Goan chicken xacuti or shakuti recipe

Goan chicken shakuti recipe - Chicken xacuti  is a  delicious  traditional curry of Goa with coconut and spice flavour. Traditionally, the chicken is marinated with vinegar for this dish.  But, I skip this step as we don't like vinegar marination. Instead, I have used chicken without any marination. However, this doesn't make much of a difference in the taste. This chicken xacuti is usually served with steamed hot rice and rice rotis. But it also goes well with chaptis and other Indian flat breads.

Goan Chicken Xacuti or Shakuti Recipe

Prep time : 30 mins
Cook time : 30 mins
Total time : 1 hr
Recipe type : Chicken
Cuisine : Goan
Yield : Serves 2
Author : Vidya Chandrahas

Ingredients

• 1/2 kg chicken, cut into pieces
• 2.5 cups grated fresh coconut
• 1/2 tsp ginger paste
• 1/2 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 large onions finely sliced
• 2 green chillies, chopped
• 4 tbsp oil
• Salt as required

Grind to paste

• 1/2 cup coconut
• 1 large grape sized tamarind
• 1" piece cinnamon
• 5 black peppers
• 2 tsp poppy seeds / khus khus
• 4 tbsp chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 8 cloves
• 4 green cardamons
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds / saunf

Preparation

1. Put 2 .5 cups grated fresh coconut in a mixer jar along with a glass of water and grind it to a smooth paste.
2. Put the coconut paste in a thin cloth and extract thick milk. Add 1/4 cup of water to the squeezed coconut and again extract the milk and mix with the thick coconut milk. Keep it aside.
3. Clean and cut the chicken into medium sized pieces. Wash them under running water . Drain and set aside. 
4. Mix together the 1/2 cup of coconut and chilli powder. Roast them in a pan until aromatic and set aside.
5. Heat little oil in a pan and fry coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper together until aromatic and set aside.
6. Combine together  the fried spices, roasted coconut chilli powder, poppy seeds,  tamarind and cardamoms. Put them in a mixer jar and grind it to a smooth paste using very little water. 

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add chopped green chillies. Saute for a while.  Add the onions, ginger  garlic paste and saute till the onions are translucent. 
2. Add the ground masala paste, turmeric powder, salt and mix well. Add the chicken and saute for 2 - 3 minutes. Cook covered on low flame for 10 minutes. 
3. After 10 minutes, add the coconut milk and mix well. Bring the curry to boil on medium flame. Further cook on low flame till the chicken become tender. 
4. When the chicken become soft, simmer the curry till medium thick consistency. 
5. When done, remove the pan from the heat, set aside for 5 minutes and serve hot with steamed rice,  jeera rice, chapathi or rice roti.