Sri Lankan goat curry

This simple curry turns an excellent deep yellow colour from the turmeric. The shallots and green chilli are added near the end, giving you a lovely, sweet crunchiness from the onions and a fresh heat from the chilli.

Credit: Sharyn Cairns

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  2 hours

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, roughly bashed
• 5 cm knob of ginger, cut into ½ cm slices
• ⅓ cup curry leaves
• 1 kg goat shoulder, cut into a 4 cm dice
• 2 tbsp maldive fish, roughly crushed in a mortar and pestle
• 1 tbsp Sri Lankan unroasted curry powder
• 1 tbsp chilli powder
• 1 tbsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, roughly crushed in a mortar and pestle
• 1 tsp salt
• 400 ml coconut milk
• 400 ml water
• 1 tbsp ghee, extra
• 150 g small red French shallots, peeled and left whole
• 5 small green chillies, tops cut off but left whole
• 1 cup coriander, still with some stalks attached, roughly chopped

Instructions

Place a large shallow saucepan onto a medium heat, allow it to warm a little and then add in the ghee. Once it has melted add in the onion, garlic, ginger and curry leaves. Cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. 

Add in the goat meat and stir for another few minutes or until the pieces are all looking like they have been touched by heat. To this, add in all your spices and salt and stir regularly to coat the goat. The air will probably get a little spicy at this stage.

Keep cooking for about five minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the saucepan as the spices have a tendency to stick to the bottom. Once you feel this starting to happen, add in the liquids. The liquids should cover the meat; if not add a little more water. As soon as your curry has come to the boil, turn the heat down to low and let it cook for about an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. 

At this point, get a medium fry pan onto a high heat. Allow it to get quite hot and then add in the extra ghee and shallots. Give the shallots a minute or so in the pan, then a stir and then another rest. You want them to colour slightly. About halfway through this process add in the green chillies. Once you are satisfied the shallots have a slight colour to them, add the contents of the pan to your curry. 

Give your curry another half an hour on the stove, by which time your goat should be tender and soft and your schallots cooked but still holding their shape. 

Remove from the heat and give it a final taste for seasoning. Add the coriander in at the last minute before serving the curry on a large platter. Eat immediately with rice.

Cooks’ tip

• You will need to go to a Sri Lankan grocer for the maldive fish and curry powder.

Photography by Sharyn Cairns. Styling by Lee Blaylock. Food preparation by Peta Gray. Creative concept by Lou Fay.

Always on the hunt for the next vegetable to pickle, follow O Tama Carey on Instagram.

This recipe is part of The Seasonal Cook: Goat column. View previous The Seasonal Cook columns and recipes.

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.