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 Tablespoon Khus Khus
1 Teaspoon Badee Saunf (Moti Saunf)
4 -5 Flakes Garlic
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 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!

The Fiery Goan Pork Vindaloo

Pork Vindaloo is synonymous with Goan food, but how does it get its name? After doing some research its interesting to know, that vin is for the vinegar and the ahlo means garlic in Portuguese.

Some people say that it was Vindahlo, but since we know Aloo, as potatoes in India the dish was called Vindaloo. Anyway lets get down to the Pork Vindaloo Recipe.

Pork Vindaloo Main Ingredient:

1 Kg Pork
2 Big Onions
Salt as per taste

Pork Vindaloo Masala Ingredients:

15 Kashmiri Chillies,
4 - 6 Garlic flakes,
1" Ginger
2 Teaspoons of Jeera,
1 and a 1/2" Haldi,
1" piece of Cinnamon
3 peppers
Vinegar

Procedure:

First you need to wash the Pork pieces well, and then chop them up into nice bits.

Once you dice the bits you need to dry the pieces of pork. You can dry them up using a cloth as well to absorb all the water.

Then add some salt this should help dry the pieces even more.

Now keep that aside and lets get the masala ready, grind the chillies into a powder, then add some vinegar not too much into it.

Add all the ingredients of the vindaloo masala shown above and then grind all of it in the blender.

Once you have your masala ready you can add your masala to the pork pieces and mix it up well. Make sure all the pieces of meat are evenly mixed with the masala. Add a little vinegar to the meat, mix it up and store it overnight in the fridge.

Now you can chop the large onions to add to the Pork Vindaloo.

Before you can add the onions to the dish you need to blend them in the mixer.

Add the blended onions, here its got a specific colour because we used the same liquidiser that was used for the vindaloo masala.

Its time to transfer all the ingredients on to the stove, no need to add any water yet.

Now you need to add a few peppercorns, a little cinnamon and a few cloves to the dish as you fry the meat.

After a little while of frying add some water and let it cook on a slow flame.

Let the vindaloo simmer on a low fire as the meat soaks in the masala and gets cooked.

You know the Vindaloo is ready when it turns the fiery red colour and the aroma will attract your neighbours :)

Remember, the Vindaloo always tastes better the next day as the meat gets properly marinated, its not really a very spicy dish but on the tangy side. The longer you store it the better it tastes just like a pickle! Pork Vindaloo reminds me of Christmas all over again!