Goat Curry - Sri Lankan Style

Thursday, October 4th, 2007

Filed Under Lamb or Goat, Mains, Sri Lankan

Last post I mentioned how much I love Thai food. But my love for Thai food is nowhere close to my obsession with Sri Lankan cuisine. The best Sri Lankan food we’ve ever had was at this small little restaurant called Lakruwana in New York City. On our very first trip to NY years ago, we were foolish enough to rent a car, and were driving around Time Square looking for parking when we came across this restaurant on 44th St. We got parking somewhere next to the place, all that driving around had us very hungry, so went in there for lunch, and it was truly love at first bite. The deviled chicken, oh the deviled chicken… and the hoppers and lamb curry… It became our favorite restaurant with that one meal. We went back to NYC many times after that, never rented a car ever again, always stayed right in TimeSquare, and never failed to visit Lakruwana …till one trip when we walked over to 44th st, and found the place completely deserted! Sadly, they had closed down the restaurant, and I can’t imagine why! If anyone in NY is reading this post, please tell me they started another branch somewhere!

Unfortunately there are no Sri Lankan restaurants in Seattle, at least that I know of! Now we drive about three hours to go to Vancouver BC, whenever we get a craving for Sri Lankan food. NooruMahal in Vancouver has awesome Sri Lankan food, but I have to say it doesn’t measure up to Lakruwana, especially the deviled chicken… But they have other dishes like the curries, string hoppers, kothu porotta etc which gets us to drive the distance, and Vancouver is truly a foody haven anyway, so the drive is always worth it.

The recipe of the day is a simple goat curry from my Sri Lankan cookbook - Recipes of the Jaffna Tamils by Nesa Eliezer. Actually the recipe in the book is for a dry mutton preparation called Iraichi Pirattal. I made mine as a gravy, and also took a lot of shortcuts to make this a quick fix curry. The original recipe called for the Sri Lankan curry powder, which is made by roasting and dry grinding red chilies, coriander seeds, turmeric root, black peppercorns and cumin seeds. I took the easy way out and used ready made powders for all the ingredients. Even with that, this curry tasted amazing! A must try for goat meat lovers (I’m sure lamb/chicken will work too.)

Ingredients

2 lb goat/lamb cut into bite sized pieces
For the marinade
- 1 tbsp ginger paste
- 1 tbsp garlic paste
- 1.5 tbsp red chilli powder
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tbsp black pepper powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- Salt
2 cups chopped onions
3-4 split green chilies
2 tsp fenugreek seeds
a few curry leaves
2 cups coconut milk
1 tsp garam masala powder
2 tbsp lime juice

Method

Marinate the meat with a paste made out of the ingredients listed above, and keep aside for 15-20 minutes.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker (or a deep pan), and add the fenugreek seeds , onions, green chilies and curry leaves. Cook till the onions starts to brown.

Add the marinated meat pieces to the cooker (pan) and stir well.

Add half a cup of hot water (2 cups if not using a pressure cooker) and mix well. Cover the cooker, and pressure cook for about 6 minutes after the first whistle. (or for about 20 minutes if using a regular pan, make sure it is closed with a tight lid).

Open the cooker(or the pan), and add the coconut milk. Mix well, and keep cooking till the meat is really tender, for about 10 more minutes.

Add the garam masala, and the lime juice and mix well, just before removing from the heat.

Serve with rice or chapattis.

Comments

36 Responses to “Goat Curry - Sri Lankan Style”

musy on October 4th, 2007 12:42 am

If this curry is any indicator, am sure that restaurant must have been fantastic! Sig, you click the most amazing pics! Never heard of Lakruwana…..but looking up in Google showed that a cpl. of Lakruwana restaurants are there in Staten Island Hope the Lakruwana owners are reading this post

Thanks Musie… So that is where they disappeared to… we are going there next time for sure!
indosungod on October 4th, 2007 3:13 am

Sig, that looks mouth watering I should know, yes of the dishes that my friend makes are pirattal style too. The Potato stew with coconut milk and the hoppers amazing. I have not found any Srilankan restaurant in the DC area though.

