Chicken Xacuti

Name: Chicken Xacuti (Chicken in a thick, spicy gravy)
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 4 dried red chiles, stemmed; 2 (1-inch/2½-cm) cinnamon sticks; 6 whole cloves; 1 (1¾-pound/800-gram) chicken, skin removed, cut into 12 pieces on the bone; 2 teaspoons table salt; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; ⅓ cup (65 ml) plus 2 tablespoons oil; 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice; 2 tablespoons white poppy seeds; 1 teaspoon ajwain; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 4 star anise; 10 to 12 whole black peppercorns; 1 teaspoon fennel seeds; 1½ cups (180 grams) grated fresh coconut (or frozen unsweetened coconut); ¾-inch (2-cm) piece fresh ginger, crushed; 2 medium red onions, chopped; ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 1 bay leaf; 4 to 6 cloves garlic; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro; 1 tablespoon malt vinegar or cider vinegar; 1½ tablespoons coriander seeds

Chicken in a thick, spicy gravy

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

How to Cook Indian

By Sanjeev Kapoor

Published 2011

About

Rui Madre, a chef from Goa, taught me to make this extremely popular dish while I was in Varanasi. Rui now manages a hotel in Goa, and every time I visit, no matter where I am staying, I insist that he cook it for me. Serve with steamed rice.

Ingredients

1 (1¾-pound/800-gram) chicken, skin removed, cut into 12 pieces on the bone
½

Asia
India
Goa
Main course
Spicy

Method

Put the chicken in a bowl. Add the turmeric, 1½ teaspoons of the salt, and the lemon juice, and stir well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to marinate.
Place a medium nonstick saucepan over high heat and add the