March 4, 2009

Jamaican Curry Goat

curry-goat-jamaican

The very first time I had tasted Jamaican Curry Goat many suns back was in an International Festival. We were trying to decide on our lunch, when we spotted this Spicy Rich Curry & got rooted there. It was served with white rice & some fried Plaintains- & needless to say we were satisfied & pleasurably surprised. Till that day I was under the misconception that that the concept of “Curry” did not go beyond India. How did the Curry travel to the Islands? This is what I found..”Curry, which is popular in Jamaica, was introduced there in the 17th century by East Indians slaves  (who were not slaves as I had initially read, but free servants,- as mentioned in the comments below), who were brought to the island (then an English colony) by the British.” So along with the immigrants, went the curry, spices & all. Now that explains…

This curry goat immediately reminded me of home. I remember when we would live in a joint family, with my grandparents & Uncles & Aunts & Cousins all in the same house… it was a glorious time.  My grandfather was very fond of goat meat, & it was a “RULE” at our home at that time that we get the best kind of goat meat available & cook it the most elaborate way when we had company & during other special times.. My grand pa would actually pull a chair in the kitchen & supervise the cooking of the goat curry. The preparation to cook the goat curry would start from the day before when it would be marinated in spices & yogurt. The following morning it would be cooked under the strict vigilance of my grandpa who gave directions to the cook. There would be no quick pressure quicking that I resort to today. The meat cooked all day long as the big pot sat on low almost dying charcoal flame…. while the spices & ingredients mixed, combined, simmered & got flavorful beyond words. The meat would be so tender to bite….We would have it with white rice, a side salad of finely sliced cucumber, onions & tomato & the meal ended with “mishti doi” (Sweet yogurt)…I could close my eyes & get transported to those days.

While my grand pa supervised (& the rest of us benefited from a delicious meal), what he did not know was, in another part of the world there is someone else too who is taking that extra special care to cook a curry goat. For I have learnt that the main meat of the Caribbean is goat and it forms the centerpiece of any important celebration and one is  judged on just how good your goat cooking is. In Jamaica the curried goat rules Supreme. It is an aromatic preparation done with a lot of spices & a lot of care. Jamaican curry powder has coriander seeds, black peppercorns, cardamom pods, fenugreek seeds, cinnamon stick, ground ginger and ground turmeric & Scotch Bonnet Peppers which lends it’s very original flavor . These are all familiar spices to me except for the Scotch Bonnet Pepper. Before I made this, I did have some questions about the authentic preparation of the curry goat, which were immediately clarified by Cynthia of Tastes like Home.

mmcaribbeancooking Sending this to Meeta’s Monthly Mingle: Caribbean Cooking. It is hosted by Meeta herself.

 

Ingredients:

  1. 2 pounds goat meat, cut into bite sized pieces
  2. 2 Potatoes, Peeled & quartered
  3. 1 bunch of scallions, chopped
  4. 1 large onions, chopped
  5. 1 large Tomato, chopped
  6. 2 Scotch bonnet peppers, minced.[I used Habanero, since I could not find any Scotch Bonnet] (For less heat, seed the peppers and remove the veins.)
  7. Salt
  8. Black pepper
  9. About 4 tablespoons curry powder (more or less to taste)
  10. 8  tablespoons Cooking Oil
  11. 4 garlic cloves, minced
  12. 1 cup coconut milk
  13. Juice of 1 lime

For the Curry Powder (Adapted from here): (You can buy store bought Jamaican Curry Powder. I made my own)

  1. 3 teaspoons ground turmeric
  2. 4 teaspoons coriander seeds
  3. 2  teaspoons cayenne or any Red Chilli Powder
  4. 3 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
  5. 3 teaspoons cumin seeds
  6. 2″ Stick of Cinnamon
  7. 4 Cardamom Pods
  8. 4 teaspoons Whole black pepper
  9. 2 teaspoons star anise or aniseed
  10. 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
  11. 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
  12. 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
  13. 1 teaspoon whole allspice.