Your post gave me the inspiration to go hunt for my sri lankan cookbook Indo… DC to NY is not too far
padmaja on October 4th, 2007 4:05 am

Something very new to me Sig, My dad used to make a lovely goat curry completely different and I can really imagine how this must have?
Amazing!!

Oh you have to post your dad’s recipe padmaja…
Asha on October 4th, 2007 5:39 am

One of my muslim friends in B’lore used to bring Mutton curry for me. loved it.
Looks yum, but Lamb is the only thing I get here!

Lamb works in most goat curry recipes… but mutton definitely tastes better in Indian curries…
richa on October 4th, 2007 9:10 am

hey, the gravy looks so good
with 2 cups coco milk it sure must taste real YUM!! u drive 3hrs, now that makes me feel better, i used to drive a little over an hour w utmost embarassment

Hey, there is no need to be embarassed, that is what foodies do
bee on October 4th, 2007 9:18 am

dear sig, they have moved to staten island.

Lakruwana Restaurant

226 Bay St
Staten Island, NY 10301

(718) 420-0027

i found another addy for them too, on staten island. dunno which one is correct, or it they have two branches.

http://www.menuism.com/restaurants/c8L24CjPSr24upabBlKsEs-lakruwana-staten-island-ny

Thanks Bee… we are definitey going to staten island on our next NY trip…
Padma on October 4th, 2007 9:32 am

I have to try to catch hold of that restaurant, Sig! Srilankan Lamb curry looks lovely and so sinfully mouthwatering, I wanna have it, pls! do send some this way

Yep, look out for a sri lankan restaurant, you won’t be disappointed
Rina on October 4th, 2007 10:17 am

Lovely goat curry Sig. Which NV food lover won’t admire goat meat That too with this recipe, I’m sure it all gone in a jiffy.. Toronto is infested with Srilankans, and Srilankan restaurants, mostly take outs. this curry would be perfect with String hoppers. Your dish looks more like the Kerela Muslim yummy meat gravy. Luv it.

oh yeah, Toronto has a nice selection… I looked some up in our trip a few months ago, but didn’t get the time…
Kaykat on October 4th, 2007 12:53 pm

Mmm … I’m going to have to try this with tofu or maybe fish. The marinade sounds yummy.

Are you serious that there are no Sri Lankan restaurants here in Seattle?!

As far as i know there are no Sri lankan restaurants here… let me know if you find one…
remya on October 4th, 2007 3:43 pm

wow!!!! first time here,wat i do see here….lovely n yumm goat curry….love to taste this…

Thanks Remya… and welcome!
Pravs on October 4th, 2007 4:08 pm

Goat curry !!!!! From the ingredients i feel this curry must have tasted similar to kerala mutton curry, right ?

Hey Pravs, the ingredients are mostly the same, but somehow the curry tasted different from my regular mutton curry!
Mansi on October 4th, 2007 4:10 pm

Nice one Sig!

your move to WP looks good so I need to update you in my blogroll list with this new address:) btw, where’s your “Other than Food” section????

Thanks Mansi… the blog address is the same, so the blogroll should work the same… I have been neglecting my More than Food blog, so I have abandoned it for now… it was wishful thinking when I assumed I can maintain two blogs
Anh on October 4th, 2007 5:42 pm

Sig, this curry looks seriously good! I know it must be super tasty!

It was very yummy anh! One of my best mutton dishes, if I say so myself
Nags on October 4th, 2007 8:15 pm

wow! that’s quite interesting! you drive 3 hours just to get sri lankan food? then i shud definitely try it. any veg recipes?

There are a few veg recipes in there… but you eat non-veg i thought!
divya and chaya on October 4th, 2007 8:34 pm

hi sig,u have a lovely blog and interesting recipes!

