Serves 4 as a main dish
Chicken Cafrael, a simple dish to make – marinate the chicken in a green spice paste, then fry – is another classic curry from Goa. Originating in Africa (probably Mozambique) it was brought to India by the Portuguese. Although this is a dish that traditionally uses chicken legs you can also use bite-sized chunks of chicken.
What you need…
• 800g chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 6 Tablespoons oil
Marinade
• 1 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 15 pepper corns
• 3 cloves
• 6cm stick of cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 0.5 teaspoon salt
• 4 green chillies, roughly chopped
• small handful of fresh coriander (make sure you include plenty of the stalks), roughly chopped
• 8 mint leaves (or 1 teaspoon mint sauce)
• 1 Tablespoon tamarind paste
• 1 Tablespoon vinegar
• Water as needed
How you make it…
1. Squeeze the lemon over the chicken, rub it in well and leave for 15 minutes. This will degrease the chicken and also helps the chicken absorb the marinade.
2. Blend all the Marinade ingredients to a thick paste, using a bit of water if needed.
3. Shake the excess lemon juice off the chicken pieces and coat them in the Marinade, maing sure all the pieces are well coated. Leave for at least 30 minutes but preferably for 6 hours.
4. Heat the oil to a medium in a pan, add the chicken pieces and fry until all the pieces are cooked through (about 10 minutes).
5. Remove with a slotted spoon so the excess oil is removed and serve.
The chicken can also be deep-fried.
If you like this you should try our…
What do you call a chicken crossing the road?… Poultry in motion.
Medium Chicken Curry • Chicken Madras • Chicken Vindaloo • Chicken Bhoona • Chicken Feet Curry (Africa)
I love chicken calfreal and have also made this with Cod. Delicious.