Recipe: Selvie's Goat Curry

Like me, I know a lot of people who think their mum is the best cook in the world. The difference is that most people think my mum is the best cook in the world. It's only as I get older and travel the world and sample the myriad of cuisines out there that I realise how good my mum truly is. Most of her repertoire is based on her South African Indian cooking traditions - curries, briyanis, pilaus and vegetable braises.

She prepared this goat curry for dinner last night in Melbourne after my Ch10 7pm Project appearance. From acting the goat to eating the goat....

Recipe:

1.5 kg goat meat including bones

2 chopped brown onions

1 tspn crushed garlic

1 tspn crushed ginger

2 cloves

2 cardomon pods, cracked

2 cinnamon sticks

4 medium chopped tomatoes

2 tspns tumeric

2 tspns coriander powder

2 tspns fennel powder

2 tspns smoked paprika

1 tspn crushed chilli flakes

1/2 tspn chilli powder

3 tablespoons oil

1 tspn salt

1 tspn pepper

4 cups boiling water

Preparation time: about 15 minutes

Cooking time: 2 1/2 hours

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a thick-based casserole pot on medium heat. Fry 1 chopped onion for ten minutes until it begins to colour. Add crushed garlic and ginger and cook gently for a minute. Add cardomon pods, clove and cinnamon sticks, then add the spices -  tumeric powder, fennel powder, coriander, smoked paprika, chiili powder and chilli flakes and fry gently making sure spices don't burn. Add another tablespoon of oil.

Now add the goat meat and bones, salt and pepper and brown making sure all the meat is coated in the onion and spice mix. Increase the temperature to medium-high. Add the 4 cups of boiling water. Boil, then turn down to high-medium and cook until goat meat is tender. Keep an eye on the water. It needs to cover the meat.This will take up to about 2 hours depending how young/old your goat is. Now add the other chopped onion, the four chopped tomatoes and cook for about 15 minutes until onion and tomato dissolve into the sauce. Simmer for another ten minutes and then add freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice.

the meat is unctuous, tangy and robust

give the bones a good gnaw