Hello one and all
If you are here it is because you are the recipient of one of my new and improved xacuti spice blends and want to know how to use it.
If you have tried the xacuti and would be happy to leave a testimonial or share your feedback, I’d love to know your thoughts, which you can leave here:
While there are many ways to add xacuti masala to your cooking, the number 1 way to use this spice is to make the classic Goan curry, chicken xacuti.
Below are two ways you can use this spice to make chicken xacuti - first the traditional (and slightly longer) method by making a paste with fresh or desiccated coconut and the second, a quicker version which bypasses this step but makes a delicious rich coconutty curry nonetheless. Skip to the notes at the end if you want to make this recipe vegan.
CHICKEN XACUTI (traditional method) serves 2-3
500g chicken thighs (I use boneless cut into 2 inch chunks, but you can use on the bone if you prefer)
2 onions
10 garlic cloves
2 inch chunk of ginger
1-2 green chillies
1 tomato
1/2 cup fresh or desiccated coconut
2 tbsp xacuti spice mix
1-2 tbsp tamarind paste (or lemon juice or vinegar)
Salt to taste
Coconut oil for frying
Brown sugar or jaggery (optional)
Coriander leaves to garnish (optional)
1/2 red onion (optional)
1 lime (optional)
In a small blender or a pestle and mortar, combine half of the garlic (5 cloves), half of the ginger and 1 green chilli with a splash of oil and a pinch of salt to make a paste. Massage the paste into your chicken pieces and leave in the fridge for at least a couple of hours but longer if you can.
Make the rest of the garlic and ginger into a paste or grate them and set aside.
Slice or dice one onion and fry in a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil. Once the onion has started to go translucent, after about 3-4 minutes, add the coconut and continue to cook both of these together, stirring frequently until the coconut becomes toasted and fragrant. Be careful not to let it burn but it should be evenly browned.
In a blender add the onion and coconut mix with 2 tbsp of xacuti spice mix and 250ml water and blend this into a paste.
Finely dice the other onion and chop the tomato. If you want it spicier you can finely dice another green chilli at this stage if you wish. In a deep pot (I like to use a cast iron casserole pot) heat up a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil and sauté your onion, tomato and chilli if you’re using one with a pinch of salt. Stir frequently and cook on a low to medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.
At this stage add the marinated chicken and stir to combine everything. Now add the coconut, onion and spice paste and rinse out the blender with about 200ml water and about 3/4 tsp salt. Stir so that everything is combined and the chicken is submerged and cook with the lid on for about 15 minutes.
Remove the lid and continue to cook for another 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. If you are using chicken on the bone this may take longer so be sure to check that the meat is cooked near the bone. At this stage, adjust the seasoning. For tartness, add a tablespoon of tamarind paste or if you don’t have this, lemon juice or vinegar (malt or white wine vinegar) will work fine. If you feel the curry needs more balance, add a pinch of jaggery or brown sugar and keep tasting and adjusting salt, sugar and sour to your liking.
For best results, don’t eat this straight away. This will taste much better eaten the next day or even a few hours later is fine so that the flavours have time to develop.
Simply serve topped with coriander if you wish and with plain boiled rice.
If you want to enjoy your xacuti the way it’s eaten in Goa, when eating, sprinkle each bite with some very finely diced red onion and a squeeze of lime.
CHICKEN XACUTI (simplified method) serves 2-3
500g chicken thighs (I use boneless cut into 2 inch chunks, but you can use on the bone if you prefer)
1 onion
10 garlic cloves
2 inch chunk of ginger
1 chilli
1 tomato, diced
200ml coconut milk or 50g creamed coconut
2 tbsp xacuti spice mix
1-2 tbsp tamarind paste (or lemon juice or vinegar)
Salt to taste
Coconut oil for frying
Brown sugar or jaggery (optional)
Coriander leaves to garnish (optional)
1/2 red onion (optional)
1 lime (optional)
In a small blender or a pestle and mortar, combine half of the garlic (5 cloves), half of the ginger and the green chilli with a splash of oil and a pinch of salt to make a paste. Massage the paste into your chicken pieces and leave in the fridge for at least a couple of hours but longer if you can.
Make the rest of the garlic and ginger into a paste or grate them and set aside.
Dice the onion and fry in a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil and a pinch of salt. Cook on a low to medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the diced tomato, stir and cook for about 3-4 minutes until it softens. Then add the garlic/ginger and cook for a further minute, stirring frequently.
Add 2 tbsp of the xacuti spice mix to the pot and stir. You can add a splash of water at this stage to prevent the spices from burning. Now add the marinated chicken, stir to combine everything together and top with 250ml hot water from the kettle. Add 1/2 tsp salt and put the lid on. Cook on a low heat for 15 minutes.
Remove the lid and add the coconut milk. (If you prefer a thicker curry you can replace the coconut milk with 50g creamed coconut from a block and slowly add water as it thickens to achieve the desired consistency.)
Continue to cook for another 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. If you are using chicken on the bone this may take longer so be sure to check that the meat is cooked near the bone. At this stage, adjust the seasoning. For tartness, add a tablespoon of tamarind paste or if you don’t have this, lemon juice or vinegar (malt or white wine vinegar) will work fine. If you feel the curry needs more balance, add a pinch of jaggery or brown sugar and keep tasting and adjusting salt, sugar and sour to your liking.
For best results, don’t eat this straight away. This will taste much better eaten the next day or even a few hours later is fine so that the flavours have time to develop.
Simply serve topped with coriander if you wish and with plain boiled rice.
If you want to enjoy your xacuti the way it’s eaten in Goa, when eating, sprinkle each bite with some very finely diced red onion and a squeeze of lime.
TO MAKE THIS RECIPE VEGAN
Traditional Method:
Ignore method step 1(marinading chicken) and start at step 2 making a garlic ginger paste with 5 cloves of garlic and a 1/2 thumb size piece of ginger.
Follow steps 3-5
Once you have made the coconut/onion/spice paste add it to the pot and swill out the blender with about 200-250ml water to get all of the past out of the blender.
Cook this sauce on a low to medium heat for about 10 minutes to allow the flavours to merge together. Finally, add a tin of chickpeas and continue to follow the seasoning and serving steps from 7-10.
Simplied Method:
Ignore method step 1(marinading chicken) and start at step 2 making a garlic ginger paste with 5 cloves of garlic and a 1/2 thumb size piece of ginger.
Follow step 3
Add 2 tbsp of the xacuti spice mix to the pot and stir. Now add 250ml hot water from the kettle and bring up to a boil and simmer for a couple of minutes. At this stage you can either add 200ml coconut milk or for a thicker curry you can replace the coconut milk with 50g creamed coconut from a block and slowly add water as it thickens to achieve the desired consistency.
Continue to cook the sauce for about 5 minutes and then add the seasonings. Add 1/2-3/4 tsp salt to start with. For tartness, add a tablespoon of tamarind paste or if you don’t have this, lemon juice or vinegar (malt or white wine vinegar) will work fine. If you feel the curry needs more balance, add a pinch of jaggery or brown sugar and keep tasting and adjusting salt, sugar and sour to your liking.
Finally, add a tin of chickpeas and continue to simmer until everything is hot and you are happy with the seasoning.
Follow steps 7-9 as above.
