vindaloo

V4I1N1D2A1L1O1O1
UK/vɪndəˈluː/US/vɪn.dəˈlu/

noun

A blend of chilis, tamarind, ginger, cumin, and mustard seeds, originally from Goa.

Originkok विंदालू ← Portuguese vin-d’alho →
UncommonScrabble 12
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounvindaloo (countable and uncountable, plural vindaloos)

plural vindaloos · alternative obsolete bindaloo · alternative obsolete vindalho · alternative obsolete vindalu

  1. countableuncountableA blend of chilis, tamarind, ginger, cumin, and mustard seeds, originally from Goa.
  2. countableuncountableA hot curry made with this spice.

    Gerry ordered poppadoms and parathas and then he was interrupted by requests for vindaloos, chicken madrases and sag joshes, rice, raita and nan, from Priest, Morgan and Maria Grazia.

    2002, Desmond Barry, A Bloody Good Friday, page 157

Origin

  1. Portuguesevin-d’alho“wine and garlic sauce”
  2. kokविंदालू
  3. Englishvindaloo

From Konkani विंदालू (vindālū), from Portuguese vin-d’alho (“wine and garlic sauce”), from vinho (“wine”) + alho (“garlic”). Not related to English aloo, from Hindi आलू (ālū), but by confusion with this term the dish is often based on potatoes.

More words from kok, Portuguese

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

vindaloo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vindaloo

MLA

“vindaloo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vindaloo. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vindaloo,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vindaloo.

Source: vindaloo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.