Goat Sukha

Whenever I order food from a particular Indian restaurant, I always include an appetizer of goat sukka (or sukha). As an aside, this particular restaurant allows its customers to choose between an American level of spice and an Indian level of spice for their dishes. I like a restaurant that not only caters to the local Indian community in this way, but also offers those options to someone like myself, who is not Indian. Given my love for very spicy foods, I always order my dishes from this restaurant at the Indian spicy or Indian very spicy level. 

Being able to choose spice levels in accordance with the Indian palate is important to me, because I want to experience the foods of southern India as one would prepare them for people who live in that region. Chefs and cooks alike across southern Indian states like Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have embraced chiles. In so doing, they create dishes that contrast with those from the north of India. 

A sukka (or sukha) is a dry curry dish that originates from the south of India. The word sukha is Hindi and means "dry." Unlike a typical curry, sukhas are not prepared with a yogurt, tomato, or coconut milk base. Instead, recipes typically call for a combination of chiles and spices that, when prepared, cling to the featuerd protein with a paste-like texture. And, as for that protein, it could be just about anything. The most common versions of sukhas feature mutton or lamb, but one can find many recipes for Mangalore Chicken Sukha or even Chana Sukha (for vegetarians).  

For this recipe, I attempted to recreate the goat sukka dish from one of my favorite restaurants. I had some extra goat meat from another recipe that I prepared (which will also be posted on this blog). I encountered some difficulty finding a goat sukha recipe, which I needed to ensure that I prepared the goat properly. I eventually decided to use a mutton sukha recipe, for which there are many, and incorporated the directions for preparing goat from that other recipe I mentioned above. 

In the end, this dish was good, but it was not the goat sukka that I would order from the restaurant. There are two reasons for this conclusion. First, I am not as good at cooking goat as the Indian cook or chef at that restaurant. (Despite my best efforts, the goat was a little overcooked.) Second, the recipe would probably translate to an Indian mild or Indian medium on spice level. As noted above, my minimum threshold is Indian hot. 

GOAT SUKHA

Recipe adapted from Relish the Bite

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1 pound goat, cubed, bone-in
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• Salt, to taste
• Garlic, 5 cloves minced
• 5 dried chiles (e.g., Kashmiri)
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/4 cup onions, sliced thinly
• Few curry leaves
• 4 green chiles (e.g., jalapeno)
• 1 teaspoon chile powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• Salt, to taste
• 2 teaspoons oil
• Lime juice and coriander (cilantro), chopped, for garnish

Directions:

1. Prepare the goat. Place the goat, turmeric and salt in a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and boil until cooked, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the goat from the water, strain the water through a fine mesh and reserve. 

2. Prepare the base. While the goat is cooking, combine the garlic, dried chiles and fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle. Grind the ingredients, with a dash of salt, until they become a paste.

3. Prepare the curry. In a pan, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onions, green chiles and curry leaves. Saute until the onions become translucent and the chiles become softer. Add the paste, along with the red chile powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. Saute well. 

4. Finish the dish. Add the goat and stir. Add some of the reserved water and let it cook until the water evaporates. Drizzle some lime juice and garnish with the chopped coriander (cilantro). Serve with rice and naan. 

PEACE.

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Nepal

For many, the mention of Nepal conjures images of Mount Everest. Known locally as Sagarmatha or Qomolangma, Mount Everest boasts of the highest point above sea level. The thought of the mountain also conjures up images of intrepid mountain climbers moving from base camp to base camp, with their sherpas. Indeed, the mountain casts a long shadow, one that often obscures the tens of millions of Nepali who live not just in the mountains and the valleys, but also the plains below. 

I find the stories of the Nepali people far more interesting and compelling than those any person -- such as Sir Edmund Hillary or  George Mallory -- who ascended Mount Everest. Their stories told by the Nepalis are ones of struggle, resilience, and hope. Unlike those of Hillary or Mallory, these stories recount lived experiences that span three hundred and sixty-five days per year, each and every year.  

Many of those stories can be found on a website, Stories of Nepal. The website curates the short stories of everyday Nepalis by subject and by cmmunity. The subjects that got my attention had names such as A Right to Earn a Living, Of Hope and Resilience, Strive Struggle Trive, and The Future I Want. I also browsed the stories by communities, looking at the stories from each of Nepal's three ecological regions: the mountains, the hills and the terai (or plains). 

