Chicken Xacuti is a traditional goan curry made with a combination of several roasted spices and coconut and is very flavorful.
Ingredients
Chicken: 1 kg
Green Chillies: 5-6 small
Garlic: 20-25 cloves
Ginger: 1 inch
Coriander: 2 cups chopped
Turmeric powder: 2 and ½ tsp
Salt: to taste
Coriander seeds: 2-3 tsp
Cloves: 6
Cinnamon: 1 inch
Peppercorns: 15
Bay Leaf: 1 small
Fennel Seeds: 1 tsp
Onions: 4
Scrapped Coconut: 1 cup
Tamarind: 2 marble sized balls
Tomato: 2
Potato: 1-2 sliced to ½ inch thickness (optional)
Eggs: 4(optional)
Chilli Powder: 2-3 tsp
Instructions
Cut the chicken into 1 to 1 and ½ inch pieces.
Grind the green chillies, coriander, garlic and ginger to paste.
Apply ground paste, 2 tsp turmeric powder and salt to the chicken.Keep aside to marinate in refrigerator for around ½ – 1 hour.
Heat a little oil in a pan and stir fry the cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf, fennel seeds and coriander seeds for 2-3 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
Add a little oil in the same pan and stir fry two roughly chopped onions till translucent. Add scrapped coconut and stir fry till golden brown.
Grind the dry spices and onion-coconut mixture along with chilli powder and tamarind. Use around ½ – ¾ cup of water to grind to a smooth paste.
Boil the eggs and cut each egg into 4 parts vertically.
Heat a little oil in a pan and sauté two finely chopped onions till translucent.
Add tomato and sauté for 2-3 minutes till soft.
Add chicken and potato and a little water. Close lid and let cook on low heat till chicken is cooked.
Add the ground coconut paste, eggs,1/2 tsp turmeric powder and salt to taste and mix well. Let cook for 2-3 minutes.
Garnish with coriander.
Notes
You can increase or reduce the spices based on how strong they are. For e.g in the Gulf where I live now the spices are stronger so I have to use fewer of them as compared to what I would have used in India. The recipe I have posted here is the one I follow in Bahrain. You can increase or decrease the chillies based on how spicy they are.
Recipe by YourHungerStop at https://www.yourhungerstop.com/chicken-xacuti/