Goan food, with its Portuguese influences, is among the most distinctive and delicious of India’s diverse cuisines. Think richly spiced curries like vegetable vindaloo, cashew curry and vegan feijoada. Now here’s one more recipe to make your tastebuds dance: chestnut xacuti with a smooth, creamy texture and spicy, bold flavor! I was inspired to make this curry after eating a chestnut xacuti at a Goan restaurant in Lisbon on a recent trip there. I was smitten. The texture of the chestnuts – firm but creamy – works perfectly in the spicy curry, and their smooth sweetness is a delicious counterfoil to the bold spices. Mushrooms add umami and nutrition. If you like trying out Indian food that’s out of the ordinary, this recipe is for you!
What is xacuti?
Xacuti (pronounced shakuti) is a spicy, coconut-based curry from the state of Goa, which sits along India’s western coast. The sauce is an appetizing reddish-brown, thanks to the use of local red chilies. The name and flavors of this curry derive from Goa’s colonial past: it was a Portuguese colony for more than 400 years and the colonizers’ influences are rooted deep in local culture, especially in the state’s large population of Christians. Xacuti is typically made with meat or seafood, but making it vegan takes nothing away from its deliciousness. Because the secret sauce here, literally, is the xacuti sauce with its heady combination of caramelized onions, garam masala and coconut milk. I’ve shared with you a more traditional vegetable xacuti recipe in the past, but I’ve deliberately kept this chestnut xacuti recipe simple so you can easily make it in your kitchen now, if you want to. A traditional xacuti uses grated coconut, but I use coconut milk here because it’s easier to source. And instead of blending up a dozen spices, I use garam masala, which works very nicely. This easy xacuti has all of the flavor and it is ready in no more than 45 minutes. I hope you will try it!
How to make chestnut xacuti
More spicy Indian curries
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