Chicken Xacuti is an authentic and popular chicken gravy dish in Goa which is made using fresh coconut and mixture of fresh spices. It is pronounced as Sha-goti in Konkani.
Growing up, Sunday lunch used to be mostly chicken xacuti at my moms place. And that used to be the case in most families in Goa. Every household will have their secret twist for this recipe of some extra spice they add or the proportion of the spices or how fine or coarsely they grind the masala and so on and so forth. Hence you will find many versions of this dish.
Like most chicken curries, this curry too tastes better the next day as the masalas and flavours blend together well. And when the chicken pieces have been polished off, the ros or gravy can be made into an egg curry by just adding boiled eggs to the gravy. It can also be used to prepare the most delicious and very popular Ros Omlette. The recipe for which I will be adding soon.
Xacuti is a coconut-based gravy which makes use of freshly roasted and ground masalas. This is what elevates the taste to another level as compared to using readymade masalas. Therefore it takes a little time to make and hence this is a recipe for the weekend. Mutton can be used instead of chicken for this same recipe.
We love to have our xacuti with bread slice or pavs (only because we cant get unde- the famous goan crusty bread here) but it tastes good with chapatis too. To end the meal, a little rice with tival/ kokum kadi completes the meal. Only thing remaining after this to make it a perfect afternoon is a siesta! Small pleasures of life 😉
I am posting this recipe mid week so that you can plan and make it over the weekend!
Ingredients:
For marinating the chicken:
- Chicken 800 grams
- Ginger garlic paste 1 tsp
- Tumeric powder / Haldi 1 tsp
- Salt 1 tsp
- Juice of half a lemon
For masala paste:
- Red chillies (ghati / bedgi) 10-12
- Cloves / lavang 12
- Peppercorns / mirya 12
- Jaiphal a small piece
- Khuskhus 1 tsp
- Corriander seeds 1.5 tbsp
- Jeera/cumin ½ tsp
- Fennel seeds / Badishep ½ tsp
- Fenugreek / Methi seeds a pinch
- Cinamon / dalchini 1 inch piece
- Bay leaf / tamalpatra half leaf
- Star anise one petal
For coconut paste:
- Onions 6 (2 finely chopped and 4 sliced)
- Tumeric powder / Haldi ½ tsp
- Coconut grated 1 firmly packed cup
- Tamarind small piece
- Oil 2+2 tbsp
- Lemon as per taste
- Salt as per taste
- Coconut Milk 2 tbsp
- Coriander finely chopped 2 tbsp
Method:
Wash the chicken pieces and apply salt, haldi powder, lemon juice and ginger garlic paste. Keep aside and let it marinate for 10 minutes or till the time that we prepare the masala pastes.
For preparing masala paste:
Dry roast each of the masalas separately in a pan other than the red chillies. Once all the masalas are roasted keep them in a plate. To the same pan then add a spoonful of oil and roast the red chillies for a minute or two. Do not allow to burn as it will spoil the colour of the gravy. Take it out in a plate and allow to cool. Grind this mixture by adding some water to a fine paste.
For preparing coconut paste:
In a same pan/kadhai heat 2 tbsps oil and fry the sliced onions till they are brown.
Then add the grated coconut and keep sautéing till the coconut turns light brown. This step takes time as sautéing the coconut and onions has to be done on a slow flame till golden brown in colour.
Once done remove out on another plate, add the tamarind and allow to cool. Grind this coconut onion tamarind mixture to a very fine paste after it cools by adding some water.
Heat oil in a large pan and fry the finely chopped onions till they turn pink. Add the marinated chicken and a cup of water and cook till chicken it is almost cooked (or till cooked 80%). This should take 15-20 minutes.
Once the chicken is almost done, add the coconut paste and cook for another 5 minutes.
Now add the masala paste and add 1 – 1.5 cups of water. Add salt as per taste and cook for another 5 mins.
Taste the gravy and adjust the salt levels. Add finely chopped coriander and coconut milk and mix well. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Chicken Xacuti is ready. Serve it with pao, bread slices or chapatis.
Notes:
The spice level will depend on how hot the red chillies you have used. so add some chilli powder to the gravy if you want it more spicy.
Adding coconut milk in the last step is optional. but it helps to bind all the flavours together. I have used store bought coconut milk.
