Chicken cafreal bao

With Goa's Portuguese past still present in its food, chicken cafreal bao is Goa's version of a drive-through chicken burger.

Chicken cafreal bao Credit: My Second Restaurant in India

• serves

  2

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 2 chicken pieces (see Note)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup water
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cloves
• 1 small piece ginger
• 5 green chillies
• 6 cloves garlic
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 cardamom pods
• 5 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 4 tbsp oil
• Bao, pickled onion, chutney, julienned carrot and coriander leaves, to serve (see Note)

Instructions

1. Add salt to chicken and cook in water over high heat for 3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, grind coriander, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, green chillies, garlic, cumin seeds, cardamom and white vinegar to a paste.
3. Add paste, two tbsp oil and onion to the cooking chicken and reduce flame to low.
4. After 10 minutes add two more tbsp of oil. Simmer until all the water evaporates and the chicken is cooked.
5. Serve with chutney, in a bao with pickled onion (see Note).

Notes

• Chicken on the bone is more traditional, but you can make it with chicken breasts.

• In Goa, chicken cafreal is sometimes served with cheese and coleslaw stuffed into the bun, with the filled bun held over a flame to melt the cheese.

• You can make your own bao using this recipe, or use a soft bread roll instead. 

• Chutney made with kokum, a Goan fruit, is a popular condiment, but you can use whatever chutney or sauce you like.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.