As I read through these stories, I began to notice the common threads: the poverty at home, the desire to have a better life, the paths that they took to achieve that goal, and the obstacles that they had to overcome. There are two measures of poverty: income poverty and human poverty. The former measures whether a person has enough income to meet basic needs, while the latter has a broader focus on whether a person has access to essential resources and opportunities necessary for a decent life. Significant portions of Nepalis across all regions suffer from both types of poverty: in the mountains, 38% suffer from human poverty and 42 percent suffer from income poverty; in the hills, 24% suffer from human poverty while 29% suffer from income poverty; and, in the terai, 33% suffer from human poverty while only 23% suffer from income poverty.

But, as they say, numbers don't tell the whole story. That is where the Nepalis themselves come in. Their contribution demonstrates the hard work that they endure, but the hope that they have for either themselves or their children. For example, Beyond these Mountains tells the story of one Nepali woman, Bhomo Karto Tamang, in Gatang, which is high up in the mountains. She was born in a relatively well-to-do family whose father herded 18 yaks, 200 sheep, and, in her words, "I did not count the goats." She talked about how strong her mother was and how she helped her mother prepare the barley flour. That flour was payment to her father's shepherds. When she grew up, she got married and her life continued much like her mother. However, unlike her mother, this woman decided with her husband to send their children to school. She wanted her children to experience what lies beyond the mountains, something that she never had.

Then there is the story of Hiralel Rai, who lives in Khotang, which is firmly nestled in the hills of Nepal. Rai loved to sing and dance as a kid. His conduct was frowned upon in school, as it was deemed the type of activity inappropriate for boys. That led to corporal punishment by teachers. Rai persevered and, eventually, became a teacher himself. In his own words: 

I am aware that the choices I make as a teacher, inside the classroom, will have a great impact on the lives of these children. Of what they will do and who they will become. So I am always careful as to what I do and what I say in class. I am not a strict teacher who only disciplines students. We all know we get bored in class so I make things fun. I tell stories. While I teach English, I also dance with them. I also sing with them. And everyone sings and dances with me. Freely, without any fear.

There are many more stories that are illuminating and inspiring about how people overcome their circumstances for the betterment of not just themselves but others. When one can see that in people, they are seeing the innate dignity that lies within all of us and that we all deserve. 

I strongly recommend reading Stories of Nepal, where the above stories and pictures come from. They provide a very good starting point to learn about the people. Now, it is time to learn about their cuisine, which is the focus of my personal culinary challenge, Around the World in 80 Dishes. The main course, Bhuketo Maso, and the side dish, Piro Alu Dum, have their own stories to tell.

MAIN COURSE

My love for eating goat meat has made its appearance in my culinary challenge on more than one occasion, with Goat Curry from Guyana and two dishes -- Chichinga and Jollof Rice with Goat -- from Ghana. In preparing those dishes, I only tangentially touched, at best, or completely missed, at worst, an important subject: the role that goats play to help lift the poor out of poverty. That subject is harder to miss when one looks at Nepal, because quite a few non-governmental organizations have pursued initiatives to introduce goat farming to those who have little, and researchers followed behind to measure the impact. 

Goats are often referred to as the "poor man's cow." Like cows, goats produce milk and meat, but at a cheaper price to purchase and at a lower cost to maintain. One study estimated that a person could maintain four goats at the same cost as one cow. In addition, one can raise goats in areas where, due to lack of substantial vegetation, it would be harder to raise cows or other animals.  

There are many organizations that have worked to provide goats to poor Nepalis, to provide them with a means through which they can earn money through the sale of goat milk, or, over time, goat meat. Those programs were, in turn, monitored through research, including efforts that were funded by the United States Agency of International Development or USAID. One such research effort found that the provision of goats by Heifer International to poor Nepali women, along with training in animal husbandry, had positive outcomes on the living standards of those women. (I had to look for sources other than those of USAID because the current American administration has taken down EVERYTHING that USAID has done to help the poor around the world.)

For my main challenge, I decided to prepare Bhuketo Maso, which is a dry curry. The dish could be prepared with any kind of protein, such as chicken or lamb. However, I decided to use goat as a nod to the importance that this particular protein has in lifting many Nepalis of poverty. 

BHUKETO MASO

Recipe from Nepali Tummy

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound goat meat (clean and cut in 2 inch cubes)
• 1/2 tablespoon of cumin seeds or 1/2 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds or 1/2 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1 cinnamon stick or 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon powder
• 3-4 dried red chiles or 1/2 tablespoon red chile powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• Salt
• 4 tablespoons oil

Directions:

1. Prepare the spice mix. Add the cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and dried red chiles in a spice grinder. (If you are using ground spices, just combine). Grind until the spices are a powder. Remove to a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of water to make a thick paste.

2. Boil the meat. In a deep pan, add the meat, water (to cover) and 2 pinches of salt. Boil the meat until it is cooked, approximately 20 minutes.  Be careful not to overcook. 

