The One Where TSL Makes a Goat Curry…

Last week I watched Matt Moran slow roast a goat shoulder on his new Paddock to Plate cooking show. He served it with hummus, mint salsa and salad of chickpeas and tomatoes. It looked pretty good to me.

I had goat meat on my mind…

Love is not love, without a violin playing goat. (Julia Roberts)

Then, on Saturday morning, while on our weekly jaunt to the farmers market, LM and I struck up a conversation with the lovely couple at the Boomer Boers Premium Goat Meat stand. Their farm is in Dorrigo, New South Wales (that’s all the way up near Coff’s Harbour. I know this because I looked it up). They produce Capretto and Chevon Boer goats – them’s eating breeds.

Apparently, approximately 75 percent of the world’s population eats goat meat. That’s quite a lot of people. I figured if its good enough for 3/4 of the planet, then its about time I give it a go…

So, I bought some neck and some diced shoulder and tweaked the recipe for goat curry I took from the Boomer Boers stand. In the interests of full disclosure, I should say that this recipe was definitely better after all the flavours had time to work their magic. Goat is a lean meat, and somehow – like most curries – it just tasted better on the second night.

But, it was easy to make and went down well with the boys. Definitely worth a try if you’ve never had goat before.

And so, I bring you Goat Curry TSL-Style

Ingredients

1kg goat-meat (diced)
1 x Tbsp ground cumin
1 x tsp dried chilli
2 x large green chilli (sliced)
1 1/2 x Tbsp brown mustard seeds
2 x large onions (finely diced)
6 x garlic cloves (minced)
6 x dried curry leaves
2 x Tbsp curry powder (or garam masala)
1 x tsp turmeric
2 x cinnamon sticks
1 x cup stock (or water)
1 x 400ml tin coconut cream
Fresh coriander (chopped)

Method

1. Heat oven to 180°C/350°F. In a large casserole, brown meat in batches. Set aside.

2. Lightly crush cumin, red chilli, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Heat a little oil in the base of your casserole and add crushed spices along with the green chillies, onions, and garlic. Cook over a low heat for about ten minutes until fragrant and onions are translucent.

3. Add your browned meat, curry powder, turmeric, cinnamon and stock. Bring to the simmer. Put the lid on the casserole and pop in the oven for 60-90 minutes.

4. Add coconut cream and cook for a further 30 minutes.

5. Serve with rice (or in our case, cauliflower rice) and sprinkle with chopped coriander.

If you want to make the meal go a little further, throw in some greens about 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time – beans, spinach, broccoli would all work well.

Not a bad mid-week meal in wet, windy Sydney…