Chicken Xacuti ~ "Shakuti"

Most people know that Chicken Xacuti is actually pronounced as shakuti. Its a unique dish that consists of Poppy seeds and Kashmiri Chillies. The pronunciation "Shakuti" is most probably derived from the word "Chacuti" which is Portuguese, although the Portuguese Chacuti is brownish in colour as compared to the red Goan Xacuti.

Lets take a look how the Goan Chicken Xacuti is made!

Main Xacuti Ingredients:



1 Kg Chicken
Small round Potatoes
Small Onions
Dash of Nutmeg Powder
Small Bits of Coconut

Xacuti Masala Ingredients:



6 Red Chillies (Kashmiri Chillies)
1/2 Scraped Coconut
2 Teaspoon of Cloves
1 Teaspoon Haldi Powder
8 Pepper Corns
1 Teaspoon Jeera
1/4 Teaspoon Methi Seeds
1 Teaspoon Badee Saunf (Moti Saunf)
4 - 5 Flakes Garlic
1/2 Inch Ginger
2 Inch Piece of Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon Khus Khus
1 Table Spoon Corriander Seeds
1/2 Teaspoon Til
1/2 Onion

Knock off the stocks and fry 6 red chillies in two tablespoons of oil.



Add the 1/2 scraped coconut along with the other masala ingredient mentioned above and stir it so everything gets mixed well as shown in the picture below.



Then blend the ingredients with some water until you get the Chicken Shakuti Masala, a nice bright red color!



Add masala to the chicken pieces and cook it on a slow fire for nearly one hour.



Just before it gets done, you should be able to make out by the colour, add the nutmeg powder, bits of coconut, small onions and small round potatos. The colour should be the same as the picture of the nearly ready chicken xacuti below.



Once you add the Onions, Potatoes and Coconut Pieces let them cook for a while, make sure you time it properly so that the chicken does not over cook! You now have the authentic goan chicken xacuti recipe, have a lovely meal!