3. Finish the dish. Heart the oil in a separate pan. Add the boiled meat and the spice paste, stir over medium heat and cook for 10-12 minutes. 

SIDE DISH

While Bhuketo Maso may be a dry curry, I prepared a side dish that did have a curry-like sauce. Piro alu dum is a potato curry that has a tomato base.  This provided a little contrast to the overall meal. 

Potatoes were actually introduced into Nepal back in the mid-19th century, when a British naturalist, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, during an expedition to that country. While Hooker ultimately left, the tubers remained and became a vital crop across the country. They have an adaptability that works well in a country with differing regions, soils and climates. Nepalis are able to grow potatoes in areas where other crops could not thrive, thereby enabling them to produce a commodity that has taken a featured spot in their cuisine.

PIRO ALU DUM

Recipe from Cookpad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sized potatoes, cut into 4 pieces
• 10 cloves garlic
• 2 whole red chiles
• 1 medium sized tomato paste
• Salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chile powder
• 3 tablespoons mustard oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kalonji
• 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 2 tablespoons cilantro (coriander leaves)

Directions:

1. Boil the potatoes. Peel the potatoes. Heat a pot of water to boiling. Add potatoes and boil until tender. Remove from heat and drain the potatoes. While the potatoes are boiling, mince the garlic cloves and chiles, and then combine the two into a paste. 

2. Prepare the tomato-spice paste. In a bowl, add the garlic-chile paste, tomato paste, salt, turmeric powder and Kashmiri chile powder. Mix well. 

3. Finish the dish. Heat the oil in the pan on medium heat. Add kalonji and fenugreek seeds. Add potatoes and stir, mixing well. Add the tomato-spice paste and mix well. Add hot water and continue to cook, while the sauce thickens. Once the sauce is at the desired consistency, add coriander leaves and serve hot. 

*    *    *

In the end, I am grateful for having the opportunity to prepare this meal. I am much more grateful for taking the time to learn about the roles that the primary ingredients -- goat meat and potatoes -- has had in Nepali life and cuisine. Not everything that I read is reflected in this post. But, I wanted to make sure one thing is prominently set forth here ... the importance of development programs to help the poor lift themselves out of their poverty, and the critical work of those who oversee and implement those programs. Their work takes on moral and ethical obligations, which are gravely under threat. That is best saved for another post. Until then ... 

PEACE.

Goat Curry in the Punjabi Style

Its name in Sanskrit is Panchanada, the "Land of Five Rivers." After a wave of Muslim conquests, the conquerors used the Persian name, Panjab.  That land has a long history, one that dates all the way back to 2600 BCE, with the emergence of the Indus Valley Civilization.  That civilization was known for its urban planning, baked brick houses, drainage systems, water supply systems and more. They even had a writing system that has still not been deciphered as of this date. 

Over time, the area that would become known as the Punjab was a crossroads of various conquering empires.  Alexander the Great led the Greeks through the region, ultimately being turned back. Then there was a series of empires.  Then more foreign conquerers, including Arabs, Mughals, Sikhs, and, eventually, the British. 

While I could go into much more detail about the history of the Punjab region (which really does fascinate me), the most important part of this history is simple. Each invading army or culture brought something to the Punjab region.  Influences that worked their way into the culture of the people, as well as their cuisine. Indeed, the cuisine of the Punjab region can be best described as a mixture of Indian, Persian, Mughal and Afghan influences.

This mixture of influences naturally draws my attention to Punjabi cuisine.  The one thing that keeps my attention is the liberal use of spices in the dishes. Spices such as black pepper, cardamom, cinnamoon, cloves, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, mustard, red chile powder and turmuric. The more spices used in a dish correlates to a greater likelihood that I will prepare that dish.  This leaves me wondering why I have not cooked more Punjabi dishes.

However, it is not just the spices.  The Indus River, along with the other rivers (remember - Punjab means the land of five rivers), makes this region the breadbasket, especially for Pakistan, where most of the rivers are located. The principal crops are rice and wheat, but farmers also cultivate maize and lentils, along with garlic, ginger and onions (after all, one needs a base for the masalas).  There is also quite the dairy industry in the Punjab region, which serves as the foundation for the extensive use of ghee, clarified butter and cheese (paneer) in Punjabi dishes.  

But, for me at least, it almost always returns to the spices.  I had a lot of goat in the freeze and I needed a recipe.  I searched the Internet for a recipe, looking at recipes from South America, Africa, Europe and Asia.  Yet, it was a Punjabi goat curry recipe that won out over all others.  The reason is simple: the recipe called for bay leaves, cinnamon, chiles, cloves, coriander, cumin, garam masala, garlic, ginger, green cardamom and paprika.  

