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| General Category : Main Course |
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| Food Group : Meat-Lamb, Vegetables |
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| Cuisine Type : Indian |
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| Preparation Method : One-Pot |
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| Other Criteria : Easter |
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| Goa, a former Portuguese enclave on the west coast of India, has a large Catholic population and a fiery, complex cuisine. This fabulously tasty Xacutti (pronounced Sha-kooti) is a specialty of the Goan kitchen. The spice mixture, or masala, might look daunting, but even if you don't have all the spices, you can still make a very good masala. If you really want to cheat for convenience, replace the Xacutti masala with 1⁄4 cup/60 mL good-quality Indian curry powder and 1 to 2 tbsp/15 to 30 mL ground dried red chilies. You can also toast dried unsweetened coconut instead of fresh, if you like. |
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Ingredients
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1 leg of lamb (4 to 6 lb/2 to 2.7 kg) or 2 suckling lamb legs (2 to 3 lb/1 to 1.5 kg each) |
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1 fresh coconut |
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1/3 cup (75 mL) lemon juice |
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6 cloves garlic, smashed |
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2 tbsp (30 mL) chopped gingerroot |
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5 hot green peppers, chopped |
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2 tbsp (30 mL) vegetable oil |
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3 onions, sliced |
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1 cup (250 mL) chopped tomatoes |
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2 tsp (10 mL) seedless tamarind paste |
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1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) salt |
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Masala: |
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30 dried hot red peppers, preferably Kashmiri |
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8 green cardamom pods |
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8 cloves |
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4 black cardamom pods |
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One 2-inch (5 cm) piece cassia or cinnamon bark, broken up |
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1/4 whole nutmeg, grated |
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2 tbsp (30 mL) coriander seeds |
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1 tbsp (15 mL) white poppy seeds or peanuts |
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1 tbsp (15 mL) fennel seeds |
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2 tsp (10 mL) cumin seeds |
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1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) black mustard seeds |
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1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) turmeric powder |
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3/4 tsp (4 mL) ajwain seeds or 1/2 tsp/2 mL dried thyme |
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3/4 tsp (4 mL) aniseed |
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3/4 tsp (4 mL) black peppercorns |
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1/2 tsp (2 mL) mace |
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1/2 tsp (2 mL) fenugreek seeds |
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Preparation
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Cut lamb into 1-1/2-inch/4 cm cubes and place in nonaluminum bowl. In blender, purée lemon juice, garlic, ginger and hot green peppers. Mix with lamb; marinate for 1 hour at room temperature or refrigerate for 2 to 6 hours.
Crack open coconut, discarding liquid. Pry out coconut meat. Pare off brown outside layer; discard. Grate coconut. In dry skillet, toast coconut over medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown, about 12 minutes.
Masala: Meanwhile, in dry skillet, toast each spice separately over medium heat until fragrant and darkened in colour. Transfer to spice grinder or blender along with toasted coconut; process until fine powder. Set aside.
In large shallow Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat; fry onions, stirring often, until golden brown, about 7 minutes. Stir in lamb and increase heat to high; fry, stirring, until liquid is mostly evaporated and oil begins to separate, about 10 to 12 minutes. Add masala; reduce heat to medium and fry, stirring, until fragrant and oil is separated, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, tamarind, salt and 2 cups/500 mL water.
Bring to simmer; reduce heat to medium-low and cook, partially covered and stirring often, until meat is tender and sauce is thick and clings to meat, about 1-1/2 hours.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
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Nutritional information
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| Per each of 10 servings: about 520 cal, 30 g pro, 36 g total fat (19 g sat. fat), 22 g carb, 9 g fibre, 0 mg chol, 445 mg sodium. % RDI: 10% calcium, 46% iron, 9% vit A, 50% vit C, 20% folate. |
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Source
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Homemakers Magazine: April 2006
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