Thanks Divya and Chaya!
Raaga on October 4th, 2007 10:16 pm

So, paneer will work well too I might try this with some fake chicken drumsticks that I have

fake chicken drumsticks … Yeah, I am sure paneer will work, the gravy is very tasty….
sra on October 4th, 2007 11:17 pm

I’ll drink to that, Sig! (Actually, I don’t drink. Just thought I’d use these icons to make you happy.)

Thanks Sra. you made my day
Cinnamon on October 4th, 2007 11:20 pm

That looks so yummyy… have to try it soon!!

Thanks Cinnamon!
Srivalli on October 5th, 2007 4:57 am

ehmm…that looks good…btw sig..your previous font was very nice…maybe you can think of changing to that??

Hey Srivalli, is it too small to read? I have been having font issues, having trouble fixing on a good one . Let me know if it is too hard to read…
Shantanu on October 5th, 2007 5:53 am

OMG, that looks delicious. And goat (or mutton as we prefer to call it in India) is my favorite meat! Why don’t we see more Lankan restaurants around. The only one I have noticed was in London, and time didn’t permit me to try that.

Yep, London has all the ethnic cuisine readily available. Hey, but for you Sri Lanka is not too far, make a trip to the source, and enjoy some great food… I am planning to do this in my next visit. My parents visited SriLanka last year, and they loved it.
Rachna on October 5th, 2007 6:24 am

I like Raaga’s idea of trying this with paneer… we had a sri-lankan restaurant here in bots too and it closed down too…and i miss the string hoppers and kurma… sigh

that is so sad all the sri lankan places are closing down! We should start a campiagn and popularize the cuisine!
Mishmash! on October 5th, 2007 6:54 am

Oru parcel ayakko? I have never tasted Srilankan cuisine.

Shn

You will love it Shn…. check for a sri lankan place in the neighboring states too… there will be one somewhere, we cross the international border for it
Happy Cook on October 5th, 2007 9:22 am

Sig it looks delicious.
It must have tasted great with chapati.
Sadly i don’t get goat meat here so will have to try with chicken as you mentioned

You must be overjoyed to get the answer from bee about the srilankan place

Happy Cook, I think lamb will work too…
sandeepa on October 5th, 2007 10:06 am

I have never tried Sri Lankan food, your description as well as the curry itself looks superb. Let me go and check the yellow pages right now

Oh you must Sandeepa! I guarantee a great experience
Lata on October 5th, 2007 2:00 pm

We live in PA, but still drive to Staten Island for Sri Lankan food. There are three other restaurants in the area. The dishes are cheaper than the toll we pay for the Staten Island Expressway.

Its good to find people as crazy as we are… .. Next NY trip, we are definitely going to Staten Island.. Thanks Lata!
musy on October 5th, 2007 5:33 pm

And i am wondering, how did i miss the roasted peanuts in the picture from last post
thats my favorite garnish for noodles

Oh yeah, mine too… when I get takeout noodles, sometimes I come home and add some peanuts to it
Bharathy on October 6th, 2007 2:10 am

Wish I could help you find the relocated restaurant!..always having a tighter schedule as tourists we had relied fast foods like Mc donalds,which repeated in NY as well…

Curry looks delicious,..the recipe seems almost the same as the kerala attirachi curry..with coconut milk and the masalas!..Srilankans cook almost like we do,I heard..:)

Hey Bharathy, yep, sri lankan and kerala and tamil cuisines are very similar, but there are a few differences too… even with the same ingredients, the sri lankan food tastes soo different sometimes!
Susan from Food Blogga on October 6th, 2007 1:45 pm

I don’t believe I’ve ever had Sri Lankan food, Sig. But based upon your post and recipe, I know I’d like the flavors. Thanks for broadening my culinary horizons!

