Chicken Xacuti ~ "Shakuti"

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:

Chicken Pieces

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

Xacuti Masala Ingredients:

Chicken shakuti 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.

Frying Kashmiri chillies

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.

Cooking xacuti masala ingredients

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

Chciken xacuti masala

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

Semi cooked chicken shakuti

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.

Ready to add onions and potatoes

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!

Delicious chicken Xacuti

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veronica
veronica
8 years ago

Lovely receipe clyde thanks tried it

Sydney Mumbai
Sydney Mumbai
8 years ago

Hi Clyde,
Good work – Great Recipes! The comments from most of the guys is correct – the coconut must be browned (wood brown). One thing though – can anyone tell me which is the ingredient used in Xacuti makes it different from other Chicken Curries using coconut – I would prefer the real Mason's Xacuti Shacuti

Anonymous
Anonymous
9 years ago

you actually fry the onions and then roast the grated coconut and the dry spices on dry heat to get the aromas

Maxwell Taylor
Maxwell Taylor
9 years ago

Hi Clyne,
This is Chef Maxwell from Australia and i am anglo indian Hats off to you for this wonderful website the knowldge you share we salute you for this , most of my friends are goan and i am learning to make these wonderful dishes and you play a curucial roll we all indians around the world should appriciate the work done by you…..keep up the good work man thanks

vibha naik
vibha naik
9 years ago

it may be due to the chillies you used, kashmiri chillies give u d red color and infact the actual authentic xacuti is brown in colour as the coconut and onion has to fried in a little oil before grinding it.

abhi1877
9 years ago

Xacuti is nothing but Saaguti which we konkani people make day in and out.
Chief ingredients are grated coconut and onions. And main spices includes black pepper, clove, cinnamon sticks, jaypatree, nutmeg, saunff, khas khas, garlic cloves, etc. We fry them on flat pan and make thick paste of it.

Anonymous
Anonymous
10 years ago

The chillies were introduced to india by the portuguese. Do you have the original recipe by goan masons for xacuti mr. Francis.

BOSE
BOSE
10 years ago

Francis is absolutely right, Potato doesn't come in Xacuti.

Anonymous
Anonymous
10 years ago

It is fennel seeds.

Anonymous
Anonymous
10 years ago

badee saunf = fennel seeds
it looks like but is a lil bigger than jeere/cumin seeds.

Clyde
10 years ago

thanks for the info Francis, love to know more about the history of Goan food if you know more. If you share your email i would love to ask you a few questions…

Anonymous
Anonymous
10 years ago

ILOOKED UP METHI SEEDS AND THE TRANSLATION WAS FENUGREEK. BUT WHAT IS BADEE SAUNF (MOTEE SAUNF)

Anonymous
Anonymous
11 years ago

you need to fry the onions and coconut before grinding it. its very important.. or the dish wont get its authentic flavor..

Francis F. Coutinho
11 years ago

Hey guys please get your facts right. Xacutti is not Portuguese its authentic Goan. One doesnt put potatoes in Xacutti. Potatoes didnt exist in India until the Portuguese brought them here. Xacutti was made by the "Thovoi" (masons) community of Goa way before the Portuguese came to our shores. So please dont give the Portuguese undue credit for this dish unlike other dishes they brought to our shores from their other colonies.

Hanika Crasto
Hanika Crasto
4 years ago

Hi…I wanted to know whether you know how to make goan red beef curry without coconut…my grandmother use to often make it, unfortunately I forgot the proper ingredients as I had stopped making beef… I have been having the craving to have this food now since a long time…I have searched on many website, but didn’t find the proper recipe…pls if u know could you pls share the same..

JD
JD
11 years ago

Chicken Xacuti should be brown in color. The coconut and onion should be roasted well and ground. That adds up the taste and gives the dish the brown color.

Linda
Linda
11 years ago

I tried out this recipe, it did taste good with a good aroma however, the quantity of cloves mentioned is just too much as one could tell that cloves was added to this. The next time I prepare this, I will add just 1 tsp instead of 2.

shradha
shradha
11 years ago

hi, well we make xacuti in a very different way, we roast the coconut first along with the above said masala(jeera and til is not used) and we used mapusa chillies instead of the kashmiri chillies, sencondly as coconut starts leaving oil when roasted we also fry onions in the same .. on a low flame till it turns brown and ground n kept aside. meanwhile we apply green masala to the chiken(green chillies corriender, garlic a, ginger and salt) and keep it aside for 1 hour, it is than half cooked in very little oil and than the ground masala is added , once the chicken is fully cooked it is garnished with corriender leaves.

