CURRY GOAT TRINIDADIAN STYLE

In the latter part of the 1800's, my Great Grandparents boarded a boat in Calcutta, India and set sail for Trinidad and Tobago. They, as well as many other East Indians, came with the hope for a better life and future by working the rice paddy fields and sugar cane fields as indentured servants.

My ancestors brought their religion, culture and traditions as well as their cuisine with them. East Indian cooking took on a new twist under cosmopolitan West Indian influences and although it still bears the trademark of India, Trinidadian Indian cuisine has developed its own unique qualities that are distinctly of the islands.

I recently made some Curry Goat and gave a sample to my friend Chef Willy who thought it would be a great idea for me to post this on my Blog. Here, I will give a general overview of the preparation of Trinidadian curry and its wide applications. I will begin by using the Curry Goat as a point of reference.

Curry Goat

YOU WILL NEED

• Goat cut up into bit size pieces, rinsed and seasoned
• Trinidadian curry
• Chopped onions
• Fresh ground garlic
• Cooking oil

Seasoned Goat

PREPARING THE CURRY FOR COOKING

Proper preparation of the curry is integral to the success and flavor of this dish and requires patience and extra time. If you rush this step in the process, you will end up with a curry that has a raw taste to it. That is, the curry is not cooked sufficiently. It will be like when you are making a roux or adding flour to thicken a gravy or other sauces. If the flour is not given time to cook and incorporate well with the other flavors, you will be able to taste the flour as a separate ingredient. I am sure that we can all agree that tasting flour on its own is not the most palatable or pleasurable of experiences.

Heat cooking oil and sauté onions and garlic until tender. Add curry and cook for a minute or two stirring constantly to prevent burning. Mixture will be thick to begin with. Sorry I lost my first photo in this series, so the picture above is actually the second step in the process. Add 2 cups of water and stir to blend in the curry. Bring to a boil stirring regularly.

Reduce curry mixture until it starts getting thick. 

Add 2 more cups of water and repeat the process of reducing the curry to a thick consistency.

Stir consistently and continue reducing the curry mixture.

Continue reducing the curry until it forms a thick paste. When you run a spoon through it, it should leave a clear track in the pot.

Add seasoned goat and stir well to incorporate the curry mixture completely. Cover and cook for approximately 1 1/2 hours until goat meat is tender. Stir every 10 minutes or so and add additional water as needed throughout the cooking process. For a thicker gravy, use less water. For a thinner gravy, use more water.

Plate and Serve Hot

 

You can use this method for cooking a wide variety of meat and seafood . You will need to adjust the amount of curry used for seafood which will be less than you would normally use for meat. Here are some examples below.

Curry Duck

Curry Fish

I have also used this method for preparing vegetable dishes with some examples illustrated below.

Curry Pigeon Peas

Curry Egg & Aloo (Potato)

Curry Channa (Chick Peas)

Curry Plantain

Curry Aloo (Potato) & Pigeon Peas

So...Be adventurous and try some new things! If you have an exotic palate and like Indian and Caribbean food, I think you will definitely like this...