Coconut Goat Curry

Here you go...yet another coconut recipe! Ok, I have a few whole coconuts and have to use them up. This evening, a fresh one was broken and the water was immediately finished off by the hubby. The flesh - half in the curry the other half as dessert! I am not a big fan of goat meat but last week, my mother sent over almost 4 kgs of goat meat from my nephews naming ceremony event. I used a little bit of it to make haleem - a lentil based thick soup- and about 1 kg of it today to make this delicious curry. I think this is the first time I found goat meat appetizing so I had to share this recipe. It is so simple! Its from by Bengali cooking bible - Ranna, Khado, Pusti (loosely translated - Cook, Food and Nutrition) by the guru of Bengali cooking Siddiqua Kabir. My cook is really well versed in lots of different types of cooking and even she was surprised how tasty this came out, and glad to add a new recipe to her collection. Best of all the meat was so moist that I was couldn't stop popping little morsels!

Sadly, pictures of curry doesn't come out so good -or rather I am not a good enough food stylist yet to make it look delicious as it tastes!

Coconut Goat Curry

Ingredients

Goat Meat - 1 1/2 kg
(it can be on the bone and washed well and cut into desired size)
Coconut shavings - 1 1/2 cup
Onion paste - 1/2 cup
Ginger paste - 1 tbsp.
Garlic paste - 2 tsp.
Garam masala, ground- 1/2 tsp.
Green chili paste - 1 tbsp. (or desired hotness)
Fresh coriander paste - 1 tbsp.
Oil - 1 1/4 cup

1) Except for the oil - mix all other ingredients together well, cover and marinate for about an hour.

2) After marination - heat oil in a shallow pot, add all of the mix with the marinade. Stir well and cover. Cook on medium heat.

3) When oil skims the surface, the curry is ready. Taste test to see if the meat is tender, if not, leave on low heat and keep lid tightly closed. Turn off before it starts burning in bottom but keep closed lid (called 'dum') till ready to serve.

The longer its inside "dum" the more moist the meat will be.

I served this with rice - the usual staple carb in our home but I had whole wheat rotis. The roti is a little different. Yesterday I had attempted to make whole wheat donuts but it was a bust - but the dough was pretty good and decided to make it into rotis today and it was such a great compliment to the goat curry! If I had a restaurant, this could be perfect meal - doughut roti, goat curry and daal with a side of chutney and chili :)

Roti Recipe
I just eyeballed the recipe for this, so this really for advanced cooks. The amounts here are approximations.

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Egg, whipped - 1 egg
Sugar
Milk
Butter, melted - 1 tbsp.
Baking powder- 1 tsp.
Salt - a pinch
Cinnamon - 1/4 tsp.
Mace - 1/4 tsp.

1) Mix all wet ingredients together, mix all dry ingredients separately.

2) Slowly mix the wet into dry little bit at a time. Form a soft dough. Use more flour if the dough is too sticky.

3) Cover and refrigerate for about 1/2 an hour. Dough keeps well in fridge for couple days, probably could freeze it too.

4) When ready, roll out on flat surface with rolling pin into circles.

5) Heat a flat pan. Place the roti down, turn after 30 sec. Let other side cook and flip till its cooked through, Shouldn't take more than a 1-1.5 mins each.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin in Coconut Curry

Ok, once again a demo of how much I love coconut and coconut curries! 'Tis the season of pumpkins and this dish is just so hearty and delicious in a cool night. I had been thinking of something different to do with pumpkin and after watching an episode on Sri Lankan cooking on Food Safari, I was inspired to concoct this curry. I really don't have a taste for curry leaf which is an essential ingredient for south Indian and Sri Lankan cooking so, it has been conveniently omitted. It is also a versatile dish and can be left up to your imagination to try things out. Its an extensive list and may look complicated --but I promise you that it took me only 5 mins to put together...well, I have a lot of spices on my shelf and within easy reach and kind of just threw things in that I felt went well together! So here it is...

I apologize for not having a lot of measurements, I tend to just eyeball and guesstimate when cooking, so this recipe can be for advanced cooks or adventurous new cooks!

Step 1

oil - to sautee
onion
garlic-minced
ginger-minced
dry red chilis-2 whole
nigella-a pinch
coriander seeds-a pinch
cinnamon-1 inch
bay leaf-1 large leaf
cardamom-3-4 crushed pods
mustard seeds-1 tsp.