Yet, there was one problem with the recipe.  It was for a pressure cooker.  My beautiful Angel bought a pressure cooker; and, yes, I could have used it to make this dish.  However, I wanted to do it "old-school."  Just me, the goat, some spices, and a few pots and pans. That required some "translation" between pressure cooker instructions and traditional instructions. (I also tried to simplify the instructions in the process.) It also required a little flexibility in making the dish. Nevertheless, I think it worked out well.  I got the masala base right, and then built the curry so that the gravy was probably one of the best that I have ever made. 

For those who have followed my blog, you may remember the many goat dishes that I have made.  (Some of those dishes made their way onto my Around the World in 80 Dishes culinary challenges, as I made goat curries from both Guyana and Ghana.)  Yet, it is this dish that is probably my best work with this protein.  The success lies entirely with the masala and the gravy. I only wish that I had not used up the last of my goat with this dish. 

GOAT CURRY IN THE PUNJABI STYLE

Recipe adapted from Marigold Maison

Serves several

Ingredients:

5 pounds of goat pieces

1 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 green cardamom seeds, crushed

4-5 cloves, crushed

1 bay leaf

1 pound of yellow onions, minced finely

3 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

3 tablespoons of chopped fresh garlic

2 tablespoons of fresh indian chiles

2 cups canned tomato sauce

2 tablespoons Kosher salt

1 tablespoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon chile powder

1 tablespoon coriander powder

2 teaspoons garam masala powder

2 teaspoons paprika powder

Cilantro 

8-10 cups water

Directions:

1. Prepare the goat.  Clean and wash the goat. Cut the the goat into bite sized pieces if it has not already been processed.  Sometimes, I use some lemon juice or lime juice to "rinse" the goat, as the juice is supposed to help with the smell and taste of the goat. 

2.  Brown the goat.  Heat oil in a pot over medium high heat.  Add the cumin seeds, cardamom and bay leaves.  Saute for 1 minute, stirring to prevent the spices from burning.  Add the finely minced onion.  Saute until the onion turns it begins to light brown. Add the ginger, garlic and chiles. Continue to cook this mixture, stirring to prevent burning, for about two to three minutes.  Add the goat meat and cook for 10 to 15 minutes.  The goal is to brown the goat meat on all sides, as best as possible. 

3.  Prepare the curry.  Add the salt, paprika, turmeric, red chile powder and coriander powder. Stir well and then add the tomato sauce.  Stir to incorporate all of the ingredients.   Add 8 cups of water and, once again, stir well to ensure that all of the ingredients have been mixed together.  Increase the heat to high and bring the curry to a boil.  Once it begins to boil, reduce the hear to medium-low and continue to simmer for as long as it takes to get the goat tender and to reduce the liquid.  

4. Finish the dish.  Once the goat is tender and the liquid has been reduced enough, add some garam masala.  Stir the curry.  Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and serve immediately. 

ENJOY!

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Dominican Republic

When it comes to my personal culinary challenge, Around the World in 80 Dishes, the selection of the country is sometimes left to chance and sometimes intentional.  When my beautiful Angel purchased sixteen pounds of goat meat for me to cook, that led to some specific challenges.  There was the Guyanese Goat Curry, which satisfied the challenge to make a main dish from the country of Guyana.  Then there was the Jollof Rice with Goat, which satisfied the challenge for the country of Ghana.  A couple of other specific challenges followed, which involved Tonga and, most recently, Myanmar. 

Now, I am returning to the random country selection. The first country that came up was the Dominican Republic; and, quite coincidentially, the main course to be selected is Chivo Guisado, or goat stew.  However, before I get to the challenge, some background is necessary. 

The Dominican Republic lies in Greater Antilles, sharing the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Long before any European set foot on the island, the Taino people called the land their home.  Since about 650 A.D., the Taino fished, farmed and hunted across the island. (The Taino may have been the people whose cooking inspired what ultimately became known as barbecue.)  By the time European explorers reached the island in 1492, there were five Taino kingdoms with a combined population of more than one hundred thousand people. Four years later, the first permanent European (Spanish) settlement was founded at Santo Domingo.  With the rise of Spanish, the Taino fell. The Europeans  found gold on the island and established mines.  The Spanish conscripted the native Taino to work in the gold mines, exploiting the workers who endured horrible conditions.  Eventually, the Spanish exhausted both the mines and the native Taino.  As focus turned to agriculture (such as sugarcane) and other industries, and, the need for labor increased, the Spanish brought African slaves to the island. 

The colonial history continued for centuries, but the peoples of what would become the Dominican Republic declared their independence from Spain in 1821.  The turbulence continued for decades, first with a united Hispaniola country and then another war of independence in 1844 that resulted in the Dominican Republic. The troubles continued for many more decades, until the 1970s, when peace and stability finally took hold in the country.  

