Jamaican curry

[craigjm]

I need a recipe for Jamaican curry sauce to do a goat curry with rice and peas. Anyone got a recipe thats tried and tested and authentic?

[redtwin]

There isn't really a sauce. It's a turmeric based powder that is added to onions (green/scallions and yellow), scotch bonnet and thyme etc sautéed in oil. I have never personally known anyone make it to a specific recipe and as such they all tend to taste slightly different depending on who is making it and their preference for spiciness.

I have seen the powder for sale in Tesco, but it should be easy enough to get a hold of online even if it isn't in your local one or you don't have any ethnic food shops nearby.

[Mobile Chicane]

Try here:

http://foodjamaica.net/

I've never made curried goat, but the jerk chicken and rice-and-peas recipes gleaned from the site both turned out well.

[shakotan]

craigjm said:

I need a recipe for Jamaican curry sauce to do a goat curry with rice and peas. Anyone got a recipe thats tried and tested and authentic?

Whatever you do, don't call it goat curry. It's curried goat.

[YRRunner]

shakotan said:

Whatever you do, don't call it goat curry. It's curried goat.

Whatever YOU do, don't call it "CURRIED goat"... It's CURRY GOAT. That's a fact!

[YRRunner]

craigjm said:

I need a recipe for Jamaican curry sauce to do a goat curry with rice and peas. Anyone got a recipe thats tried and tested and authentic?

The first respondent is correct - this is more something that is passed within families and is specific to their tastes and so changes accordingly - however, my curry goat is famed and has been made on many occasions, usually for large gatherings, so hope the following is helpful, (I would absolutely NOT buy some generic seasoning, will be far from authentic).

You will need - supposing you are cooking for 6 people, increase quantities accordingly for more folk
Cubed goat = this can be difficult to find so cubed mutton available at good asian butchers works just as well
2 large onions sliced
Bunch of scallions/spring onions
6 large tomatoes cut into 8's
4-6 bulbs of garlic
Fresh ginger about the size of first thumb joint
Fresh thyme - few sprigs
Fresh rosemary - few sprigs
Coarse ground black pepper - 3 healthy heaped tspoons, don't skimp on this
Chilli flakes - heaped tspoon
Chilli powder -level tspoon
Mild madras powder - 3 heaped tspoons
Rogan josh powder - heaped tspoon
Turmeric - heaped tspoon
All purpose seasoning - heaped tspoon
Paprika - 2 heaped tspoons
Lamb seasoning - 2 tspoons
1 or 2 scotch bonnets depending on heat level required. IMPORTANT, only use very firm ones, yellow ones usually best, cos if they burst during cooking believe me it will be inedible
Pinch salt
Tin butter beans

Buy spices in packets from asian stores not the overpriced rubbish in supermarkets

Put all ingredients together with 3 tablespoons of oil together with goat/mutton, (including sliced onions, toms, garlic, ginger and scallions, mix well and marinate for at least 24hrs.

Remove all onions, toms, herb sprigs and as much of garlic and ginger as possible. Heat plenty of oil in a heavy bottom pot, (a dutch pot is best available from good asian stores) and brown the meat well.
Drain excess oil away then replace onions etc and add the same quantity of spices again that you put into the marinade together with enough boiling water to cover everything. Put the scotch bonnet on the top so you can keep an eye on how it's behaving and simmer on a low heat for at least 3 hours, or until the meat is "melt in your mouth". If the scotch bonnet becomes too soft or bursts remove it immediately. Approx 1hr before end of cooking add the tin of butter beans, these reduce to virtually nothing but add great flavour and is not my own twist but an authentic element of the dish.

Hope that helps and let me know how it goes down if you try it.

[craigjm]

Thanks for that Runner sounds great, I will definitely try the curry goat this weekend then if I can get the bits together. Will let you know how it goes

Taking advantage now do you have a recipe for a dish called stew peas?

[redtwin]

YRRunner said:

The first respondent is correct - this is more something that is passed within families and is specific to their tastes and so changes accordingly - however, my curry goat is famed and has been made on many occasions, usually for large gatherings, so hope the following is helpful, (I would absolutely NOT buy some generic seasoning, will be far from authentic).

You will need - supposing you are cooking for 6 people, increase quantities accordingly for more folk
Cubed goat = this can be difficult to find so cubed mutton available at good asian butchers works just as well
2 large onions sliced
Bunch of scallions/spring onions
6 large tomatoes cut into 8's
4-6 bulbs of garlic
Fresh ginger about the size of first thumb joint
Fresh thyme - few sprigs
Fresh rosemary - few sprigs
Coarse ground black pepper - 3 healthy heaped tspoons, don't skimp on this
Chilli flakes - heaped tspoon
Chilli powder -level tspoon
Mild madras powder - 3 heaped tspoons
Rogan josh powder - heaped tspoon
Turmeric - heaped tspoon
All purpose seasoning - heaped tspoon
Paprika - 2 heaped tspoons
Lamb seasoning - 2 tspoons
1 or 2 scotch bonnets depending on heat level required. IMPORTANT, only use very firm ones, yellow ones usually best, cos if they burst during cooking believe me it will be inedible
Pinch salt
Tin butter beans

Buy spices in packets from asian stores not the overpriced rubbish in supermarkets

Put all ingredients together with 3 tablespoons of oil together with goat/mutton, (including sliced onions, toms, garlic, ginger and scallions, mix well and marinate for at least 24hrs.