Combine all ingredients and mix them together well with a mortar and pestle or a blender. Store the powder in a tightly sealed jar.

Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine the goat meat, scallions, half of the onions,  Scotch bonnet peppers, salt and pepper,  2 tablespoons of curry powder, and 2 tablespoons oil. Mix the ingredients together, coating the pieces of goat well with the mixture. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to marinate overnight.

The following day, remove the goat meat from the refrigerator and set aside. Scrape off as much marinade as you can from the meat, & save the marinade.

Place a large Dutch pot over medium high heat. Add  the cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add two tablespoons of curry powder to the pot and stir it into the oil. Add the meat to this & fry for about 10 -12 minutes at medium heat, till all the spicy oil coats the meat & the meat starts to brown on the sides.

Add the remaining onions and cook them until they are translucent. If needed splash some water & stir to deglaze.

Add the garlic, tomato & the saved marinade (the one you scraped off) to the Dutch pot and stir & toss to well to combine all of the ingredients for about 15 – 20 minutes.

Add  the coconut milk and the lime juice & 1 cup of water.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover the pot and simmer the goat meat for 2 or3 hours (or until the meat is very tender) at medium heat, adding water as needed. Towards the end of 2 hours, add the potato pieces to the pot and cover & cook again for may be an hour. Add little more water if required.

You are done when the meat & the potatoes are tender.

curyy-goat-jamaican-1

Garnish with more Fresh Peppers if you want & serve with Plain White Rice. Some fried plaintains & Mango Chutney would make it a feast!

curyy-goat-jamaican-2

MMMmmmmmmmm! Perfect! Talking about flavors here.. there was no dearth of it. What we were missing were the Warm Sun, Sand & the Sea & some Live Reggae….

Here is for my record: Just completed 6 months of blogging & this happens to be my 100th post.

Related Posts:
Bahama Mama
Rich Rum Fruit Cake
Curried Chicken with Cardamom Infused Coconut Sauce

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Filed Under: Curries, Meat & Poultry, Sides & etc.
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57 thoughts on “Jamaican Curry Goat”

  • You are very good at this, Soma 🙂 I’m a vegetarian and I still drooled over this 🙂 Great pics! I’m still wondering what to do for the Mingle!

    Thanks A&N:-)

  • mmmm..you made me all hungry Soma.. 🙁 First ur childhood story,n then now the recipe..I was imagining things and drooling all the time..The dish took 3 hrs..woah..I would neva have that patience…Needless to say looks awesome..!!
    6 months n 100 posts.!!way to go hard-working girlie.. 🙂

    Varsha, I always cook mutton/goat meat in the pressure cooker. But I had to do it this one time. It does take a long time to get tender:-)
    About the 100 posts in 6 months.. I myself was really surprised. what had happened was before going live with the blog, I had locally uploaded a lot of recipes over some period of time. so by the time i got live I already had some 30 recipes in the blog:-)

  • Oh, I wish you lived next door so I could come over and have a taste of this wonderful dish! I’ve never had goat meat, I’m trying it the first chance I get! Thank you for sharing your family story too.

    Thanks Natasha! Goat meat is not easily available here, except for some middle eastern/pakistani butchers.

  • Congrats on ur century in a very short period 🙂 Curry is very scruptious.

    Thanks Cham.. bout the SO MANY posts in these few months, see varsha’s comment, I wrote the reason there:-)

  • I cant even recollect when did i ate it last 🙁
    My mom use to make some traditional BHUNO Mutton(as we call the goat meat cooked in sindhistyle)and it goes without saying that we use to eat more rotis than regular and still not being contented,we would dip slices of bread or chunks of Softbuns(pav) in the curry and save some chunks of meat deliberately so that mom could make Mutton Biryani using those meat pieces…sigh sigh sigh sigh……..
    Now mom doesnt have that energy to cook and no matter how hard i try,i know that it wont taste as good as mom’s even if i gave my life and soul ,cooking such traditional dishes myself
    Well now that i m thru with my musings…lets get back to ur post 🙂
    Awesome curry and lovely writeup,loved to know abt ur Grandpa and tht reminded me of my maternal grandpa(NAANA)
    The recipe is far diff. from what we follow,but i can imagine the bursting flavors just by going thru the ingredients

    Alka that’s what I do with the leftover pieces (even of chicken curry) make biryani:-) I would love to knwo your mom’s recipe, for your food looks really really good.