MAIN COURSE

The foregoing is just a thumbnail sketch that does not do justice to the history of the country.  Nevertheless, that sketch provides the outline for the cuisine of the country.  A cuisine that still has its roots in the native Taino culture, with broad strokes of Spanish culinary influence, that are filled in by African  food traditions.  The food is a combination of meats, rice, beans, vegetables and stews.  This is what led me to the preparation of a guisado or stew.  The only question is what protein to use in the stew.  And, the answer led me to chivo or goat.

The use of goat in dishes is quite common throughout the Caribbean, and, it is no different in the Dominican Republic.  Goat meat is considered a special ingredient in the country's cuisine.  As the story goes, goats graze on the naturally growing oregano in the Dominican countryside, with the herb imparting its flavor in the meat.  (It also explains the use of oregano in the recipes, see below.)

So, with a lot of goat still on hand, I have decided to undertake the challenge of making Chivo Guisado or goat stew.  As one can expect, there is no one standard recipe, with each cook or chef preparing this dish with his or her own twists.  I pulled from two different recipes, one more traditional and one a little less traditiona. to make this dish.  The end result is a somewhat spicer stew with more of a tomato base, which I think follows more closely to what one would expect from this stew.  

CHIVO GUISADO

Recipe adapated from Manusmenu and Dominican Cooking

Serves 4

Ingredients (for the goat):

2.2 pounds of goat meat, with bones

1 orange, juiced

1/2 lime, juiced

2 bay leaves

1 white onion, diced 

1 bunch of cilantro (coriander)
1 cubanelle pepper, diced

4 plum tomatoes or 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 garlic cloves

Salt, to taste

3 tablespoons of oregano

Ingredients (for the braise):

2 tablespoons of oil

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

2 tablespoons of tomato sauce

Directions:

1.  Prepare the ingredients.  Cut the goat meat into smaller pieces (but do not trim the fat as it adds lots of flavor and keeps them meat soft.  Dice the onions, coriander and spring onions.  Put the garlic cloves, oregano and salt in a mortar and grind to a paste.

2.  Marinate the goat.  Put the goat meat in a big bowl and add all of the marinade ingredients. Mix well, cover the bowl and refrigerate it for a few hours or overnight.

3.  Braise the goat. Heat the oil and cook the sugar until it turns to a caramel color.  Be careful not to burn it.  Add the meat, with the marinade kept in reserve. Brown the goat meat on all sides.  Add the marinade, stir and add the tomato paste. 

4.  Cook the goat.   Add some water, little by little, and cook it over medium heat until the meat is very tender, about one and one-half hours.  Season to taste, serve with white rice and fried plantains.

SIDE DISH

No main course is complete without a side; and, one very popular side in Dominican cuisine is Tostones or fried plaintains.  I have to admit that this is my first effort cooking plaintains, so my expectations were not very high.  Nevertheless, I thiink the end result was pretty good.

TOSTONES

Recipe from Dominican Cooking

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 unripe plaintains, peeled and cut in 1 inch slices

1/2 cup oil

1 tablespoon salt (or more to taste)

1 chopped tomato

4 sprigs of parsley

1 clove garlic

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon of sugar

Directions:

1. Prepare the dipping sauce.  Combine the tomato, parsley, garlic, black pepper and olive oil in a blender or food processor.  Pulse until thoroughly blended but not liquefied.

2.  Fry the plantains.  Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and fry the plantains until golden.  Remove from the oil and flatten to 1/4 of an inch.  Fry the plantains again until golden yellow again.  Serve immediately with the dipping sauce. 

BEVERAGE

It has been a long time since I prepared a drink in connection with my culinary challenges.  The last drink was Po Cha, a butter tea, that was part of my culinary special to prepare a Tibetan main course.  (It's hard to believe that it has been eight years since that culinary experience.)  For this challenge, I decided to make a papaya drink, which seems appropriate for this Caribbean challenge.   

BATIDA DE LECHOSA

Recipe from Dominican Cooking

Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 cups of papaya, cut into cubes

3 cups of ice cubes

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 quart of evaporated milk

1/2 cup of sugar

Directions:

Put all of the ingredients (but only half of the sugar) in a blender and keep on high speed until the ice is blended.  Try and add more sugar if needed, blend for a few additional seconds. 

*     *   *

With my third goat challenge under my belt, I have to say that I am ready for a challenge involving another protein. Still, the Chivo Guisado turned out very well, and, I count this challenge as a success.  If I could improve upon it, I could have had a better cut of goat (one with less bones and connective tissue. The tostones and the batida de lechosa were both excellent and definitely something that I am going to keep in the back of my mind. Now, it is time to turn to the next challenge.  Until then ...

