Goan Chicken (Galinha) Cafreal

Chicken (galinha) cafreal is a Goan recipe with Portuguese origins that features bone-in chicken legs in a delicious spicy coriander marinade.

This recipe benefits from a long marinade but it cooks in a little over 30 minutes and it is very “hands-off” cooking.

Indo-Portuguese Galinha Cafreal

Portuguese influences play a significant part in some Southern Indian dishes with recipes like pork vindaloo, my Goan mackerel curry, sorpotel and xacuti all having origins on the Atalntic coast.

This chicken (galinha) cafreal recipe shares the same Indo-Potuguese influences.

My version features bone in chicken legs marinated in a pretty traditional coriander and chilli marinade. A marinade that also rocks loads of garlic, ginger, black pepper, mace, cinnamon and cloves.

It produces a vibrant zingy flavour which is helped by the addition of malt vinegar, one that is backed up with a bit of chilli heat.

The chicken is then browned in a pan before being cooked in the marinade, forming a lovely sauce.

Despite the long marinade time, this is an easy recipe to make and it cooks in right around 30 minutes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use boneless chicken breast?

This recipe is traditionally cooked with bone-in chicken, but there is no reason that you could not make it with chicken breast.

However, chicken breast can become very dry when over-cooked. As a result you will need to be careful when cook it this way.

Can I remove the skin?

Yes, this dish is often cooked with skinless chicken, so if you ware watching the calories feel free to remove it.

How spicy is this recipe?

I consider this dish to be moderately spicy. I will caveat that by saying that we all have different tolerance levels to chilli.

You can shift the heat by simply adjusting the number of chillies up or down.

How long should I marinate this for?

The longer the better as far as I am concerned, I regularly marinate the chicken for 24-36 hours when I make this.

Can I make this in advance?

Yes, this recipe reheats wonderfully and can be cooked to completion and popped in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Reheat it gently on the hob with a lid on until the chicken is pining hot. Yue may need an extra splash of water!

Serving Suggestions

Chicken cafreal isn’t really a curry in the sense that it has a masala-style sauce, although I do like to serve the chicken with the cooked marinade.

As a result, I like to serve this as a bit of a “meat and two veg” dinner, although a very different one that I was raised on.

In the pictures on this page, I have served it with my aloo jeera recipe and some green bean thoran.

Potatoes work so well with the zingy and spicy sauce, and it would work equally well with both my roasted Bombay potatoes and aloo methi (fenugreek potatoes) recipes.

When it comes to greens, sticking with the Indian vibe, this works wonderfully with a cabbage poriyal. But you could get nice and lazy and rustle up some roasted tenderstem broccoli, there is more than enough flavour in the sauce to make this work!

It also makes a stunning hot sandwich if you strip the chicken from the bone!

Equipment Used

I only mention specific brands of equipment if I think that they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Hob/Stovetop.
• 25cm or 10″ frying pan (with a lid).
• Kitchen tongs.
• Chopping board.
• Kitchen knife.
• Blender.
• Mixing bowl.
• Cling film.
• A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
• Quick-read meat thermometer (optional).

Chicken Cafreal Step-by-Step Photos

1. Blend the coriander, chilli, garlic, ginger and the roughly chopped shallot, adding a little water if needed.
   
2. Cut some deep slits into the chicken flesh add to a bowl and cover with the marinade, ensure you rub the marinade into the chicken and marinade overnight, or a minimum of two hours.
   
3. Once marinated, remove the chicken from the marinade, scrap off excess marinade, and reserve for later. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat add ghee then add the chicken skin side down.
   
4. Brown the chicken all over as best you can this should take 5-7 minutes in total.
   
5. Scrape in the left-over marinade, add the water, stir to mix and coat the chicken with the sauce.
   
6. Add a lid and cook for 20-25 minutes. The internal temperature of the chicken should be at least 73°C or 165°F. Serve with some veggies and spuds and a sprinkle of coriander.