The Epicurious Wanderers!

Madras Goat Curry

Last night we tried goat for the first time, where has this been all our lives!

The meat is so tender and when cooked in a Madras style curry so full of flavour. The recipe is fairly simple and not overly hot, so one that anyone could cook and enjoy.

Goat is readily available these days, get your butcher to cut it into pieces for you. Make sure that you buy bone in meat to get that extra flavour. The trick is to give it plenty of time to simmer to allow the meat to become so tender it just falls off the bone.

Curry Paste

1 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 whole dried red chillies

6 fresh curry leaves

3 tablespoons garlic paste

2 teaspoons ginger paste

The Curry:

1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 kg goat meat, cut into 3cm cubes, preferably bone in.

150g ghee, melted

1/4 cup vegetable oil

4 onion, sliced 1/2 cm thick

1 (400ml) tin coconut milk

2 cups water, divided

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

6 cardamom pods

1 cinnamon stick

1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala

1 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons warm water

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

Curry Paste: Toast the coriander seeds over medium-low heat until they begin to turn brown and pop. Repeat the toasting process with the cumin seeds then with the dried red chillies. It does pay to toast each separately as they cook at different rates, take care not to burn the spices s they will become bitter if overdone. Transfer each ingredient to a food processor or spice grinder as you finish. Add the salt and grind to a fine powder. Mix with the garlic and ginger to form a thick paste.

The Curry: Sprinkle the turmeric over the goat, stirring lightly to coat. Toast the fennel seeds as above and set aside. Heat a casserole dish over medium heat with the ghee and vegetable oil; cook the onions until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in your curry paste and fry for 1 minute. Stir in the meat and fry for 1 minute more. Pour in 2/3 of the can of coconut milk and 1 cup of water; bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in the remaining coconut milk and 1 cup of water, along with the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick and toasted fennel seeds. Cover with the lid ajar and return to a simmer, cook for about 1 1/2 hours until the lamb is tender. Stir occasionally and thin with water if the sauce becomes too thick while cooking.

When the goat is tender, stir in garam masala, sugar and the tamarind paste dissolved in 3 tablespoons of water; cook 5 minutes longer or until the sauce thickens. Remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods before serving. We served it with brown rice for that extra nutty flavour it adds.