Chicken Xacuti

What to Put on the Table With Chicken Xacuti

• Steamed rice
• Pao or soft bread rolls
• Sliced onion with lemon
• Cucumber salad

How to Cook Chicken Xacuti

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1. Toast the coconut, chillies, poppy seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, star anise and cloves in a dry pan for 3 minutes, stirring, until fragrant. Cool slightly, add the nutmeg and grind with 100 ml of the water to a smooth paste.

   Mark done Start 3 min timer

2. Heat the oil in a wide pan and cook the onions for 10 minutes until golden. Add the ginger and garlic paste and cook for 1 minute.

   Mark done Start 10 min timer

3. Add the paste and turmeric and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until the oil separates.

   Mark done Start 5 min timer

4. Add the chicken, tamarind, salt and the remaining water. Bring to a simmer and cook with the lid half on for 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick.

   Mark done Start 25 min timer

A Few Notes

Toast in small batches if your pan is small so the spices brown evenly.

If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of water; if too thin, simmer with the lid off.

Taste the tamarind before adding more; it varies a lot between brands.

Use a spice grinder if you have one for the smoothest paste.

If You're Missing Something

• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the red chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Storing and Reheating

Keeps in the fridge for 2 days, and the flavour improves overnight. Reheat gently.

Chicken Xacuti Nutrition

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: weights that include bone are counted as if all of it were eaten, so the figures run high. How the figures are worked out.