Topic: Chicken Xacuti

[tempest63]

I have been looking at trying this recipe for a long time but it looks to be an extremely time consuming process. After seeing the previous Chicken Xacutti recipe (it is spelled with one t in the book) made with a pre-mixed masala I thought I would post this to show what is involved in a home prepared recipe. If any one has the time to put it together I would be interested in the result.

Chicken Xacuti
Hot and Sour Chicken in Coconut Milk from the Calcutta Cook Book (Penguin India)
A recipe from Mrs Lydia Fernandes and Mrs Caroline Fernandes.

Ingredients
1.3 kg chicken
Milk extracted from 1 coconut
1 large onion sliced
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
200 gm oil
Salt to Taste

For Spices
1 coconut
8 to 10 green chillies
Quarter of a nutmeg
1 large onion
5 to 6 cloves garlic
2.5 tsp coriander
0.5 tsp cumin
0.5 tsp pepper
1 tsp aniseed
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 tbsp mustard seeds
A pinch of fenugreek
1 green cardamom
A pinch of caraway seeds

For Marinade
0.25 cup lime juice
0.5 inch piece of ginger
3 to 4 cloves garlic
2 to 3 green chillies
2 tbs coriander leaves

Method
Lean and joint the chicken.  Slice the onion. Extract the the tamarind juice by soaking the pulp in half a cup of water and strain.

For  the spices
Grate the coconut, slice thinly the green chillies, grate the nutmeg, slice the onion, and peel the garlic; dry roast these ingredients on a griddle and grind to a powder with the coriander, cumin, pepper, aniseed, poppy seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek, green cardamom and caraway seeds. Take care not to burn the onion.

For Marinade
Grind together the ginger, garlic, chillies, coriander leaves and mix with the lime juice.
Marinate the chicken for half an hour in a dish. Heat the oil in a pan and brown the sliced onion. Add the chicken and saut? lightly. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 7 to 10 minutes. Add the prepared spices and mix well. Add salt to taste. Cover and cook for another half an hour. Add the coconut milk and tamarind juice. Mix well, cover, increase the heat and cook for another ten minutes before removing from the heat

[Mikka1]

This looks very interesting, thanks for Sharing tempest.