So posh and delicious…
Sho-Cho-Tee chicken curry!

sho-cho-tee chicken curry

Indian food fans may have tried xacutti, a very popular Goan chicken curry. This is the Bangladeshi version of xacutti. Sho-cho-tee is in fact the Bangladeshi pronunciation of xacutti which is actually the name of a cooking style.

This is a mildly spiced chicken curry. The Goan version is quite a lot spicier though I do like to add a few more chillies than suggested in this recipe when I cook who-cho-tee for my family.

‘Sho-cho-tee is a unique
chicken curry from Bangladesh’

Here, I have boned and stuffed chicken thighs with minced lamb. I’m sure you will agree the flavours go magnificently well together.

Just in case you are new to Indian cooking, The main Goan ingredients are the coconut cream and curry leaves. The Bangladeshi input is the paanch phoron* which translates as five spice. I love the flavour the five spice blend offers.

INGREDIENTS
8 large boned and skinless chicken thighs
500g minced lamb
1 tablespoon tomato paste
Oil for deep frying
1 tablespoon of Paanch Phoron*
2 large onions – thinly sliced
4 tablespoons of pure ghee (clarified ghee)
2 tablespoon of date molasses**
2 green chillies – finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic
3 tomatoes quartered
4 tablespoons chopped coriander
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups (400ml) coconut milk
6-10 Fresh curry leaves
Vegetable oil (for deep frying)
Salt & Pepper to taste
A pinch of turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika

Method

Heat the oil in a large wok or frying a pan and fry the sliced onions until golden brown and crispy. Place on paper towels to soak up the excess oil.

Quarter the tomatoes, sprinkle salt and pepper and bake in a low oven until crisp – similar to store bought sun dried tomatoes but better. This will take about 40 minutes though the flavour will intensify if you bake for longer.

In a saucepan add four tablespoons of ghee and when hot add one tablespoon of paanch phoron*, 3 bay leaves and stir-fry for a further couple of minutes.

Toss in the crisp onion slices, the tomatoes, two finely chopped green chillies and two tablespoons of the date molasses.

Simmer for five minutes on low heat, stirring constantly until well mixed. Be careful not to burn the molasses as it catches easily to the bottom of the saucepan. Set aside.

Chicken Roulade Preperation

Preparing the chicken

Fry the minced lamb in a little oil until 90% cooked.

Add the tomato paste to the lamb and enough water to cover.

Cook slowly until all the water has evaporated.

Now pound the chicken thighs with a mallet to tenderise. Sprinkle both sides of the thighs with a pinch of turmeric and paprika powder.

Chicken boiling to cook and form roulades

On the inside of the butterflied thighs add a thin layer of the cooked minced lamb and roll the thighs tightly in plastic wrap. Roll very tightly to ensure the meat doesn’t open while boiling.

Boil in water for 10 minutes until cooked then leave aside to cool before unwrapping the cling film.

For the Sho-Coo-Tee sauce

In a sauce pan add a cup of coconut milk, four tablespoons of natural plain yogurt and 10 fresh curry leaves and bring to boil and then stir in the Sho-Coo-Tee paste (the fried onion and tomato paste) you made earlier.

You can serve the sauce as is or blend to a smooth sauce.

Slice the chicken thigh roulades diagonally and brown in oil or ghee for a further further five minutes.

Serve with the Sho-Coo-Tee sauce with rice or fresh naans.

All done!

*Paanch Phoron translated ‘5 spices’ is a whole spice blend of equal parts of spice including fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds, cumin seeds, black mustard seeds and fennel seeds. You can blend your own though the whole spice mix is readily available at Asian shops.
**Thick dark brown syrup extracted from refining dates – readily available in Asian grocery stores. This is to add sweetness. If you can’t find it where you live, use the same amount of normal molasses though the flavour will be different.