ENJOY!

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Ghana

Maya Angelou once said, "while the rest of the world has been improving technology, Ghana has been improving the quality of man's humanity to a man."  There perhaps is no better example of this saying than Kofi Annan, the Ghanaian born diplomat who served as United Nations Secretary-General from January 1997 through December 2006.  While his tenure was not without its criticism, there is no doubt that, overall, Secretary-General Annan's made a significant contribution to world peace, but that is a subject for a different blog.

My personal culinary challenge, Around the World in 80 Dishes, takes me to the country where the former Secretary-General was born and raised.  My latest challenge is to prepare a main course from the Republic of Ghana.  This country has a long, documented history going back to at least to the fifth century B.C.  This history is one of organized states, such as the Ashanti, the Akwamu, the Bonoman, the Denkyira and the Maskessim. Those independent states were eclipsed by colonialist powers, namely the British Empire. While I am a big fan of history, this aspect of Ghana's past is not the subject at hand.

Rather, I want to focus on the history of Ghanaian cuisine, which seems to be a rather elusive subject.  There are a lot of websites that talk about Ghanaian foods, but very little about the history of those foods.  As much as I want to learn about fufu, bofrot and red red, I want to know how those dishes and others originated and evolved over time.  And, that has proven to be quite difficult.

After spending a lot of time looking for that elusive history, I have decided to make two dishes: Chichinga and Jollof Rice with Goat.  These dishes touch upon two aspects of Ghanaian cuisine: street food and staple foods. 

APPETIZER

According to Lydia Polgreen, "few countries reward the sidewalk chowhound like Ghana.  The good street food is where then Ghanaians converge, such as bus stations, markets, interchanges, and construction sites. Vendors are present, selling a wide range of foods, including kebabs, such as Chichinga (or kyinkyinga). These kebabs are small pieces of meat covered in peanut flour and spices, grilled with vegetables over charcoal.  Chef Zoe Adjonyoh calls it Ghana's answer to the shish kebab.

For this dish, I decided to use goat for the meat. Goat production provides a ready source of protein and their adaptability means that they can be raised in different climates. Given the number of government websites providing instructions on how one could raise their own goats, it would seem that goat production is encouraged.  I don't have to travel far to get goat, because I have a lot in my freezer at home.  So, with some vegetables that are vaguely reminiscent of the red, yellow and green of the Ghanaian flag, I made these tasty skewers.

CHICHINGA (GOAT KEBABS)

Recipe adapted from The Guardian

Serves 4 -6

Ingredients:
3-4 tablespoons of the suya spice mix (see recipe below)
3 tablespoons rapeseed or groundnut oil, plus extra for brushing
2 pounds of goat, cubed
2-3 bell peppers, cored, deseeded, cut into chunks
1 red onion, cut into quarters and separated
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1.  Prepare the goat.  Mix the dry spice mix with the rapeseed oil in a bowl.  Add the goat to the bowl and massage the mixture thoroughly into the meat.  Thread the chunks of pepper, onion and beef onto skewers.  The longer the skewers can marinate, the better.  Lay the skewers in a dish, cover with plastic wrap and marinate for at least 1-2 hours, but preferably overnight.

2.  Prepare to cook the skewers.  Take the skewers out of the fridge and leave them to sit at room temperature for a few minutes while you prepare a charcoal or gas grill, brush the meat with ground nut oil, and season with the salt and pepper before adding to the grill.

3.  Cook the skewers.  Turn the grills after 3-4 minutes on each side depending on the size of the goat pieces.  Remove from heat and let rest for 2-3 minutes.  Serve immediately.

SPICE MIX

Suya refers to the style of cooking, but it is a spice mix that incorporates chiles, peanuts and a range of spices.  It is what makes chichinga.

This was the first time I used roasted, ground peanuts for a spice mix.  The thing to keep in mind is that the peanuts still have some oil in them, which results in clumping.  That just requires a little more work to smooth out the spice mix before applying it to the goat.  

SUYA

Recipe from The Guardian

Ingredients (for the suya spice mix):

1/2 cup of peanuts, ground and roasted
2 teaspoons ground hot or cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Mix all of the ingredients for the spice mix together in a bowl.  Transfer to an airtight container in a cool, dark place.  Store for up to one month.  If you've added fresh ingredients, store in the fridge and use within a week.

MAIN COURSE

For the main course, I made Jollof Rice with Goat Meat.  There is some debate about whether this dish is truly Ghanian, as Nigeria lays claim to the dish, as do several other African countries.  Nevertheless,  for my Around the World in 80 Dishes challenge, I am making Ghana's version of the dish.  The base of Jollof rice is, besides the rice, the use of tomatoes, tomato paste, scotch bonnet peppers, salt, spices and vegetable oil.  The tomatoes and the paste give the dish its signature red hues, while the scotch bonnet peppers provide the spicy kick.  The remaining spices round out the flavor of the dish.