  • Ah … barir kotha mone koriye dile Soma! Not to mention jhal jhal mangshor jhol ar bhaat. 🙂
    Congrats on your 100th post! Tomar archives pacchi na keno?

    Sharmila.. ekdom bari r motoi khete hoyechilo + ektu beshi moshla chilo…

    Archives the right most column er top e.. in a drop down..

  • Oh my god..Awesome clicks!! I feel like being in Jamaica…Curry looks drool-worthy..
    Congrats on your 100th post,Soma

    Thanks Madhumathi!

  • hi soma..though i do not eat mutton i just loved the recipe and lemme see if v can try that with chicken..

    Divz, u can make it with chicken too. the curry chicken is done in the same way.

  • This looks good. I think I prefer the taste of mutton to chicken.

    I find it fascinating that some men of our grandparents’ generation and even earlier took so much interest in not just food but the cooking of it, in a home setting (non-commercial) – I know many who don’t cook but can immediately tell what is right or wrong with the recipe, and how it can be remedied and whether the grinding was right or wrong, etc.

    Sra… That’s what he was like. During bigger ocassions when the professional cooks ( we callled them “thakur”) came, they would get irritated for he would keep on telling things to them:-)

  • The curry looks wonderful….from where you get all the good recipes………very unique recipe…..tumi amake amar great grandfather-er katha mane kariye dile…he was a very good cook, whenever it’s goat meat,he used to cook by himself.

    Thanks! LOL Indrani.. Dadu der kando:-)

  • Wow..the curry looks absolutely delicious! I love mutton but we dont get any near my area 🙁 The pics are totally drool worthy!

    Thanks! I know how goat meat is not available in all the places. try bangladeshi/pakistani/middle eastern butchers.

  • Delicious Jamaican curry, looks gorgeous…Soma congrats on ur century….wishing you more milestones in blogsphere:)

    Thank you very much dear Priya:-)

  • ooops i missed it…..congrats dear for hitting the century,way to go………..

    heheehe Thanks Alka, lag raha hain chakka mar mar ke ja rahi hun… but see I answered in Varsha’s Comment, century itni jaldi kyase huyi:-)

  • I am just speechless. If the curry goat is even half as delicious as it looks I will be in heaven, beautiful pictures as usual.

    Congrats Soma. It has been always a pleasure to visit here and indulge 🙂 I love your grandpa just reading about him.

    Thanks ! I really wish he could read this.:-(

  • SLURP!!! What a great color. I wanted to make this too but don;t know where to go for Goat. That is a fab entry Soma, good job girl. Hope you win, I am rooting and tooting for you. Hugs! :))

    Thanks Asha! But I so fell in love with your Festivals! Bring that over & we will have it with the mutton;-)

  • This surely looks like Kosha Mangsho !!! jibhe jol ashche ar pet gur gur korche 🙂

    Congrats for the century, wow 100 posts in 6 months…that is something

    Sandeepa.. eta ekdom bong der robibar er kosha mansho, even alu in it, but ektu beshi moshla…
    6 months a 100 dekhe amio ghabre gechilam… see Varsha’s comment, i have told how it happened:-)

  • Soma congrats for your 100 posts!! and for your lovely Jamaican goat wowww this flavor combined with fried plantains typical of the Caribbean countries is glorious!

    Colorful-plenty of aromas dish, very good job Soma 🙂 Hope you’ll win!!

