Goan Guisado de Galinha – Chicken Stew Recipe

Guisado in portuguese means “stew”. This recipe is credited to the portuguese influence on Goan heritage. It is more of a chicken curry than a stew. My mom makes it often at our home. Since my dad loved potatoes, she always added some. In my recipe there is a little added heat from fresh green chilli as my mom says that it adds a nice fresh flavor to the curry. If you feel it has too much heat then substitute the red and green chilli with paprika.

I may be wrong but based on my online search, in Portugal polvo(octopus) guisado is more popular than galhina(chicken). Also I found out that guisado is a very popular dish in south america with variations from each country.

Serving Size: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 lbs of chicken (thighs, drumsticks with or without bones)

1 small onion chopped

1 small tomato chopped

5-6 garlic clove chopped

1″ ginger chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1 green chilli halved (optional)

1/4 tsp black pepper powder

1 dime sized tamarind

1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds

2 potatoes cleaned and quartered

1 cup of water

salt to taste

Directions:

Clean, wash and apply salt, ginger and garlic to the chicken pieces and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.

Add the tamarind ball to the cup of water and let soak.

Heat oil in a pot add onions and saute till soft. Next add the green chilli, cumin, red chilli powder, turmeric and tomato and saute till the tomato softens.

Next add the chicken and saute for 4-5 minutes till well coated with the spices.

To this add tamarind water, cut potatoes and season with salt. Cover and cook on medium heat for 30-35 minutes. Check in between and stir.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or bread.