Chicken or mutton Xacutti , also called as shaguti s one of the famous Goan(Indian) recipes and I am sure everyone will love it. It is cooked in coconut gravy spiced up with lots of whole garam masala. I have listed some of the garam masala I have used but you can add more of your choice or can exclude some from the list.This Shagoti curry tastes good with any kind of bread or even with rice.

Serves: 6

Total Time: 1 Hour 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 Lb chicken / Around 1 Kg Chicken cut into small pieces
• Lime juice (from 1 lime)
• 3 Tablespoons of Olive oil or any cooking oil
• 1 Small chopped onion
• 1 Small chopped tomato
• Little water for grinding masala
• Salt to taste

Garam Masala / Dry Spices:

• 1 Dagad Phool / Star Anise
• 8-10 Cloves
• 8-10 Black pepper corns
• 1/2 Inch Cinnamon Stick
• 1 Teaspoon Saunf / Fennel Seeds
• 1 Teaspoon Khus Khus / Poppy Seeds
• 1 Teaspoon Coriander seeds
• 8-10 Dry Red Chillies(Increase or decrease as per your choice of how spicy you prefer it)

Ingredients for Green Chutney:

• 1 Bunch of Coriander leaves / Cilantro
• 5-6 Green or red chillies(Not the dry ones)
• 1/2 Inch Ginger
• 4-5 Garlic Cloves
• 1 Teaspoon Haldi / Turmeric powder
• 1 Teaspoon Salt

Ingrediens for Xacuti Paste:

• 1 Cup Fresh Grated Coconut
• 1 Big Sliced onion
• 4-5 Garlic Cloves
• 1 Small ball of Tamarind

Method:

Wash chicken and apply lime juice.

Grind ingredients mentioned for green chutney and pour over chicken, mix and keep for marination for at least 30 minutes.

In a vessel or a pan, take a tablespoon of oil and once it heats up, on medium flame, roast all the ingredients mentioned in the dry spices list for about 2 minutes or until you get nice fragrance.

Take care not to burn them.

Remove on  a plate.

In the same pan, on medium high heat, add 1 more tablespoon of oil and fry sliced onion and 4-5 garlic cloves  till onions change color . This will take roughly around 2 minutes.

Next add coconut in it and fry on medium heat till coconut gets light brown in color.

Now grind this along with fried dry spices  and ball of Tamarind in the grinder using little water.Make the paste thick.

Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of oil in the heavy bottom vessel and fry chopped onions for a minute and then add tomatoes in it.

Fry till the tomatoes become soft.

Add marinated chicken , mix well, Cover and cook on medium high heat till chicken softens up.( Do not add water, as chicken will leave water on its own)

This will take from 10-15 minutes depending on chicken.

Check in between by inserting a toothpick to the chicken pieces.

Now add the coconut paste in chicken , mix well and cook till it boils well.

For about 5-6 minutes.

Sprinkle salt to taste. Switch off the stove and let it stand for 5- 10 minutes before serving.

Serve xacuti with your favorite bread.

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