Lamb Xacuti – Goan curry

Cooking this recipe was inspired by the beautiful story and recipe posted by The Storyteller’s Kitchen Chicken Xacuti but I made it tonight using lamb. It was certainly very delicious and is easy to make but does involve quite a number of steps for the three seperate spice mixes involved.

I didn’t have any mace so just gave it a miss but the original recipe calls for it to be included in the masala (dry spice mix).

I have added extra coriander and curry leaves and was pleased with the result.

I have also divided the recipe up into the different components into groups to help follow the recipe. Hope it helps!

This is almost like an Indian version of Indonesian rendang except sharper tasting through the use of green chillies and lots of fresh coriander. We had a tangy cucumber, tomato, carrot and spinach salad with it and plain basmati rice. A very More-ish dish!

Prep time: 35 minutes Cooking time: 60 minutes Resting time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Coriander Spice Marinade:
8 garlic cloves
1.5 cm piece of ginger
6 small green chilies
1/2 bunch of coriander
1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate mixed with 1 tablespoon of water
1 teaspoon turmeric

Coconut and onion paste:
1/3 cup of desiccated coconut
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 tablespoons coconut or vegetable oil

Spice Masala:
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
7-8 cloves
7-8 black peppercorns
1 star anise
7-8 dried red chillies
2 small pieces cinnamon bark broken into bits
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg powder

Meat:
1kg lamb on the bone – I use 5-6 lamb chump chops with the fat removed and diced into small chunks with the bone left in

Braising mixture:
3 tablespoons coconut or vegetable oil
Handful curry leaves
1 large onion finely diced
1 tomato roughly chopped
2-3 cups water
1 cup coriander leaves ground to paste

Garnish:
Coriander chopped
2-3 small Green chillies chopped

Method:

1. Chop all ingredients for marinade, then grind ingredients into a paste, chop meat, add marinade to meat and marinate for 30-45 minutes

2. Dry roast dry spices for Masala in a small non-stick pan over medium heat until fragrant, allow to cool then grind to a fine powder in spice blender or coffee grinder – set aside

3. In the same pan, dry fry desiccated coconut over gentle heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning, until golden brown. Then add 2 tablespoons oil and fry 1 diced onion until browned. Allow onion and coconut to cool, then grind together in mortar and pestle until onion is melted into coconut into a thick paste. Set aside

4. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a heavy bottom casserole pot with a lid, then add curry leaves and fry until just fragrant, then add diced onion and fry until golden brown stirring to ensure onion doesn’t burn. Add tomato and 1 teaspoon salt and cook until tomatoes have disintegrated and oil reappears.

5. Add lamb mixture and additional ground coriander paste and 1 cup of water to onion and tomato mixture and boil for 15 minutes.

6. Add Masala mix and coconut-onion paste and another cup of water and simmer for another 25 minutes until lamb is really tender.

7. Take off heat, allow to rest for 30 minutes, garnish with coriander and green chillies and serve.