Goan Chicken Xacuti
Ingredients
- For the curry
- 750g chicken thighs cut into large bitesize pieces
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp rapeseed oil
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 red onions finely chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 400ml chicken stock
- 2 tsp tamarind paste (sub lemon juice)
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- Salt to taste
- For the curry paste
- 100g desiccated coconut
- 1 tsp cumin seeds (sub ground cumin)
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds (sub 1 tbsp ground coriander)
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp white sesame seeds
- 6 dried Kashmiri chillies (sub 2 tsp paprika and 1 tsp chilli powder pepper)
- 3 cloves
- 2 star anise
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon stick (sub 1tsp ground cinnamon)
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp chopped ginger
- 100ml water
Preparation
Coat the chicken with the turmeric, 1/2 tsp salt , 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp of rapeseed oil and put in the fridge
Make the curry paste - toast the coconut on medium until golden brown, stir regularly. Set aside. Toast the paste spices and sesame seeds in a dry pan for 2 mins, allow to cool for a few minutes before placing the spices and the coconut in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder, set aside
Put the ginger and garlic in a blender with the water and oil and blend until smooth. Combine the ground spices and coconut with the ginger and garlic, to complete your curry paste. Remove chicken from the fridge
Using a large heavy bottomed pan on a medium high heat, sauté the onions in the coconut oil until translucent and turning golden brown, add the curry paste and cook off on a medium high heat for 5 or 6 mins stirring regularly
Add the chicken pieces and stir fry until the meat is sealed all over, add the tomato paste and chicken stock, and bring up to a strong simmer and then turn right down to a low simmer for 25 mins, stirring occasionally
Add the ground nutmeg and the tamarind paste and check the seasoning. Garnish with thinly sliced raw red onion or freshly chopped coriander
