablespoon mustard seeds. Simmer uncovered until liquid is slightly thickened, about 8 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick. Stir in cilantro and serve.

This serves 4, but I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow since my kids didn't scarf it. And I only had about 1.5 pounds of chicken. I think you could go with even less and add some potatoes to it to stretch the meat and add some veg. It didn't take long to make - the most active part of cooking was cutting up the meat and onions. I like these ones I can throw together and walk away from. I started the rice about the time I added the tomatoes.