Susan, You must give it a try if you ever see one in the neighborhood… Contrary to popular belief, it is not the same as Indian food, they have their own distinctive flavors and dishes!
Jyothsna on October 7th, 2007 5:06 am

I had excellent SriLankan food in Maldives 3 years ago. Now you have me craving for some again

wow, youve been to Maldives, I’ve always wanted to go there
Neville on October 7th, 2007 8:28 pm

Hi
I am a recent convert to your site and love it. Would adding fennel seeds (saunf) make a difference as here in Toronto every Sri Lankan take out has fennel in it.
Neville

Hi Neville, welcome to my site… You know, the final step in this recipe called for a roasted spice powder, that included fennel seeds. I skipped that step, since I had made a gravy, and the powder was supposed to go to the dried up meat at the last step… I checked other recipes in the book, and some of those call for whole fennel seeds and some call for fennel powder.
Hiran on October 16th, 2007 4:57 am

Hi, I am from srilanka.Its nice to see people from all over enjoying SL food.for Vegetarians I recommend POLLOS CURRY (a Type of Breadfruit)when cooked well taste just like a spicy chicken curry.

Welcome to my blog Hiran… Sri Lankan is my absolute favorite cuisine… Never heard of pollos curry, but it must taste yummy with breadfruit, please send me the recipe if you can, I’d love to try it!
Aruna on October 18th, 2007 11:08 am

Sig, I have not been blog hopping & have missed some seriously delicious posts of yours!!! Oh my, what can I cay, I just want to find a Srilankan restaurant right now

The curry looks lipsmacking to me, tho I dont find goat or meat here I will try it with chicken… Thx Sig!!!

Definitely look out for a SriLankan restaurant Aruna…. you will love it
Shella on October 20th, 2007 12:40 am

The goat curry looks killing. I have never tasted Sri Lankan cuisine. Must try it.
Sandy So on February 20th, 2008 6:00 pm

Hi Sig,

I am new to your site ! I came across it while looking for coconut wings. I am currently working with folks from Kerala and I am so interested to learn about the foods from this part of India. Your pictures and presentation of your recipes are so attractive. I finally decided to try one of your recipes and so I picked this curry but I used chicken instead. I am just learning to cook Indian and in this case SriLankan and so I was so exited with the new ingredients. I liked the result but I believe the amount of red chili pepper is a bit too much for me (I had already cut back to only two green chili peppers). It hit the back of my throat but otherwise I could still taste the other spices. I am going to reduce this amount and the amount of water since I figured it is the onions that make the sauce thick along with the coconut milk. Also I did not get any fenugreek seeds. Are these fennel seeds ? I only put about 5 curry leaves. Should I put more ? Like about 10 ?

Thanks for your writings and continue to have fun,
Sandy

Hi Sandy, so sorry to hear that it was too spicy for you… I do make things extra spicy, so you can cut way back on the peppers… Fenugreek seeds are not fennel seeds, it is also known as methi seeds if you have access to an Indian store. It has a bitter flavor, and can be omitted if you can’t find it… Check out a picture here . And about curry leaves, the more the merrier, I’d rather put 10 leaves than 5… Hope next time you get the spice level right…
deb on February 22nd, 2008 9:51 am

Hi Sig,

I just came to your site. I really enjoy reading your posts and recipes, as well as looking at the mouthwatering photos. It is a shame about Lakruwana closing down. If you don’t want to make the trek to Staten Island, there is a Sri Lankan restaurant, Sigiri, in Manhattan. It’s in the East Village on 1st Ave. (http://www.sigirinyc.com/index.htm). I have been there a few times. It can’t compare to what I’ve eaten in Colombo but it’s pretty good.

Thanks Deb for the recommendation… Will surely check it out next time we are in NYC…
George on May 10th, 2008 5:43 am

Sig,

I came across your blog while searching for goat curry recipes and must I say what the outcome was! It was one of the most delicious curries I had ever cooked! The amount of chilli powder mentioned above made my curry too hot, but I added some extra coconut milk and half can diced tomatoes which gave it an amazing flavor.

Thanks again!

Hi George, glad to know you liked it… Yes, we eat a lot spicy, so most of the recipes here need to be toned down a bit to suite your palate… Guess I should’ve added a note… Thanks for the feedback, it will really help others going to try this recipe out… Hope to see you here again…