Jamaican curried goat is a dish eaten maybe twice a month on Sundays or for big celebrations and gatherings like parties, Christmas get-togethers or funerals. The meat that is cooked usually comes from a male goat and has a distinctly more gamey taste than a female goat. The meat is heavily seasoned and marinated overnight before cooking. Curries in Jamaica are usually cooked with a lot more heat/spice than other dishes and curried goat is no exception. Fresh garlic, thyme, scotch bonnet, scallions, onions and allspice berries marry so well with curry powder to flavor this dish. Curried dishes were likely imported with Indian indentured servants who came to settle in Jamaica after the abolition of slavery on the island. They brought their cooking methods and delicious curries which became part and parcel of Jamaican cuisine.
Curried goat can be served with traditional rice and peas, plain white rice or roti. I served it here with Guyanese oil roti or paratha. The recipe and video tutorial for the roti is a bonus with this post. It’s a simple recipe that requires just flour, butter, oil and shortening to come together. The best part is I don’t need a Tawa to make these rotis. They come out just as lovely in a well seasoned cast iron skillet. They are basted with butter while they cook and are flakey, buttery, stretchy, soft and chewy. They are all the things you look for in a perfect roti. You will definitely love this recipe. Try it and leave me some feedback below.
For Jamaican Curried Goat and Guyanese Roti recipe you will need:
Tools:
- Cast iron skillet
- Cutting board
- Large dutch pot
- Sharp Knife
- Large bowl
- Medium bowl (for roti)
- Cling film
- Metal spatula
- 2 disposable gloves
- Rolling pin
Ingredients
- 3lbs goat meat
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 5 scallions (chopped finely)
- 1 onion (finely diced)
- 10 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 tablespoon ginger (diced)
- 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper
- 1 tbsp all purpose seasoning (or salt)
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp of Jamaican curry + 1 tsp for burning
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 6 pimento berries
- 2 medium white potatoes (large dice)
- 1 tbsp Spur Tree Scotch Bonnet Sauce (optional)
- 1 bullion cube
- Roti Ingredients:
- 2 cups flour + reserve flour for dusting
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp shortening
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 plastic Tupperware dish
Instructions
Curry Goat Steps:
- Trim excess fat from goat meat and discard. Rinse meat with fresh cold water and drain.
- In a large bowl, add garlic, 3 scallions, ½ an onion, 5 sprigs of fresh thyme and ginger to goat meat. Add meat seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, all purpose, black pepper and 2 tbsps curry powder. Use disposable gloves to cover your hands and massage the seasonings into the meat. Cover the bowl with cling film and let it marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
- Before cooking, remove the meat from the fridge and let it sit for about 10-15 mins at room temperature before cooking.
- In a large dutch pot, add oil and allow it to get hot on medium-high heat. Add 1 tsp of curry to the pot and stir making sure it is completely mixed into the oil. Allow the curry to cook for about 30 seconds until it is slightly brown and fragrant.
- Add seasoned goat to the pot and cover allowing the meat to sweat and catch a light sear. After 2-3 minutes, uncover the pot and stir the meat with a spoon making sure that all sides of the meat have seared. The meat will begin to sweat its own juices. .
- Pay close attention to the meat as it cooks as once the water fully cooks off, you will need to add more. Add enough water to just about covering the meat and allow it to cook until the meat is tender. Depending on how tough the meat is, it will need to cook for at least 1-1.5 hours. Never completely cover the meat with water. It only needs enough water that it will keep cooking.
- Once the goat is tender add the remaining 2 scallions, ½ and onion, 5 sprigs of fresh thyme, whole scotch bonnet pepper (keep the pepper whole if you mind the heat), bullion cube, scotch bonnet sauce (if using), potatoes and pimento berries. If the curry needs more water, add a small amount after adding the seasonings. Check the pot for excess oil. If there is a layer of oil that sits above the gravy of the stew, use a large pot spoon to scoop it out of the stew and discard it.
- Cook the stew covered for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the veggies have broken down and the potatoes are tender. This stew should not need any additional salt but taste and add salt if needed.
Roti Steps:
-
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and 1 tsp shortening in a bowl. Use your finger s to rub the shortening into the flour.
- Make a well in the center of the flour and add water and slowly bring dough together with your fingers. Do not over knead the dough. As you are bringing the dough together, use your fingers to pierce deep holes into the dough. Once the dough comes together stop kneading and cover it with damp paper towels. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes. After resting, the dough should be stretchy and smooth.
- Take the dough from the bowl and on a clean and lightly floured cutting board, divide the dough into four equal pieces. Roll the dough into balls using the palm of your hands and set aside.
- Melt 2 tbsp of shortening into a ¼ cup of oil in the microwave. Mix the oil and butter well with a spoon and set aside.
- Take one ball of dough and roll it out as thinly as you can get on a floured cutting board with a rolling pin. Use a pastry brush to baste the roti circle completely with the oil mixture all the way to the edges. Reserve the remaining mixture.
- Use a sharp knife to make a slit halfway down the center of the roti. Take one edge of the roti and roll it counter clockwise into a cone. Pick up the cone and fold in each end of the cone until it forms a flattened ball (see video). Repeat these steps 3 times until all four rotis are basted and rolled. Cover roti balls with wet paper towels and rest for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 3 hours.
- After the second rest, place the cast iron skillet on low heat and allow it to slowly get hot.
- Roll out each dough ball on a floured surface as thinly as you can get it. Place your flattened roti dough into the hot skillet and baste the top with remaining oil mixture.
- Once bubbles begin to form on top of the roti, it's time to turn it. Use a metal spatula to help flip the roti. Once you flip the roti, baste the other side. Flip again after about a minute and allow the basted side to cook. Rotis will cook in roughly 2-3 minutes. Do not overcook the roti as it will get too dry.
- Place the cooked roti into a Tupperware bowl with a lid and seal the lid. Vigorously shake the roti in the bowl and it will break into flaky layers. Serve the roti hot with goat and enjoy!
1 comment
[…] I’ve eaten at many chic and expensive restaurants all over the world. Curry chicken and roti is still my absolute favorite thing to eat. I have been inexplicably attached to curry and Indian flavors and dishes since I was a small child. The few Indian women left in my village who cooked amazing curries, dhals and rotis were true gems. I remember one woman in particular. We called her Ms. Toony. She made rotis for every pre and post funeral celebrations and weddings in the village. She also cooked for large functions at church. She did everything by hand and she made some of the flattest, most perfect and delicious rotis I’ve ever had. She cooked them over an open fire on a hot tawa probably just as her mother and grandmother had done. She easily made at least 300 rotis per order she got and they somehow always arrived warm, stretchy, doughy, buttery and unbelievably delicious. Sadly since her passing, I’ve never had any roti quite like hers. The closest thing to her rotis that I’ve tried are Guyanese oil rotis, though they are much thicker and have a flaky texture. Check out my replicated Guyanese oil roti recipe here! […]