Here are the ingredients you'll need to make goat curry:
1. Peel the garlic cloves, then smash them with a muddler until they're broken up into smaller pieces.
2. The goat should be mostly cubes of meat, but there might also be pieces of bone with marrow inside. These will add great flavor.
3. Add some of the smashed garlic to the goat along with the mustard oil and salt. Then use your hands to mix it all together.
Let the seasoned goat sit for 30 to 60 minutes at room temperature, or in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours.
4. While the seasoned goat sits, prepare the broiled vegetables for the puree: Peel the red onions and cut them into large pieces.
5. Carefully peel the ginger and cut it into slices about one-fourth-inch thick.
I use a chef's knife. You can use a spoon if you're worried about cutting yourself. Using a vegetable peeler is possible, but it's tough because most ginger roots have lots of nooks and bumps that are hard to work around.
6. Spread the tomatoes, onion, ginger and green chiles on a baking sheet along with half of the remaining garlic cloves.
7. Broil on a rack fitted 6 to 8 inches below the broiler until the tomatoes are soft and all the vegetables are starting to blacken slightly. It should take 8 to 10 minutes.
8. Transfer the broiled vegetables to a blender and add 2 cups of water.
9. Purée the vegetables and set aside.
10. To cook the goat, heat a large pot over medium heat. We used a traditional Nepali kasaudi.
A kasaudi is a round, brass, heavy-bottomed pot that's used often in Nepali cooking. Like a dutch oven or cast iron pot, it holds heat well and is good for foods with a longer cook time, like this goat curry. I brought this kasaudi with me from Nepal, and you'll have a hard time finding one in the U.S., so it's fine to use a Dutch oven or a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a lid.
11. Add the fenugreek, star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and dried chiles, and cook until they start to smell delicious. it'll take about 6 minutes.
12. Add the goat to the pot. It's OK if the things are crowded.
13. Add salt, spices, and more sliced garlic. Cook until the goat is lightly browned and the spices are fragrant: about 15 minutes.
14. Add the tomato-vegetable puree. It should cover the goat completely. If it doesn't, you can add a little water.
15. Cover the pot and turn the heat down to medium low. Cook until the meat is super tender, which will take about 2 hours.
16. Stir the curry occasionally as it cooks.
17. When the curry is done, the goat will be tender and almost falling apart, and the sauce will be thick.
18. Garnish with cilantro to serve, if you want.
Nepali Goat Curry
Serves 10
Recipe by Anup Kaphle
INGREDIENTS
5½ pounds bone-in goat leg (preferably young goat), cut into 1½-inch pieces (ask your butcher to do this)
5 tablespoons mustard oil, divided
1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
20 medium garlic cloves, smashed, divided
5 medium tomatoes
2 medium red onions, each cut into roughly 8 wedges
1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
3 to 6 small, fresh green bird's eye chiles (or Thai chiles), stemmed
2 cups water
12 to 15 fenugreek seeds
3 whole star anise
3 bay leaves
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
3 whole small dried red chiles
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons asafetida
4 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon curry powder
½ cup cilantro leaves, for serving
PREPARATION
Place the goat meat in a large mixing bowl and add 3 tablespoons mustard oil, 1 tablespoon kosher salt and about a third of the garlic. Massage to coat the meat evenly. Cover and let sit for 30 to 60 minutes at room temperature, or refrigerate up to 8 hours.
Preheat the broiler to high and fit a rack 6 to 8 inches from the broiler. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment. Place the tomatoes, chopped red onions, ginger, green chiles, and half of the remaining garlic on the baking sheet and broil until the tomatoes are soft and starting to blacken, 8 to 10 minutes. Let the mixture cool slightly, then puree in a blender with the water. Set aside.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons mustard oil in a large pot or dutch oven (at least 5-quart volume) over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, add the fenugreek, star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and dried chiles. Cook, stirring, until the spices are fragrant and the bay leaves and fenugreek are starting to brown, about 6 minutes.
Add the goat and stir. Cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the meat is cooked on the outside and starting to brown slightly, about 25 minutes.
Add the remaining 2 teaspoons salt along with the turmeric, asafetida, cumin, coriander, curry powder, and the remaining smashed garlic and stir. Cook, uncovered, until the goat is lightly browned and the spices are fragrant, about 15 minutes more.
Add the tomato-vegetable puree to the pot and stir. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until the goat is very tender, about 2 hours. Transfer the goat curry to a warm serving bowl and garnish with the cilantro to serve.
Goat curry is almost always served with rice, and other side dishes. Get the full menu here.
