You don’t have to visit Goa (a beautiful state in India) to taste this Goan specialty…
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. Since then my taste buds had been wanting to taste this Goan specialty. 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 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 a few websites, the first thing that I thought was: that’s easy. The recipe called for ingredients that are 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 to Goan cuisine by the Portuguese. Can be made with chicken or fish. The dominant ingredient in this dish is cilantro or coriander leaves which will impart a vibrant green color.
So what are you waiting for??? Hop into your kitchen and in less than 30 minutes you will be out with this delectable Goan delicacy.
Chicken Cafreal
Ingredients
- Chicken, boneless, cubed- 3 chicken breasts
To marinate chicken
- Ginger-Garlic paste- 1 tsp
- Salt- 3/4 tsp
To saute
- Oil- 1 tbsp
- Onion, diced- 1 small-sized onion
- Tomato, diced- 1
For making the sauce
- Onion, minced- 2 tbsp
- Garlic, minced- 1 tsp
- Ginger, minced- 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
- Cardamom, whole- 3
- Clove- 1
- Whole cinnamon- 1-inch slice
- Ground black pepper- 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder- 1/8 tsp
- Cilantro or coriander leaves- 1/4 cup
Instruction:
- To the cubed chicken, add ginger-garlic paste and salt, combine well.
- Let marinate for 10 minutes.
- Grind the above-mentioned ingredients for making the sauce with 2 tbsp water and make it into a smooth paste.
- Heat a wide pan, add oil and add onion, saute till onions turn soft.
- Add the diced tomato and let it cook.
- Add the marinated chicken, cover the pan with its lid and let the chicken cook well.
- After the chicken has cooked well and most of the water has evaporated, pour the sauce over the chicken and combine well.
- Cook the sauce till the raw smell of the sauce goes away.
- Stir fry the chicken and cook till the sauce thickens and starts to brown a bit.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy this with rice, naan or chapatis.
Tips:
- This is a dish with not much gravy in it.
- You could make this with fish as well, King fish will be ideal, when using fish don’t overcook the fish.
- Chicken, boneless, cubed- 3 chicken breasts
- Ginger-Garlic paste- 1 tsp
- Salt- ¾ tsp
- Oil- 1 tbsp
- Onion, diced- 1 small-sized onion
- Tomato, diced- 1
- Onion, minced- 2 tbsp
- Garlic, minced- 1 tsp
- Ginger, minced- 1 tsp
- Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
- Cardamom, whole- 3
- Clove- 1
- Whole cinnamon- 1-inch slice
- Ground black pepper- 1 tsp
- Turmeric powder- ⅛ tsp
- Cilantro or coriander leaves- ¼ cup
- To the cubed chicken, add ginger-garlic paste and salt, combine well.
- Let marinate for 10 minutes.
- Grind the above-mentioned ingredients 'for making the sauce' with 2 tbsp water and make it into a smooth paste.
- Heat a wide pan, add oil and add onion, saute till onions turn soft.
- Add the diced tomato and let it cook. well.
- Add the marinated chicken, cover the pan with its lid, let the chicken cook well.
- After the chicken has cooked well and most of the water has evaporated, pour the sauce over the chicken and combine well.
- Cook the sauce till the raw smell of the sauce goes away.
- Stir fry the chicken over high heat till the sauce has thickened and starts to turn slightly brown.
- Tastes better when the chicken has stir-fried till brown spots have formed.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy with rice, naan or chapatis.
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.