Step 2

coconut milk-1/2 a can (depends on how much pimpkin and how much curry u want)
cumin powder-1/2 tsp
coriander powder-1/2 tsp
chili powder-depends on how hot u like it
turmeric powder-1/2 tsp.
pumpkin-2 cups peeled & diced bite size
salt-to taste

Step 3

short grain rice-1 tbsp.
fresh grated coconut-2 tbsp.
whole cumin-1 tsp.

1. Heat oil in a wok or pot and start with red chili, bay leaf, cinnamon and slowly add the onions and the rest from Step 1. Sautee till onions a transparent. The mustard seeds will splutter so be careful and also careful not to burn them, add as one of the last ingredients.

2. Mix all from Step 2 together in a bowl and add into the pan with the onions-with the pumpkin. Add water to boil the pumpkin. I added about 1 can full but depends how much curry you want. Add salt to taste.

3. While pumpkin is boiling, in a dry pan roast the rice & coconut till a nutty brown color, add in cumin seeds and roast for 1 min till fragrant. Grind to a powder, its a delicious nutty fragrance!

4. Add the rice powder mix to the curry to thicken it up. Check the salt and you could add sprinkle of sugar to sweeten a little bit. It really brightens the flavor. Taste test. You can squeeze a little bit of lime when serving for an extra bit of tang.

I served it up with a side of friend mashed prawns and fluffy coconut rice with some green chili for extra spice. The left overs were great the next day for breakfast with some fresh rotis!

Coconut Nut Barfi - Sweet Coconut Balls

I have a thing for coconuts. I saw this on Food Safari the other day and thought it was THE most simplest, easiest, quickest and yummiest dessert! Hubby just pops one in his mouth every time he passes the fridge. Make 'em and you will see!

The ingredients are simple and adjustable too. If you don't want to use condensed milk - just use milk and sugar (jaggery, palm sugar, brown sugar). just a reminder - different sugars will give it different tastes, which in itself is a fun idea to roll around with! Make sure to fry it up in the pan so it all congeals and cooks together.

The use of fresh coconuts is advisable, but if not possible - most specialty stores sell them in packages so experiment a little. I broke the coconut myself and scraped it by hand -- owwww! its hard and tiring so i don't recommend it to anyone! But if you have gadgets to help ya out - go for it! Nothing in the world like fresh coconut!!

If you try this out - let me know how they turn out...


Coconut Barfi

2 cups fresh ground coconut
1 cup condensed milk
ground pistachios
ground cashews
ground elachi (try fresh next time)

(maybe cinnamon too?)
enough for strong flavor

Mix well all together, cook on pan with little bit of ghee (butter) and 2 tbsp of suji (semolina), till dry. Let it cool. Roll small portions into round balls and roll through fresh coconut.

Keep cool - it will firm up after few hours.

Chicken Coconut Curry

Lately, I love coconut milk based curries. We were having our neighbors over and I thought I would try a new recipe. This recipe came out so delicious!! I really should get in the habit of writing down exactly what I put in things when cooking - end up making so many substitutions that I can't ever seem to duplicate a recipe!!! So here is the recipe with my tweaks:

Boneless Chicken Coconut Curry

Marinade
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 to 1-inch dice
1 tsp. Turmeric powder
1 tsp. Coriander powder
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. Ginger paste
2 tsp. Garlic paste
1 tbsp. Onion paste
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. hoisin sauce
Salt - less depending on soy sauce

Cook
Oil to fry
1 dry bay leaf
1/2 in. of cinnamon stick
1 medium sized onion thinly sliced
1 cup canned unsweetened or fresh coconut milk
1 green bell pepper sliced thinly
1 wedge of lime/lemon
cilantro to garnish

1. Marinate the chicken in for at least half hour.

2. Pour little oil in pan/pot and sautee the onions, bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Add the chicken strips only and sautee and until golden.

3. Add the coconut milk and reminding marinade into the pot with a little bit of water to make a thinner rich consistency of curry.

4. Simmer on med heat until chicken is well cooked, add the green peppers in the last few mins and sprinkle a little bit on lime/lemon on top and add some cilantro.

Serve with some warm rice and enjoy!

***Taste throughout the cooking process to adjust to your taste.
If no flavor picked up - add salt or soy sauce.
If too salty - add a little bit of honey or sugar.
Want a little more kick - add more red pepper or add a spicy green chili while cooking.