    Cheers!
    Gera

    Oh Gera! Thanks a lot ! & Thanks a zillion for the Stumble:-) again!

  • Just looking to the picture my mouth is wattering and then goat i love when it is cooked fully they are so soft and yummy. I can imagine the delicious flavours from this curry.

    Thanks HC! I think we should really start the Caribbean party, with dirty rice, jerk chicken, mutton & the festivals (asha’s).. that’s all i have seen so far 🙂

  • This is so nostalgic a post !
    The curry looks so very lovely ! Wish could platter one out right from these pic !

  • Oh my god that looks ridiculously amazingly good! Love me some curry! Just did a post today on how to use a Meat Thermometer, if your readers are interested. Meat Cooking Temperature Chart for lovers of meat!

  • Gorgeous curry!!! Even I pressure cook for the ease but when cooked otherwise..the taste is really something amazing….

  • Soma … abar elam. Archives pelam … Ektu right shift korte holo screen ta ….ebar jomiye porbo. 🙂

    Ekhon dupur … Sandeepar comment er moton … tomar kosha mangsho dekhe pet gur gur korche. 🙁

  • It is so difficult to find goat meat in regular stores here in the States. I’ve never cooked goat meat at home, however, I’ve eaten goat curry in Indian restaurants and I was pleasantly surprised. This recipe looks incredible.

  • spectacular soma! although I am not a huge fan of goat meat but i think cooked this way i really could really learn to enjoy it. a brilliant MM entry – thanks!

  • Awesome curry!Gotta try my meat slow cooked someday,my dad once said during his childhood grandma use to let the meat cook on low heat overnight ,the next morning the curry was ready perfect with rotis,imagine how flavorful the curry would be.

  • soma firstly congrats for your 100 posts… i have once tasted goat curry at my friend place. that was great…this jamaican goat curry sounds great..picture looks cool. i always have a hard time trying to find ingredients. one of my friend introduced to a great resource and i thought that i pass great along as well.
    http://www.myethnicworld.com

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  • I HAVE JUST COOKED THIS CURRY BUT USING LAMB, ITS A SUPERB RECIPE, EASY TO FOLLOW AND TASTES ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. THE FAMILY LOVED IT. THANKS.

  • hey there, I am a curried goat convert, had it (made myself from an online recipe) in oct for the first time, and have tried several different versions and loved them all. today I stumbled across your blog and thought that I would try your recipe. I am very fortunate in that I live in leeds quite near the market, and can pretty much always get goat meat, and there is a fantastic little stall there where one can get hold of just about any spice (she has always had whatever I have requested, and, indeed has given me advice on how to use and what to do with). Anyway, I have my goat meat marinading in the fridge, it is monday and I have a friend coming over for curry on wednesday eve. I dont think that he has ever had curried goat before, and Im not telling him that its goat untill we have eaten it, (folk are a little odd when it comes to trying new stuff like this round here).
    anyway I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for sharing your recipe, I cant wait to taste it.
    kind regards

    Thanks a bunch and I hope you enjoyed making and having this!
    dieter

  • Hi! my husband and I tried out this recipe a couple of months back and loved it very much – especially the curry powder recipe which we’ve incorporated into other dishes. It’s his birthday tomorrow and we’ve just marinated the meat, but double the amount for a nice big dinner 😀
    Thanks for sharing the recipe.

    Hope it worked out ok in a bigger amount. I am happy that you liked it and thank you so much for letting me know.

    Happy Birthday!!

  • Dear, I found your Website in a new directory of Sites. I dont know how your Website came up, must have been a typo, Your Website looks good. Have a nice day.

  • Hi. Will be cooking this delicious dish next saturdeay for 30 people to devour on sunday afternoon. Could you advise me to the approx amount of meat i will need and also the amounts of curry powder and other ingredients. cant wait to get the pot on and to watch my friends enjoy the feast. Thanks for sharing you memories and recipe.

