Jump to Recipe or you could Print Recipe Goat or mbuzi is very popular in Kenya. It’s the meat of choice when it comes to barbecues and family get togethers. It has a unique gamey flavour that pairs off very well with the curry flavours that I’ve incorporated into the dish.
Majority of the goats in Kenya are free range and organic. They are also very lean due to the fact that they roam for many kilometers per day as they graze. This enhances their flavour to another level altogether.
Mbuzi meat is best when slow cooked. You have to let the flavours develop and mature while the meat cooks down until it falls off the bone! This can take anywhere from 1.5 hours or more depending on the size of the meat.
This is such an easy peasy recipe. The only work involved here is chopping up the vegetables and blending them. Like really, that’s the only hard labour here. I then leave the mbuzi to marinate overnight in the refrigerator, although if you are pressed for time then a minimum of two hours will work just fine.
So how do you end up with a fantastic mbuzi curry?
- Use a wide cooking utensil, like a wok. If you don’t have one then a wide sufuria will work. The first step when cooking this mbuzi curry is to brown the meat. This step adds tons and tons of flavour. However, remember this, the liquid from the marinade will slow down the browning process because it will end up combining with the liquid that the mbuzi will release as it heats up, hence, the need for the wide wok.
- Use spices that please you and feel free to alter the quantities of what I’ve provided as a guideline. I cannot emphasize this enough, tweak their quantities to suit you. Cooking is an art so you are allowed lots of leeway as opposed to baking (which is a precise science).
- Marinate your mbuzi for a minimum of two hours if you are really pressed for time, but if you are like me, overnight is best in the refrigerator. This infuses the maximum amount of flavour.
- In this recipe I have deliberately omitted the addition of any type of chilli because I had, as part of the guests, young children who wouldn’t have appreciated the spice.
- Use mbuzi meat on bone. Bones impart a much richer flavour to the curry.
Here is the video recipe or you could opt to go straight below it and read all about it;
Ingredients
- 4 Medium sized tomatoes
- 3 Medium sized red onions
- Ginger the size of half a thumb
- 4 Cloves of garlic
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder
- 1/4 tsp clove powder
- Pinch of dry basil leaves
- Pinch of dry thyme leaves
- 3 tsp Celery salt
- 4 tsp Curry powder
- 1 1/2 Large bay leaves
- 4 Tbs Vegetable oil
- 1 Kg Mbuzi meat
- 1 tsp Ukwaju / tamarind paste
- 1 tsp Sukari nguru / Jaggery – Substitute with honey, brown sugar, white sugar or a sweetener of your choice
- 1/2 Cup heavy coconut cream
- Handful of dhania / coriander leaves
Directions
- Add the first eleven ingredients all at once in a blender or food processor along with a bit of water and blend.
- Be careful not to add too much water because the marinade will be too runny, We want it to be at the consistency of thick pureed salsa. It also helps if the tomatoes are really ripened because this reduces on the tartness of the curry. This is also the best time to taste for seasoning and balance of flavours. Adjust any that doesn’t make you happy.
- Divide the marinade into two and add half of it to the mbuzi meat.
- Mix and make sure that all the meat is covered but not drowning in the marinade. Stick the bay leaves in there as well so that their flavour can permeate in to the meat. Reserve the rest in the fridge.
- Cover marinated meat with plastic paper or cling wrap and leave in the refrigerator over night. If in a hurry give it two hours.
- Heat oil in a wok or wide sufuria until it starts smoking. Add half of your marinated mbuzi or just enough so that it lays in one layer. Each piece should be touching the cooking surface.
- Cook for about 6-7 seven minutes or until all the water dries up and the meat browns completely. Be careful not to burn it.
- Brown the second batch the same way as the first one. Do not remove it from the wok, return the first batch back to the wok along with all the juices from the meat.
- Next pour in the remaining half of the marinade, along with any left over marinade that remained in the container that was used when marinating the mbuzi over night, in to the wok.
- Rinse the container that had the marinade and add it to the mbuzi. This is where you want your water level to be at.
- Cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the mbuzi is fork tender and falling off the bone. Make sure to keep checking and stirring it occasionally to ensure that it doesn’t burn. Burnt curry is a no-no!!!
- Add sukari nguru / jaggery at this point. This is important because you will be able to gauge how tangy / tart the curry is once it has cooked to this point. I added one teaspoon, you could increase the quantity if your tomatoes were too tart. Just don’t go over board with it because you don’t want sweet / sugary curry!
- Add coconut cream to bring out more of the curry sweetness and also impart more richness.
- Leave the coconut cream to simmer for about ten minutes or until you see the oil start to separate from the cream.
- Add a teaspoon of homemade ukwaju or tamarind paste. Store bought works just as well, I just love having all these D.I.Y stuff in my kitchen pantry or fridge. PLEASE NOTE: Never add ukwaju before the coconut is completely cooked because it will cause the cream to curdle.
- Allow everything to simmer and all the flavours to blend and marry together. Finally as the last step add the dhania leaves, stir and serve with a starch of your choice.
- The end results!! Don’t they just scream BITE ME!!!
Mbuzi | Goat Curry
Goat / Mbuzi curry on bone is best when slow cooked in strong spices. You have to let the flavours develop and mature while the meat cooks down until it falls off the bone! This can take anywhere from 2.5 hours or more depending on the size of the meat. The sauce will be full of flavour.
Ingredients
- 4 Medium sized tomatoes - The riper the better
- 3 Medium sized red onions
- Ginger - size of half a thumb
- 4 Cloves of garlic - Coarsely crushed
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder - Bruised to infuse flavour in the curry
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder
- 1/4 tsp Clove powder
- Pinch of dry basil leaves
- Pinch of dry thyme leaves
- 3 tsp Celery salt - You can use any salt you have (Adjust to your taste)
- 4 tsp Curry powder
- 1 1/2 Bay leaves
- 4 Tbs Sunflower oil - use any that you prefer as long it's not strongly flavoured
- 1 kg Mbuzi meat - Preferably on bone
- 1 tsp Ukwaju / tamarind paste - Lemon juice will do quite well here
- 1 tsp Sukari nguru / Jaggery - You can use any sweetener of your choice
- 1/2 Cup heavy coconut cream
- Handful of dhania / coriander leaves
Instructions
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Add the first eleven ingredients all at once in a blender or food processor along with a bit of water and blend.
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Divide the marinade into two, add half of it to the mbuzi meat, mix well and cover
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Marinate for a minimum of two hour or up to overnight in the refrigerator.
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Pour oil into a wok and heat until it begins to smoke.
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Brown mbuzi in batches.
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Return all the browned mbuzi meat to the wok and pour in all the reserved marinade.
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Add enough water to cover the top of the mbuzi, reduce the heat and cover.
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Simmer for 2.5 hours or until mbuzi is falling off the bone.
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Add sukari nguru / jaggery and coconut cream. Stir, mix well and simmer for 10 minutes.
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Add ukwaju / tamarind paste, simmer for five minutes.
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Add dhania leaves and turn off heat.
SERVING
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I would recommend that you serve this mbuzi curry with a mildly flavoured starch like white boiled basmati rice, coconut rice or just plain chapatis. Vegetables of your choice are also advisable.
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