Blackened Goat

Servings

Prep

30 min

Cook

2 hr

Ingredients

3 pounds ‏goat leg, preferably baby/young goat, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons ‏mustard oil
2 teaspoons ‏salt
3 ‏medium cloves garlic, smashed, then coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons ‏ghee (clarified butter), or more as needed
4 or 5 ‏whole cloves
4 ‏whole green cardamom pods
1 pinch ‏fenugreek seed (10 to 12 seeds)
2 ‏large dried red chili peppers, broken into halves
2 teaspoons ‏ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ‏ground cumin
2 teaspoons ‏ground coriander
1 teaspoon ‏asafetida
1 teaspoon ‏chili powder or flakes
1/4 cup ‏cilantro leaves, for garnish (separate the leaves only, discard the stems)

Because this dish features goat meat that’s long-cooked with dark spices, blackened goat is commonly referred to as “kaalo maasu” — Nepali for “black meat.” The dish is also known as “pakku.”

In general, goat meat’s taste and cooking time vary depending on the age of the animal. For this recipe, ask the butcher to give you meat from the leg of a goat — preferably all from the same leg.

Make Ahead: The goat meat needs to marinate for at least 1 hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator. The cooked dish can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; reheat in a shallow pan, covered, for about 15 minutes.

Directions

Place the goat meat in a quart-size zip-top bag. Add the mustard oil, salt and half of the garlic; seal, pressing out as much air as possible. Massage to coat the meat evenly. Let sit for about an hour at room temperature or refrigerate up to overnight.

Heat the ghee in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.

Meanwhile, use a mortar and pestle to crush the cloves (to taste) and cardamom. Once the ghee has melted and is heated through, add the fenugreek seed, dried chili peppers, and the crushed cloves and cardamom; cook for 5 to 6 minutes, until the spices are fragrant and the fenugreek seed turns dark brown.

Stir in the marinated goat meat (with its oil, garlic and spices) until it’s evenly coated with the ingredients in the pot. Cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, so all pieces of meat get a chance to brown at the bottom of the pot. The meat will darken and appear to lose its moisture.

Stir in the turmeric, cumin, coriander, asafetida, the chili powder, if using, and the remaining garlic. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the spices have been evenly distributed. If the bottom of the pot looks dry, stir in an extra tablespoon of ghee, then cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the meat has darkened further and has become quite tender.

Transfer to a warmed serving bowl or platter. Garnish with cilantro; serve warm.