Goa, renowned for its beaches and world heritage architecture is one of the most famous tourist destinations in India. I’ve never been to Goa nor have tasted Chicken cafreal from any restaurants. But, I’ve heard a lot about this dish from people who have tasted this. Since then my taste buds had been wanting to taste this Goan speciality. I couldn’t wait till I get to taste this in a restaurant and hence had to prepare it in my own kitchen. I couldn’t agree more with those people who raved about this dish. It was super yummy and my favorite part was it was super easy to make. When I read the recipe for this dish from few websites, first thing that I thought was: that’s easy. The recipe called for ingredients that is always found in my refrigerator and pantry and so I didn’t have to do any extra shopping to make this dish.

This dish was introduced into Goan cuisine by the portuguese. This can be made with chicken or fish. The dominant ingredient in this dish is cilantro or coriander leaves which gives this dish a vibrant green color.

So what are you waiting for??? Rush into your kitchen and in less than 30 minutes you will come out with a delectable Goan delicacy.

Chicken Cafreal

Ingredients:

• Chicken, boneless, cubed- 1 lbs

To marinate chicken:

• Ginger-Garlic paste- 1 tsp
• Salt- to taste

To saute:

• Oil- 1tbsp
• Onion, diced- 1 small
• Tomato, diced- 1

For making the sauce:

• Onion, minced- 2 tbsp
• Garlic, minced- 1tsp
• Ginger, minced- 1tsp
• Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
• Cardamom, whole- 3
• Clove- 1
• Cinnamon- 1 inch stick
• Ground pepper- 1tsp
• Turmeric powder- 2 pinches
• Cilantro or coriander leaves- 1/4 cup

Preparation:

• Wash the cubed chicken and pat dry it.
• Add ginger-garlic paste and salt to the chicken and marinate it for 10 minutes.

• Grind the above mentioned ingredients for making the sauce with little water and make it into a smooth paste.

• Heat a wide pan, add oil and add onion, saute till it turns tender.
• Add the diced tomato and let it cook.

• Add the marinated chicken, cover the pan with its lid and let the chicken cook fully.

• After the chicken has cooked well and most of the water has evaporated, pour the paste over the chicken and combine well.

• Cook the paste till the raw smell of the paste goes away.
• Stir the chicken and cook till the sauce thickens and start to brown a bit.

• Transfer into a serving bowl and enjoy this with rice, naan or chapathis.

Tips:

• This is a dish with not much gravy in it.
• You could make this watery by adding little water after the sauce has cooked well.
• I would say the thickened and slightly browned version tastes much better.
• You could try this with King fish too, when using fish don’t over cook the fish.