Frango à cafreal

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1whole chicken, spatchcocked
• or 1.2 kg chicken pieces
• juice of 2 limes
• 2 teaspoonssalt

Green marinade

• a large bunch of coriander, with stems
• 8green chillies
• 10garlic cloves
• 4cm ginger
• 2 teaspoonsground cumin
• 1 teaspoonground coriander seed
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper
• 1 teaspoonground cinnamon
• 6cloves
• 3 tablespoonsvinegar
• 3 tablespoonsoil
• 1 teaspoonsugar

To cook

• 3 tablespoonsoil or butter
• extra lime, for finishing

To serve

• bread or rice
• salad
• lime wedges
• piri piri sauce

Directions

1. Wash them well, since they hold grit. Spatchcock the whole chicken if using one. Cut down each side of the backbone. Remove the backbone and open it out flat. Press down hard to flatten it. Rub it with lime juice and salt. Cut deep slashes into the thick parts.
2. Cut into the breast, thighs and legs. Cut right down through to the bone. Put the coriander in a blender with the stems. Add the green chillies, garlic and ginger. Add all the ground spices and the cloves.
3. Add the vinegar, oil and sugar. Blend it into a thick green paste. Add a splash of water if it will not move. It should be thick and vividly green. Taste it and adjust the chilli and salt. It should be strongly flavoured and hot. Rub the paste over the whole chicken. Work it under the skin where you can.
4. Cover it over and refrigerate it. Give it at least four full hours. Wait until the coals are covered in grey ash. Spread them into an uneven bed. Leave one area cooler than the rest. Oil the grill bars before the chicken goes on. Grilling it takes patience and turning.
5. Lay the chicken skin side up first. Set it over the cooler part of the fire. Cook it slowly for about twenty minutes. Turn it every five minutes or so. Baste it with the leftover marinade. Give it a few minutes each side to char. Heat a heavy pan with oil or butter. Sear the chicken hard on both sides.
6. Cook it through for about twenty-five minutes. Add the marinade to the pan as a sauce. Take it off the heat and let it rest. Give it about five full minutes.
7. Squeeze fresh lime over the whole thing. Cut it into pieces for the table. Serve bread or rice alongside. Put piri piri sauce on the table. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• The word cafreal derives from the Portuguese cafre, from an Arabic term meaning unbeliever, which the Portuguese used for Black Africans and whose cognate became a severe racial slur in southern Africa, banned in law in South Africa; the dish name remains in ordinary use in Goa and Portuguese-speaking countries, and recording it is not an endorsement.
• The dish came out of Portuguese Mozambique and travelled along Portuguese colonial routes to Goa, where it picked up Goan spicing and became a standard of Goan Christian cooking.
• The marinade is green, built on fresh coriander and green chilli, which distinguishes it from piri piri chicken built on red chilli, and the two are often confused.

Substitutions

• A heavy pan works in place of a charcoal grill, with the marinade added as a sauce.
• The whole coriander bunch including stems should be used, since the stems carry more flavour than the leaves.

Variations

• Goan cafreal is the better known version and carries Goan spicing.
• Some cooks add a little cashew paste to thicken the marinade.
• Piri piri chicken is the related red chilli dish from the same routes.

History

Developed in Portuguese Mozambique and carried by soldiers and cooks to Goa, where cafreal became a standard of Goan Christian cooking.

Frequently asked questions

What is Frango à cafreal?

Frango à cafreal is a main from Mozambique: chicken marinated in green chili, garlic and coriander, then grilled hard. Developed in Portuguese Mozambique and carried by soldiers and cooks to Goa, where cafreal became a standard of Goan Christian cooking.

How long does Frango à cafreal take to make?

Frango à cafreal takes 30 minutes plus marinating of preparation and 35 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Frango à cafreal?

Yes, within limits. A heavy pan works in place of a charcoal grill, with the marinade added as a sauce. The whole coriander bunch including stems should be used, since the stems carry more flavour than the leaves.

What is the most important thing to get right in Frango à cafreal?

Wash them well, since they hold grit. Spatchcock the whole chicken if using one. Cut down each side of the backbone. Remove the backbone and open it out flat. Press down hard to flatten it. Rub it with lime juice and salt. Cut deep slashes into the thick parts.