Goan Recipes

Chicken Xacuti

Ingredients:
1 large chicken (1 ¼ kg)
salt to taste
one cup grated coconut and 1 tbsp fresh, diced coconut
1 ½ tbsp coriander seeds
1 dessertspoon cumin seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tsp turmeric seeds
8 red dried chillies
1 tsp grated nutmeg
6 star aniseed
2 tsps fennel seeds
1/3 cup oil
2 large onions, chopped fine
6 green chillies, chopped fine
2 tbsp tamarind pulp
3 cups water

Method:
Wash, clean and joined the chicken, and then each piece into two. Apply salt and keep aside. In a flat/ griddle, on medium heat brown the grated coconut, and all the spices except the nutmeg, green chillies and diced coconut. You will get a strong fragrance when the spices are done (approx. 3 -5 mins.). Remove from heat and grind this mixture of roasted spices to a paste in the blender/grinder. Heat oil in a pan on medium heat and saute all the ground spices along with the green chillies, and 1 large onion chopped fine. Add the chicken pieces, diced coconut, nutmeg and salt to taste along with the tamarind pulp. Lower the flame and add the water gradually, stir cooking, as you do so in an open pan. After 15 minutes, raise the flame and shake the pan gently. The oil will rise to the top. Remove from fire.

Pork Vindalho
(pork cooked in pungent red gravy)

Ingredients:
1 kg lean pork, cleaned
Salt to taste
10 dried red chillies/peppers
10 peppercorns
10 cloves garlic

1 inch piece ginger
8 cloves
1 inch piece cinnamon
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ mustard seeds
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp vinegar
2 tbsp oil
½ peg coconut feni
2 medium onions, chopped fine
2 cups water

Method:
Cut the cleaned pork into bite-sized pieces. Apply salt and keep aside. Grind all the spices in the vinegar, adding the ½ tsp sugar. Apply the ground spices to the meat and keep aside for 4 hours.

Heat the oil in the pan on medium heat and add the meat. Stir fry the meat for 5 minutes, then add the chopped onion, coconut feni, rest of the vinegar and the water gradually. Cover the pan and lower heat. Stir cook till meat is tender and the oil rises to the top (approx. 30 minutes).

Note: Chicken or beef can also be used in the recipe given for Pork Vindaloo.

Traditional Fish Curry

Ingredients:
6 slices fish or 1 cup prawns (peeled de-veined)
Salt to taste
4 green chillies or peppers, de-seeded
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cups grated coconut (tightly packed)
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 ½ tsp cumin seeds
6 cloves garlic
8 red, dried chillies or peppers
4 peppercorns
½ inch piece ginger
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
3 cups warm water

Method:
Wash, clean and pat dry prawns or fish. Mix it with the salt, chillies or peppers and onion. Keep aside. Combine all the rest of the ingredients, except the tamarind pulp, and make into 2 lots, putting each lot into the blender or grinder in turn, and extracting the spiced coconut milk by putting it through a sieve.

When you have squeezed out every drop of liquid from the ground coconut mixture, add another half cup of warm water to the coconut mixture and put it into the blender or mixer once more, then through the sieve, so that all the milk has been extracted. Now put the coconut extract into a deep pan on a medium heat and stir cook for 30 minutes, till the sauce becomes thick. Add the marinated prawns or fish and the tamarind pulp to the boiling sauce. Stir cook, adding more salt if necessary. When the fish curry is reduced to half its quantity, remove the curry and put it into a serving dish.

Ambot Tik
(sour and hot)

½ kg fish preferably skate, shark or catfish
10 dry red chillies
¼ tsp cumin seeds
4 peppercorns
¼ inch piece turmeric
4 flakes garlic
½ inch piece ginger
a small (marble size) tamarind
1 onion (sliced fine)
2 tbsp oil

Method:
Clean and wash the fish. Cut into desired pieces, apply salt and keep aside. In the meantime grind the above ingredients in a little water. Fry the onion in oil till it turns brown. Add the masala and fry a bit. Add a cup of water, allow to boil and then add the fish pieces. Cook till tender on slow fire. Add salt and vinegar if necessary.

Dodol
(rice halwa)

Ingredients:
750 gm raw Goa rice
10 large coconuts
2 ½ kg coconut jaggery
2 tbsp sugar
Salt to taste
200 gm cashew nuts, chopped

Method:
Grind the rice or powder it and blend it with a little water or coconut juice and keep aside. Grate and grind the coconuts coarsely. Extract about one and half litres of thick coconut juice and around 8 litres thin juice. Keep the thin coconut juice on the fire, preferably in a large copper vessel, and bring to the boil stirring continuously. Add the rice mixture, a little at a time, continuously stirring. Let it boil for around 2 hours. Add coconut jaggery and sugar and salt and continue stirring. When the mixture begins to thicken, add the coconut juice.

The dodol will start leaving the sides of the pan when it is done. Pour into an aluminum or stainless steel container. Decorate with chopped cashew nuts. Serve sliced.

Bebinca

(rich layered pudding)

Ingredients:
1 kg castor sugar
3 cups of coconut milk (extract of 2 coconuts)
20 egg yolks
100 gm flour
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
2 tsp cardamom essence
1 cup clarified butter (ghee)

Method:
Mix the castor sugar with the coconut milk till dissolved. Beat the egg yolks till creamy and add to the coconut milk and mix the flour in it thoroughly, without any lumps. Add this to the mixture of coconut milk, sugar and eggs, along with the nutmeg and cardamom. Take a deep pan, about 6 inch in diameter and put a tablespoon of clarified butter in it. Put it under a grill (medium heat). Take it out of the grill and pour enough batter in the pan to cover the bottom about ½ inch in thickness. Put under the grill for about 2 minutes and let it cook till it is a deep brown in color. Remove from grill, put a dessert spoonful of clarified butter over the cooked layer, following it with enough batter to cover the first layer, about ¼ inch thick.

Repeat this process till all the batter and clarified butter has been used up in the same way. The batter must always be in the same proportion. The last layer has to be the clarified butter. When cool, turn out onto a dish, keeping the first layer face down. Decorate the last layer with a few slivers of toasted almonds if desired. To serve, cut into slices.