Recipe: Chocolate curry goat by Andi Oliver

Recipe for chocolate curry goat from Andi Oliver's debut cookbook The Pepperpot Diaries

This might well be the recipe I've been preoccupied with the longest in my life – and that really is saying something. Curry goat is an iconic Caribbean dish, of course, and everyone has their own take on it. After years of feeding the family and getting their verdict on it, this is the Oliver/Cherry family all-time favourite version! You can serve it with rice and peas, white rice, with or in a roti. At the Wadadli Kitchen we tumble it over crisp fries and it goes down a storm. And yes, it's got chocolate in it! I took the inspiration from a Mexican mole, and found that the rich dark bitterness of 70% and above chocolate was the perfect way to finish my curry goat. Don't be scared, gwaaaan, give it a go!

Serves 4–6

Prep time 20 minutes

Cook time 3–4 hours

Ingredients

• Neutral oil, such as rapeseed or sunflower oil, for frying
• 300g onion, blitzed in a food processor
• 70g garlic cloves, blitzed in a food processor
• 10g black cardamom pods
• 10g green cardamom pods
• 10g star anise
• 3 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tbsp whole cloves
• 20g ground cumin
• 20g ground coriander
• 2 Scotch bonnet chillies, finely chopped
• 100ml molasses, or use treacle or carob molasses
• 1kg chopped goat or mutton, preferably on the bone
• 2 sprigs of thyme
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 2 litres lamb or beef stock
• splash of red wine
• 2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
• 80g 70% dark (bittersweet) chocolate
• 1½tbs butter
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To garnish

• Handful of chopped coriander
• Handful of chopped spring onions
• Handful of flat-leaf parsley

Add a splash of oil to a large, heavy-based saucepan or casserole dish and set over a low–medium heat. Chuck in the blitzed onions and garlic and let them sweat for a few minutes until slightly softened. Add the whole spices and fry for 5 minutes. Pour a little more oil into the pan, then add the ground spices and fry for a further 5 minutes.

Add the Scotch bonnets, molasses, meat, thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and a little more oil again. Turn up the heat and cook for 15–20 minutes until the meat is brown and caramelized, stirring intermittently.

Add the stock, red wine, and tomatoes to the pan so that the liquid just covers the meat. Turn the heat back down to low and cook for 2–3 hours until the meat is tender, adding a little more stock if the liquid level starts to get too low. After the first 1.5 hours of cooking time, check the seasoning and add some salt and pepper to taste.

When the meat is tender, check the seasoning again and adjust if needed. Add the chocolate and let it melt into the curry. Simmer gently for a final 20 minutes, then add the butter and stir through before serving.

Serve garnished with a handful of chopped coriander (cilantro), spring onions (scallions), and flat-leaf parsley.

The Pepperpot Diaries: Stories From My Caribbean Table by Andi Oliver (DK, £27)