My Jamaican Curried Goat

In order to redeem myself, I had a second attempt at a goat curry this weekend.




















When I think of goat curry, I think - full of flavour. Which was sadly missing in my Malaysian curry. I also think - Caribbean. I took these books from my shelf for guidance and inspiration.

Not happy to just use a recipe this time, I did what I do best. I made it up. Using the best parts of about 20 different recipes both found in books and on the Internet.

I knew if I wanted to make anything even halfway authentic, I would need to make my own Jamaican curry powder. So after a few hours spent researching my recipes, I bundled up the kids for a trip to the spice shop in town. We bought giant bags of the required dried spices and then went on to buy the next thing I needed to make the perfect curry.

Enter my new favourite toy- the spice grinder.

Oh, what joy! The smells that came from my kitchen were amazing! This curry was a pleasure to make - and it will be an easy dish to make in the future, now that my spice powder is made up.

Can I tell - YUM YUM YUM YUM!

Even if I do say so myself.  

Now lets discuss heat. A Caribbean curry is hot, with the inclusion of scotch bonnet chillies, that would blow my head off. I have drastically reduced the amount of chilli to my liking, using regular chillies, but it is up to you how hot you make it and I have added options in brackets in the recipe.






































Jamaican Curry Powder

makes about 1 cup

• 5 tablespoons ground turmeric
• 4 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
• 2 tablespoons star anise seeds or 5 whole star anise
• 1 tablespoon chilli powder (maybe two or three)
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns (maybe two)
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon allspice berries
• 1 tablespoon cloves
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon nutmeg
• 1 stick cinnamon

Put all of the whole seeds (coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, anise seeds. peppercorns, allspice berries, cloves and cinnamon) into a dry frying pan. Toast over a medium heat until the color of the spices darkens slightly and the spices are fragrant. Remove from the heat and allow the spices to cool to room temperature. Grind the spices in a spice grinder, then mix with the remaining ground spices. (I used a whisk for this). Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

 






















Jamaican Curried Goat (or Lamb)

serves 6

• juice of 1 lemon or 1 lime
• 1 1/2 kilograms goat meat (cut into bite sized pieces) - or lamb shoulder

for the marinade

• 2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 3 tablespoons Jamaican curry powder
• 2 onions (diced)
• 4 shallots (chopped)
• 4 tomatoes (diced)
• 2 chillies left whole (use up to 5 chillies or 2 scotch bonnets)
• 4 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger 
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper

to make the curry

• 1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 potatoes (peeled and cut into 5cm cubes) 
• juice of 1 lime

Place the goat meat in a bowl and squeeze over the lemon or lime juice, place the bowl in the sink (under the tap) and wash the goat meat with water. Pat dry with paper towel and set aside. Put all of the marinade ingredients into a large bowl and add the meat. Mix well and leave to marinade for 4 hours or overnight.

Remove meat from the marinade, scraping off any excess marinade. Reserve the marinade mixture. Heat the oil and butter in a large heavy based pan and brown the meat. This may need to be done in two to three batches. Once browned, return all of the meat to the pot and add the reserved marinade, chicken stock and coconut milk. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to simmer. Cook for 2 - 2 1/2 hours. After 1 1/2 hours add the potato. Once the meat and potatoes are tender, stir in the lime juice and serve.

Again, in order to be authentic I made Rice and Peas to go with the curry. This recipe is from here. (do you remember this fantastic cooking show?) And yes, the name is correct "rice and peas" even though red kidney beans are used in the recipe.

Rice and Peas

Serves 8 -10

• 1 cup dried red kidney beans (soaked overnight and drained)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper
• 1 litre hot water
• 3 cups long grain rice (rinsed)
• 1 cup coconut milk or cream

Heat the oil in a heavy based stockpot and sauté the onions and garlic until soft. Add the drained beans, thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper, and 500 ml of the hot water. (the hot water stops the beans from breaking up.) Cook for about an hour until the beans are tender. Add the rice and the remaining 500 ml of hot water. Add the coconut milk and bring back to the boil. Reduce the heat and cover. Leave to steam on a very low heat until the rice is cooked, this will take about half an hour. Check regularly to ensure that there is enough steam to cook the rice. Add a small amount of warm water if necessary.