    😀 That is a lot of guests to make this dish for. If served as a main dish you might need as much as 15 -20 lbs of meat! I have the recipe posted for about 2 lbs of meat, so that would mean you would have to have your measurements of spices and ingredients almost 10 times more.

    Another thing which I should mention is that this was cooked without a pressure cooker. unlike chicken, this meat will take a LONG time to cook esp. in that big quantity. So plan as per your time. The best thing to do would be to use a pressure cooker to do the final cooking part, where u are supposed to simmer. Midway between cooking in the cooker, the potatoes may be added as they take less time to cook than the meat. HTH.

    Cheers
    Soma

  • Oh my God! Sista, I love you. I love to cook, and I have been looking for an authentic Curry Goat, and I will definitely make yours. In your estimation, about how many will your above recipe feed? I want to make enough for a family of seven and everyone will have seconds.

    Thanks!


    2 lbs of meat (as I have the recipe based on) will feed about approximately 4, as main meal; it has the potatoes and the sauce. You might need to double the amount and a little bit more for some seconds and leftovers.

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  • I made this for a dinner party I had this past Saturday, and it turned out amazing! My curry ended up more yellow than yours did, but the tastes were absolutely wonderful!

    Thank you for writing back to me:) glad you enjoyed!

  • Soma
    When I see the pics and read the comments – I see you say Bangalir Kosha Mangsho but ektu beshi masala. Do you think it would taste better if we go a bit easy on the masala. Again great posts and great pics. Way to go..
    Sudip

  • Soma, your site is good. Shows 70 curries and I am fan of curries. Always oreder whenever I visit Indian place, but when I try to find it on your blog, I keep scrolling between just 5-6 only. Is there a link where I can see all curries recipe you want to share?

    At the end of the page when you scroll down after (5-6 recipes), you will see “Older Entries” on the left hand side bottom of the page. Click on that for previous entries. Each page is designed to show only a few posts as it would take a LOT of time for the site to load if it showed all 70 recipes or more in a single page. I hope you can find it.. let me know if you have any further troubles.

    Regards
    Soma

  • Take it from a Jamaican. This is a nice recipe, but it’s not Jamaican. It’s true that curry hails from India and is now a part of our culture, but we use jamaican ingredients and it’s not red like your pictures. Leave out the Cardamon, nutmeg, coconut milk and cinnamon. Goat requires some lengthy cooking and with coconut milk might end up a bit oily. Plus, we need that for the “Rice & Peas”. We also cook the powder with oil to make a paste first. And you have to use green seasonings (liquified scotch bonnet, lots of garlic, thyme, scallion, green pepper, cilantro and culantro-called Chadon beni in trini cooking). Give it a try!!

    Thank you very much!! I really do appreciate your feedback. I know how in foreign countries the authenticity of the recipe disappears and I might have done the same thing here with the Jamaican recipe. I see it all the time happening to the Indian recipes and it is nothing like we cook at home ! and I mourn at the loss of the essential features. I will have to give it a try!!

    So there is no coconut milk used in this?? All the recipes I found asked for coconut milk. The recipe in India (East India esp. and my home is there) never asks for coconut milk in Goat/Mutton Curry. It is only in the southern regions of India that use coconut milk.

    The red color could be because of the Kashmiri Red Chili Powder I use for the Indian Cooking. It is vibrant red but with less heat.

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  • Loved the recipe! It’s more or less the way we make it at home except the coconut milk and we use more scotch bonnet.

    P.s. The East Indians weren’t slaves, they were free servants. Whoever told you otherwise was wrong.

    Thank you! The information about slaves is what I had found from an article. I have updated the post with your information.

  • Delish … used the hocks and a shoulder of a good sized boargoat … added half a kilo of shreaded Kale and Spinach to mine about half an hour before serving … always like to add something to someone elses recipe … cooked for five hours over a slow burning wood fire … got rave reviews from my dinner party guests … served with Basmati rice and home made Naan..

    So glad that you enjoyed it!! I think the greens makes it extra special too. Thank you for giving it a try!

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