Recently I tried few of the Goan recipes like Prawn Balchuan, Eggless banana cake and absolutely loved them. So when Jay requested a recipe of Chicken Xacuti, I could imagine that it would taste heavenly. Since I have stopped preparing chicken at home, I replaced it with prawns. As expected, the dish was simply superb. So here is the Xacuti recipe as followed in Goa.
Ingredients:
Chicken 8-10 small pieces or Prawns ¾ cup
Onion(large) 1
Coconut ¾ cup
Nutmeg powder ½ tea spn
Tamarind ½ tea spn
Coriander seeds ¾ tea spn
Cumin seeds ½ tea spn
Poppy seeds (khus khus) ½ tea spn
Fennel seeds (Soamp or saunf) ½ tea spn
Dried chillies 3-4
Star anise 3-4
Cloves 2-3
Cinnamon 1†piece
Oil 1 tea spn
Salt
I did not use star anise when I prepared this dish.
Method:
Dry roast (fry without oil) the coconut till it turns slightly brownish. Keep aside.
Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, fennel seeds, cloves, cinnamon, start anise and dried chillies (Do not burn them) till nice aroma comes out (roast on a low flame). Grind them with coconut to a smooth paste (do not add too much water. Just add water that is sufficient to make a smooth paste).
Heat oil and fry finely chopped onion. When they turn slightly brownish, add the masala and fry till oil separates. Add the chicken/prawn pieces, salt and fry for around 3-4mins. Add 2 cups of water and cook till chicken/prawn is cooked. Now add nutmeg powder, tamarind and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Serve hot with Goan bun or rice.
Serves : 3
Preparation time : 30min(prawn) or 40min (chicken)
Hi shilpa, the soup looks divine..Y have u stoped chicken shilpa? the garlic chutney powder looks great..i have tasted this in one of my friends house along back when i was in blore..never got the recipe..now i have it from you.so gone a make it soon.thanks for sharing all these wonderful recipes..
Hi Shilpa – xacuti looks great. can i substitute another fish for prawn… just wondering it will will change the texture and taste of the dish?
Sudha, I was eating a lot of chicken previously and one fine day I just got fedup. So have stopped eating it now :).
Mandira, I don’t know how the taste will be if fish is used. As I said, it is the recipe for chicken. It has a strong smell of masalas. So fish might not taste well with this.
Wow what a nice name ” Xacuti”- hope the dish will be tasty as the name goes:) So you stopped chicken after the “bird flu” 🙂 then you have a friend–I didn’t eat it for a long time— from last week I started to cook chicken at home:) Just kidding:)
I had a Goan friend in B’lore whose MIL used to make her own homemade vinegar as most Goans do in Goa. She would say no Goan dish is complete unless you use that vinegar. I never got the recipe (bummer..) since I was not interested in cooking then. Wonder if you know?
I will make your chicken Xacutti since we donot like seafood.Thanks!!
Priya..you are absolutely right…I might prepare chicken if one of my friend ask me to do it and promise me to eat it all :D.
Asha, I don’t have any idea about homemade vinegar. But I had used vinegar in Prawn Balchuan (which is a proper Goan dish).
Shilpa…Must try this. I do not have poppy seeds and nutmeg powder at the moment. Need to get it first. Does it taste more like our “masla randayi”. Sorry i am asking you abt the taste, as you know, i am a vegiee married to a person eating non-veg. Also need to get seperate coconut as i have lots of vayana, but cannot use for non-veg.
Aruna, this has a strong garam masala taste since there are many garam masalas in it. (‘masala randayi’ meaning the normal randayi with coconut masala? then the answer would be ‘no’).
Shilpa…I made this yesterday. Except for the Red Whole Chillies, the taste was fine. When i spoke to my MIL, she too mentioned abt this recipe, done by Goans. Thanks for sharing.
Shilpa,
Your chicken Xacuti sounds good ,but never skip star anise that is what makes it different from other curries, roast the coriander seeds till brown to make the colour of the Xacuti brownish.The dried chillies also have to be of the varity that dont leave colour but are pungent.I am a caterer in panaji goa ,try my suggestion ur recipe will be just perfect.
shilpa,
You have also forgotten the green masala,comprising of ginger garlicand fresh coriander,to be applied to chicken
Thanks Ashwini for the tips. I will follow them next time I prepare this dish. I got many Xacuti recipes on the internet but I wonder why no one has mentioned about the green masala :(. Anyway…Will try it. Thanks again.
I am looking forwards to receiving a recipe for Alipak (a sweet prepared with ginger & sugar cut in diamond shapes one was white in colour and the other orange). In my childhood days, there used to see a guy coming round with a steel tray with these sweets and calling out Alipak. It’s a long long time now I have not eaten it since, but would like to prepare it myself. It’s a good remedy for a sore throat as well.
check this website : http://cookingspace.blogspot.com/2010/02/alepak-ginger-fudge.html
Shilpa, I’m Goan and was going through Ashwini’s message about using green masala in the xacuti recipe. My mom makes this dish perfectly and has been for the past so many years, I don’t ever remember her using green masala in this recipe. She does use this green masala when she makes chicken Korma (another dish). Ashwini’s recipe is probably a variation of the authentic Goan Xacuti.
Thanks Noela for the tips. I think everyone follows a different recipe for all traditional dishes. I would love to try your chicken korma, if you don’t mind, can you mail it to me?
Sure will. Will ask my mom for her recipe.
-Noela.
Dear Shilpa
Green masala is never ever used in Chicken Xacuti. It is a modern variation. However star anise is used. Thankyou for reminding me of my favourite Goan recipe. Have u tried Vindaloo. It is mouthwatering.
Hi Shilpa,
Tried this dish today. It was just too good! Thanks!
hum…yr recipes are super good…and i am trying it for my school cooking exams…will tell u the results soon!
hi shilpa,
today only i try this prawn xacuti its so nice.Thank u!
i dont know how to make rasam,pls give some recipe
Deepadevi, there is one rasam recipe on the site, please have a look. I will post some more as and when I get them.
i dont want rasam with coconut.do u have any other variety of rasam adding pepper, tomato like that,instead of coconut
i also want the method of adding the to the tamariand rasam
Hello Shilpa… I can’t wait to try this recipe out! Just one question before I do… can I use dessicated coconut if fresh coconut is not readily available?
Veeda, you can use, but there will be slight taste difference. I replace dessicated coconut in all dishes if fresh coconut is not available.
Its called SAGOTI. Not Xacuti.
Hi Sujeet,
Always felt that, it must be Sagoti and not “xacuti” as it is usually written in almost all goan menu cards. Thanks for confirming.
Jagmohan
Fantastic dish!!
Hi Shilpa,
Your website is boon to those far from home. Thanks for the Patholi recipe. About to try it.
Dear Shilpa What is Sagoti masala powder .I think this is Xacuti masala.Correct me if i am wrong.And Kindly give me recipe for making this XAcuti masala powder.
Thanks for lovely recipes.
Sorry, I don’t know
This is indeed called “Xacuti” and not “Sagoti” as someone seemed to suggest earlier 🙂 Guys it is bad enough that people refer to us as “Goanese’ instead of “Goans”, please do not change the names of our authentic dishes! 🙂
Xacuti/Shakuti tastes different depending on who is making it. The Goan Catholics and Goan Brahmins each, use sightly different ingredients, hence the different taste and color.
love all your recipes….
whats with adding tamarind to chicken… i have never seen that.. we add only to fish. is it a banglorean theme? how much do u add? quarter teaspoon oof thick concentrated paste? or water?
thanks for wonderful recipes, made your coorg chicken last night ,came out great!
Thick concentrated paste