Anonymous
Anonymous
12 years ago

Your recipes are really great.Very good and very goan

Siddesh Joshi,Goa

Anonymous
Anonymous
12 years ago

This website is awesome! I am 19 yrs old and I know how to cook Indian food, but not Goan food. It sucks because I am Goan so I need to know, but this website has helped me. The food is quite delicious as well. The pictures make the directions more clearer!
Michelle Rebello

Clyde
12 years ago

@Merel

brown is the right color for the xacuti as the above comments state …so basically your xacuti is perfect if it tastes right 🙂

HRH d VQueen
12 years ago

some how my xacuti turned out more brownish than the red color that is shown in the pictures..where did i go wrong?

Merel

Marcos dos Santos
Marcos dos Santos
2 years ago
Reply to  HRH d VQueen

All ingredients need to be fried lightly brown …golden yellow…including the onions and coconut and chicken. …
As said it should remain as Xacuti and taste the same flavour. Color will then change to light brown.
Else it’s not ….then call it Zakuti

The recipe is almost there..
Sorry..with good heart.

Lilly D'souza
12 years ago

I have not yet tried any of the recipe, but I like the way it has been explained in a very simple manner. The pictures in each stage can be very helpful to observe how close we are to the recipe given. will try soon and also comment on the cooking result. I'm sure it will be good.
– Lilly D'souza

Jimmy Merchant
Jimmy Merchant
12 years ago

I agree with the others. It needs to have onions to be fried at the very beginning in order to add taste to it. Also the xacuti colour is often much more darker towards brown, the colour it takes from fried coconut scrappings. That's how mom has been making it for years and so do I!

Anonymous
Anonymous
12 years ago

Hi, Dis is Cindy from Tanzania,
I have tried most of your dishes on dis site n loved it.
Keep postin more.

Priya
13 years ago

Hi CLyde, i tried ur xacuti and we guys loved it much.thanks for sharing this delectable dish..

4 Leaved Clover
13 years ago

Thanks clyde for the wonderful recipes, you are amazing, the step-by-step pictures surely add a lot of confidence for me…..

Anonymous
Anonymous
13 years ago

Yup it would make a lot more sense to brown the onions as well as the chicken. That will make the dish much more flavorfull. Also remove the skin and fat pieces off the chicken to make it lower calorie.

Srisri
Srisri
5 years ago
Reply to  Anonymous

I think that the recipe as it is relayed is pretty amazing and authentic but ofcourse people can add as many different variations as they want according to their taste buds and their way of cooking.

Anonymous
Anonymous
13 years ago

WELL SAID, YOU CAN DO IT,BUT SEE THAT IT REMAINS CHICKEN XACUTI

Anonymous
Anonymous
13 years ago

does not sound right need to fyr coconut and onions brown.

mario desouza

Varsha
Varsha
14 years ago

Hi… Dont we need to fry sliced onions with the scrapped coconut and then grind with masala?
Also do we need to baggar the chicken with finely cut onions?

Seema
Seema
7 years ago

Hey Clyde,

Season’s greeting to you. I tried Chicken Xacuti with a bit of twist (soaked red chilli in vinegar) before grinding it.. It tasted awesome. Thanks for sharing this recipee.

Andy
7 years ago

Nice recipe but would be helpful if you used English throughout when possible. I think Jerra is cumin, Methi is fenugreek, badi is fennel…

If wrong let me know would like to make it easier for everyone…

Fi
Fi
4 years ago

Want to try recipe BUT can you translate some of the spices n herbs? So I can go in Australian supermarket n find. Thanks

Susan Andrade
Susan Andrade
3 years ago

My mother made mutton xacuti often (I was her sous-chef cutting the meat), and I’m grateful for this recipe, as I cook chicken more often, don’t have her anymore for advice. As to potatoes coming from Brazil: yes, indeed, but potatoes are part of Goan and Indian cuisine now. Similarly, tomatoes, chilies and many other plants came from the New World, and they are now part of Goan food. Indeed, we couldn’t imagine it without chilies, either Kashmiri or the pungent small ones.

clive
clive
3 years ago

potato or no potato?