Remove all onions, toms, herb sprigs and as much of garlic and ginger as possible. Heat plenty of oil in a heavy bottom pot, (a dutch pot is best available from good asian stores) and brown the meat well.
Drain excess oil away then replace onions etc and add the same quantity of spices again that you put into the marinade together with enough boiling water to cover everything. Put the scotch bonnet on the top so you can keep an eye on how it's behaving and simmer on a low heat for at least 3 hours, or until the meat is "melt in your mouth". If the scotch bonnet becomes too soft or bursts remove it immediately. Approx 1hr before end of cooking add the tin of butter beans, these reduce to virtually nothing but add great flavour and is not my own twist but an authentic element of the dish.

Hope that helps and let me know how it goes down if you try it.

Using shop bought curry powder won't be authentic?. Rosemary, Rogan Josh powder, lamb seasoning and butter beans in curry?.

What part of Jamaica did you grow up in?, I don't think Lamb seasoning (whatever that is) is even available there)

To be fair though, the rest of your recipe looks sound, but I have never known Jamaican curry that was not made with curry powder or had all those ingredients you mention.

OP, good luck with the stew peas. Unfortunately, that is another dish that is as individual as the cook. I can't ever recall different people making it and it tasting even close to the other.

Any particular reason why you are attempting these?. Just curious, that's all.

[shakotan]

YRRunner said:

shakotan said:

Whatever you do, don't call it goat curry. It's curried goat.

Whatever YOU do, don't call it "CURRIED goat"... It's CURRY GOAT. That's a fact!

I humbly stand corrected!

[craigjm]

[quote]Any particular reason why you are attempting these?. Just curious, that's all.

[/quote]

been eating Carribean food for years and really enjoy it but unfortunately my usual place has closed due to illness. The other place I go to is Trinidadian so its all rotis and stuff and I miss curry goat, stew peas and jerk pork because they don't do any of those dishes. Wish I could find calaloo somewhere too

[redtwin]

Best thing I can suggest is to just experiment with quantities of ingredients and spices until you find the combination you like best. I know many family and friends that cook these dishes really well, but I guarantee you would get blank looks and shrugged shoulders if you asked any of them to recite exact portions or even ingredients.

It is all very much free hand and I would wager that this was also the case in that favourite restaurant of yours.

[craigjm]

Sounds like a gap in the market for a Jamaican food like momma makes it recipe book to me! It is a cuisine that should have far more exposure than it does IMO

[Mobile Chicane]

craigjm said:

Sounds like a gap in the market for a Jamaican food like momma makes it recipe book to me! It is a cuisine that should have far more exposure than it does IMO

Agreed. However, whose momma?

There must be more variations on, say, jerk chicken than there are islands in the Caribbean.

(Each claiming the original.)

[pacman1]

I had a Barbadian curry of goat, which was so good, I'd never bother with lamb again. If only I could get goat meat easily and locally.

[Glassman]

pacman1 said:

I had a Barbadian curry of goat, which was so good, I'd never bother with lamb again. If only I could get goat meat easily and locally.

Curry Goat

Barbadian may well be the offical name, but I've only ever heard Bajuns refer to themselves and each other as Bajun.

[pacman1]

Glassman said:

pacman1 said:

I had a Barbadian curry of goat, which was so good, I'd never bother with lamb again. If only I could get goat meat easily and locally.

Curry Goat

Barbadian may well be the offical name, but I've only ever heard Bajuns refer to themselves and each other as Bajun.

Look, I can only refer to the events as I remember them.

1. She was from Barbados.

2. We ate curry, she made it as she thought it should be.

3. It had goat in it.

4. It were fab.

5.

[redtwin]

I had a quick look through youtube and this tutorial was the most authentic (by my standards ) I could find. Some people add potatoes as shown, mainly to bulk the dish so it serves more people (potatoes are cheaper than meat), but I have never known anyone add carrots. Vegetable or coconut oil is also used to fry, not butter.

http://youtu.be/E_sExijv3LQ

I don't know how easy it is for you to find goat meat or mutton as suggested, but you could always use chopped chicken on the bone or stewing beef to practice your technique and ingredient measures. The key thing is long slow cooking until the meat is very tender. Some use a pressure cooker, but that is adding a whole new dimension to the learning curve.

Good luck!

[Glassman]

pacman1 said:

Look, I can only refer to the events as I remember them.

Cool out maaaaan

[wembleymod]

REFERENCE JAMAICAN CURRY RECIPES GOOD JAMAICAN CURRY POWDER IS AVAILABLE ONLINE DO NOT USE INDIAN STUFF TRY MR BROWNS LOVERLY ALSO THE BASIS OF JAMAICAN CURRY IS ALLSPICE BLACK PEPPER AND TYME ALSO SPRING ONION AS WELL AS GINGER THE INDIAN CURRY POWDERS ARE A DIFFERENT THING ALTOGETHER HUGH FEARNLEY VISITED A REAL JAMAICAN TAKEAWAY AND GAVE OUT THEIR RECIPE IT MIGHT BE ON YOUTUBE OR GOOGLE IT CURRY GOAT LOVERLY ALL THE BEST

[Cupramax]

wembleymods keyboard earlier...