Mutton Xacutti

Goan

Pat Chapman's Curry Club Indian Restaurant Cookbook

This dish, pronounced 'Zacewtee' is a Goan speciality. Goa, some 400 miles south of Bombay on India's west coast, is a sheer heaven of palm trees and golden beaches that used to be a Portuguese colony. Its cuisine is quite unique, and this dish is typical - a recipe used by the chefs at the Hotel Circade de Goa, on of the top local hotels.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2lb (900g) lean lamb or mutton

2 tablespoons ghee or oil

juice of 1 lemon

salt

Spices 1

3 teaspoons coriander seeds

8 whole dried red chillies

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

5 black peppercorns

4 green cardamoms

6 cloves

1 inch (2.5cm) cassia bark

1/2 teaspoon cummin seeds

1 tablespoon raw peanuts

Spices 2

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon fresh grated or desiccated coconut

Method

1. Remove any fat, and cut meat into cubes.

2. Roast Spices 1 in a dry pan on top of the stove, until the cummin seeds chnage to brown. Smell that aroma! Cool, thgen grind finely in coffee grinder or mortar. Add Spices 2.

3. Warm the ghee or oil, ad the spices and cook gently for 5 minutes. Add meat, and stir until water has dried out of meat and it is well browned.

4. Add 4floz (115ml) water and simmer until meal is tender (about 45 minutes).

5. Add lemon juice and salt a few minutes before cooking is complete. Serve with plain rice. Squeeze more lemon juice on to taste.

Find this and other delicious recipes in Pat Chapman's Curry Club Indian Restaurant Cookbook