This challenge produced not just a main course.  Eating one dish of Jollof Rice with Goat Meat felt like eating an entire meal.  That makes sense, since the word Jollof comes from the Wolof people.  The word means "one pot," a common term that we today associate with one-pot meals.  

JOLLOF  RICE WITH GOAT

Recipe from Biscuits and Ladles

Ingredients (for the marinade):

1/2 pound bone-in goat meat

2 cloves garlic

1 inch ginger

1 scotch bonnet

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 onion

1/4 teaspoon anise seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Salt, as required

Hot water

Ingredients (for the Jollof):
1 large onion
1 tablespoon turkey berries (optional)
1 scotch bonnet pepper
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons tomato paste or puree
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups of long or medium grain rice
Stock from cooking of goat meat
Salt, as required
1 teaspoon shrimp substitute for shrimp stock or chicken stock cube
Water, as required
Salt, as required

Directions:
1. Prepare the goat meat.  Wash and clean the goat meat and put in a sauce pan.  Blend the garlic, ginger, scotch bonnet, green bell pepper, onion, anise and cumin seeds together.  Pour over goat meat.  Add salt and curry powder and cook under high heat.  Add hot water as and when necessary to tenderize the meat.  Meanwhile, blend the onions, scotch bonnet and turkey berries (if you are using them) together and set aside.

2.  Brown the goat.  Pour oil in a heavy bottom saucepan with a tight lid and place on medium heat.  When hot, add the meat to fry, reserving the stock for later.  Remove the meat from the sauce pan and set aside.  Add additional oil if there is not enough oil in the saucepan.

3.  Continue making the stew.  Add tomato paste or puree and stir fry for about 2 minutes.  Add the blended onions, scotch bonnet and turkey berries.  Add chopped tomatoes and stir.  Add nutmeg and cover the lid.  Simmer on high heat for about 5 minutes until cooked through and not tasting raw.

4.  Prepare the rice.   Rinse the rice until the water is clear.  Add the rice to the stew, reserved goat meat stock from the cooked meat, ground shrimp or chicken stock, taste for salt and just enough water as needed.  Cover tightly and bring to a boil.  Once it starts boiling, remove lid, use a thin wooden ladle or a long for to stir from the bottom to top.

5.  Continue to cook the dish.  Cover tightly and let simmer on low heat for 10-12 minutes.  after the time has elapsed, remove lid, stir again  Stir in fried goat meat at this point.  Cover tightly and let simmer for 10 more minutes until it is well cooked.  Serve alone or with fried ripe plantains and coleslaw as desired.

*          *          *

In the end, this challenge was my second attempt at cooking goat (technically my second and third attempt, but who is counting anyways).  Both the Chichinga and the Jollof Rice were very good.  The only issue that I had was that goat in both of the dishes was not tender enough (especially in the Jollof Rice dish).  I will need to work on my goat cooking techniques.  Until next time...

ENJOY!

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Guyana

My next personal culinary challenge takes me to South America, but, for an experience unlike any of my prior challenges on the continent.  To date, my challenges have involved making a main course from Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay. All of these challenges involved dishes that, for some reason, I associate with South America, whether it is the Ceviche de Corvina (Black Sea Bass Ceviche) from Ecuador, or the indigenous Guarani dish of So'o-Yosopy (Beef Soup) from Paraguay or, one of my all-time favorites, the Chivitos al Pan of Uruguay.  This challenge is different from my prior ones, because it involves preparing a main course from the country of Guyana.  And, Guyana is far different than most of South America, walking to its own ... calypso beat.

That different beat plays primarily because of history.  The present day Co-operative Republic of Guyana was previously known as British Guiana.  The years of colonization left its mark on the country and its people.  The largest segment of the Guyanese population are the Indo-Guyanese (also known as East Indians).  These individuals descend from the indentured servants brought by the British Empire from the Indian subcontinent to work the plantations of Guyana. The Indo-Guyanese make up forty-three percent (43%) of the population, which is substantially more than the next largest group, the Afro-Guyanese, who make up thirty percent (30%) of the population.  Like the Indo-Guyanese, the Afro-Guyanese trace their lineage to African slaves who were brought to the country.  Guyanese of mixed heritage are approximately sixteen (16%) of the population, while the natives (first nations) are slightly more than nine percent (9%) of the population .

