Xacuti Recipes
A couple of recipes to go with your Yesterday's Curry spice tin
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.
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 way 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.