Curried Goat

Goats eat everything, but not everyone eats goats.  Unless, that is, if you love Indian curries and eat at Sitar India, a restaurant in University City, Philadelphia.  Serving the UPenn/Drexel cosmopolitan community, it hosts a fantastic and varied buffet which includes curried goat.  Then you might try it.  My wife did, thinking it was lamb and she loved it.  I'm not saying I've captured the depth of their curry flavors, but this is a fairly good, and delicious, reverse-engineered facsimile.  Give it a try if you can find goat in a store near you - this was imported frozen from Australia.

2 lb goat,  cut into 2-inch cubes

1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red chili (or jalapeño) pepper, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes, strained, liquid reserved
1-2 cups water

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp powdered fenugreek
1 tsp turmeric
1 stick cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375F.  First toast the spices but heating the cumin, fennel and coriander seeds over medium heat in a dry skillet, for just a few minutes.  Toast only until you can smell the fragrance evolve as the seeds toast.  But be careful not to burn the seeds.  Trip the seeds into a grinder (I dedicate a coffee grinder for grinding spices, so I never cross-contaminate my coffee!) grind the spices together.

Heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a large oven-going Dutch oven.  Brown the goat in 2-3 batches, keeping the pieces separated to brown well.  Set goat pieces aside in a bowl.

Add a bit more oil to the Dutch oven and add the onions.  Let them soften and begin to brown, for about 8-10 minutes.  Add the spices, chili pepper and garlic to the onions and cook to meld the flavors for another five minutes.  Turn the heat up and add the drained tomatoes, adding a bit more oil if necessary, to allow the tomatoes to caramelize a bit.

Return the goat to the pot and add the reserved tomato liquid and salt to taste.  Add enough water, only  just enough to nearly cover the goat.  Stir well and bring to a boil.  Cover and bake for an hour.  Stir the goat and add a bit more water if necessary.  Cover and bake another hour.

Serve with mashed potatoes and leek, if you like.  Serves 4.