The large segments of Indian and Africa descendants, as well as the history of Guyana as a colony of the British Empire, has had its effect on the cuisine of the country.  Guyanese curries are very popular, as are rotis, dal and rice.  These dishes and meals speak to the Indian influence on the cuisine (an influence that is similarly shared amongst former British colonies in the Caribbean). This influence served as the inspiration for my personal culinary challenge.  The main dish would be one that reflected the cuisine of a plurality of modern-day Guyanese.

MAIN COURSE

The Indian influence means that the main course will be a curry.  However, it is not just any curry.  As it turns out, my beautiful Angel bought me nearly fifteen (15) pounds of goat meat.  As I perused goat recipes on the Internet, I found a few recipes for a goat curry from Guyana.  The recipes followed a similar path as curry recipes from India.  There were the spices -- toasted whole spices such as coriander, cloves, and black peppercorns -- that were ground together with turmeric.  The ground spices were then incorporated into a paste of onions and garlic, and then sauteed before the protein is added. The curry then cooks for a couple of hours, until that meat is fork tender and ready to be spooned into a bowl with rice.   While there are an abundance of curry dishes in Guyana, using the entire range of proteins, it was the goat curry recipes that both captured my attention and were the most useful.  After all, I had 15 pounds of goat meat.

The main course, Goat Curry, not only reflects the food of a significant portion of the Guyanese people, but also underscores some important notes about the role of agriculture in the Guyanese economy.  The agricultural sector accounts for 50% of the foreign exchange earnings and about 40% of the workforce.   While sugar represents the largest crop, rice accounts for 18% of the agricultural sector and livestock accounts for 16% of that sector, both of which are significant amounts. (All of these stats are courtesy of the South American Commission for the Fight against Foot and Mouth Disease.) With respect to the livestock, there are approximately 82,000 goats in Guyana. While 82,000 goats would place Guyana somewhere around the 126th country when it comes to goat production, those 82,000 goats, taken together, are significant to Guyana.

In the end, this is a dish that draws from various aspects of Guyana, its people and its economy.  It also reflects the common bonds that the Guyanese share with the Caribbean, especially the English-speaking islands, such as Trinidad and Tobago.  For these reasons, the challenge is to make a main course of Guyanese Goat Curry.

GUYANESE GOAT CURRY

Recipe from The Nasty Bits

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds goat meat for stewing

1 lemon

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

2 teaspoons fenugreek

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 onion 

A few cloves of garlic

A few tablespoons of oil

Directions:

1. Prepare the goat meat.  Rinse the goat meat under cold running water and place in a pot or large bowl. Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the pot, toss in the lemon rind and fill the vessel with water so that all of the goat meat is covered.  Let sit for 30 minutes.  

2. Prepare the spices.  Place all of the spices except the ground turmeric into a heavy skillet.  Over medium heat, toast the spices, moving the seeds around so that the surface comes into contact evenly with the heat.  The spices will be done when the mustard seeds begin to pop and the cumin seeds are a shade darker, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Immediately remove the pan from the turmeric powder to the pan.  Stir around.  Place all of the spices into a spice grinder and process until finely ground. 

3.  Prepare the spice paste.  In a food processor or blender, puree the onions and garlic with just enough water to create a thick paste.  A few tablespoons of water should suffice.  Transfer the paste to a small bowl and add the toasted and ground spices.  Mix thoroughly to make a thick paste. 

4.  Cook the goat meat.  In a medium sized pot, add a few tablespoons of oil as well as the spice paste.  Toast the paste in the oil for 30 seconds to a minute, taking care not to burn the mixture.  Then add the goat meat and stir around, cooking the meat for a minute or so in the fragrant oil.

5.  Continue cooking the goat meat.  Add enough water to cover the meat.  Bring the water to boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 2 1/2 or so hours, until the meat is tender.  Toward the end, de-fat the broth by skimming the surface with a broad spoon.  Alternatively, if you are making the recipe in advance, refrigerate the curry and allow the fat to solidify at the top.  Serve with plenty of rice to sop up the goat broth. 

*          *          *

This challenge represents my fifth challenge that involves a curry or similar dish (to date, I have made Bhutanese Pig Trotter Curry, Mauritian Duck Curry, Indian Rogan Josh, and Pakistani Karashi Gosht).  This may speak to the ubiquitous nature of curry dishes. It has also helped me to gain experience in making a type of dish that I really like.  (I eat a lot of curries, when I can.)  Overall, the Guyanese Goat Curry was very good, although the curry "sauce" was a little too thin for me.  Still, the flavors were there and the dish was a very good first effort at cooking with goat.  Given that I still have about twelve (12) pounds of goat to cook.  So, this won't be my last effort or, for that matter, my last personal challenge to cook a dish from a country using goat.  Until next time ...

ENJOY!