Goat is a wonderful meat – low on fat and the healthiest in terms of amino acids and other goodies of all the red meats. Goat is the most widely consumed meat in the world. From Kingston, Jamaica to Kashgar, China goats are easy to raise (they eat pretty much everything!) and their meat is best braised into luscious stews and curries or ground up to make silky kebabs. I’ve never seen goat steak (hmm….). Find a butcher who does regular business with South Asians. You’ll find a place that has high turnover usually has the best meat. Black-eyed peas are also called black-eyed beans.. technically they’re from the legume family so they’re beans to me!
Total Time: 2 hours
Ingredients
1.5 lb goat meat (shoulder)
1/4 cup oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 tbsp ginger+garlic paste
2 heaped tsp x cumin and coriander powder
1 heaped tsp x chili, tumeric and garam masala powders
2 each tomatoes (chopped) and green chilis (sliced)
1 cup dried black eyed beans or 1 regular can, drained and rinsed clean
2-4 cups reserved black-eyed beans liquid, or beef stock
salt to taste
Instructions
Prepping the beans
If you’re using the dried stuff, soak the peas for 12-24 hours, rinse and boil in a cover pot with water and salt, or in a pressure cooker, until just softened. Don’t throw away the water leftover from boiling, it’s full of tasty goodness!
Preparing the curry
Sweat onions in medium hot oil in a dutch over or pressure cooker until softened and beginning to caramelize. Sauté the goat meat in the onions for about 10 minutes or until its natural juices have mostly evaporated. Add in the ginger+garlic paste and all the spices and fry for about 5-7 minutes. If you find the spices begin to stick, add in a 1/4 cup of water and fry well. Add in 2-3 cups of the reserved black-eyed bean liquid (or stock if using canned beans) and lower the heat and simmer the meat until it is almost cooked. If using a pressure cooker, cook the meat curry for about 8 minutes or until the meat is cooked through but not totally tender. Add in the black-eyed beans and continue cooking (or pressure cook for another 1-2 minutes) or until all the flavours have amalgamated. The mixture should be a loose, not too thick. The flavour will only improve with time as the beans will absorb the meat curry. Serve with shredded coriander leaves and rice/naan.
Now, I happened to make a sabzi (vegetable) to go along with the curry -a simple potato and carrot dish. We don’t really have a name in the Indian language for sides… curries for example can be different types based on flavouring or dryness of their sauces. Not so easy with vegetable dishes….
Spicy Potato, Carrot and Green Peppers
4 small yukon gold potatoes (my fave, but you can use any you like), cubed into 1 inch pieces
1 green pepper, cubed into 1 inch pieces
1 medium carrot, cubed into 3/4 inch pieces
1 tsp x mustard seeds, cumin seeds and tumeric powder
1/2 tsp x red chili powder, asafoetida/ heeng powder (optional)
salt to taste
1/4 cup oil
Heat the oil in a sauté pan (with a lid) and once it’s hot (you can drop in a mustard or cumin seed, if it sizzles, it’s ready) fry the mustard and cumin seeds for about 30 seconds or until golden brown. Sprinkle in the spices and fry the spices for another 30 seconds. Add in the vegetables and mix well. Reduce the heat and cover with a lid and cook for 20-25 minutes or until soft. Serve with shredded coriander leaves and naan.