Saucy and spicy Trinidadian curry goat, best served over white rice or on the side of roti. These tender pieces of goat meat are bursting with flavours from the Caribbean.
Start by trimming off excess fat from the goat pieces. Then, wash the meat using your preferred method. See the FAQ above for more details on washing goat meat. Drain the extra water out of the bowl, as best as possible.
Season the washed goat meat with salt, black pepper, sliced onion, minced garlic, sliced green onion, fresh thyme sprigs, chopped chadon beni, sliced scotch bonnet (optional). Mix everything together until thoroughly combined. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, but marinating overnight gives the best flavour. You can cook right away if you don't have the time to wait, though.
When ready to cook the meat, heat a medium to large sized pot with a heavy bottom (such as an iron pot) over medium-high heat.
Once hot, add the cooking oil in. Next, add in the 1/4 of sliced onion and begin sautéing until the onion has developed some colour. That will take about 2 minutes. You can also add in some of the chopped seasoning from the marinating goat, such as a few pieces of scotch bonnet.
Once the onion has become golden, add in the curry powder mixture and begin stirring. The water will slowly start to evaporate. Continue to stir the curry powder mixture.
Continue to stir and cook the mixture until all of the water has dried up and the curry has become grainy. You will also begin seeing the oil separate a bit and the curry powder will have become darker in colour. This will take a total of 5 minutes.
Add the seasoned goat into the pot and stir until the meat is thoroughly coated in the curry. (Add some water to the empty bowl that held the seasoned goat and swish the water around to get all the remaining seasoning. Set aside for later.)
Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and allow the goat to release its own juices. Stir every 5-10 minutes to avoid any sticking/burning at the bottom of the pot. Do this for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, remove the cover and increase the heat to medium-high and continue to cook until all the liquid has dried up, stirring every 5-10 minutes.
When the liquid has dried up, continue to cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring almost constantly. This helps to add even more flavour to the meat.
Now, add the water that you filled in the bowl that had the seasoned goat into the pot. You need to add enough water to just cover the meat. Stir, bring to a boil, cover, and then reduce the heat to medium-low. The goat will need about 1 - 1 1/2 hours to become soft and tender. Stir every 10-15 minutes so that it doesn't stick to the bottom.
At the 1 hour mark, check the tenderness of the meat. If it is still not tender enough, cover and continue to cook. Add more water if needed.
If the meat is tender enough to your liking, leave the cover off, increase the heat to medium, and allow the gravy to reduce until it is thickened. You want to make sure you have enough gravy, but that it's not watery.
10 minutes before you take the pot off the heat, add the masala and ground cumin. Mix well and cook this until you remove the pot from the heat. Also, ensure that you still have enough thick gravy. Taste and add salt, if needed.
Serve with rice or roti.