Trini Style Curry Duck

Ingredients:

Method:

Preparing and seasoning the duck:

Wash and clean the duck meat according to your liking.
Season the duck with the garlic, onion, bhandania, pimentoes, curry, ground geera, salt, and scotch bonnet pepper. Don't forget to save the 1 tablespoon each of the garlic, onion and bhandania.

OK time to chounkay the duck!!

Firstly place the curry, anchar masala, remaining garlic, onion and bhandania in a bowl and set aside. I cooked my duck on a chulha using firewood, but for this recipe, let's use the stove.
Place the pot on the stove, add the oil and allow to heat up. When hot, add the methee seeds; allow to darken to a rich brown colour. Do not let it get black! If this happens you need to discard the oil and start over since this results in a very bitter, unpleasant taste. I had to learn this the hard way! Once the seeds have darkened, add the whole geera. These should start popping and smell fragrant. When they look golden brown, add the mixture of curry to the oil, together with the 1/4 cup water and stir constantly; add a little more water if you prefer. Keep stirring until the mixture looks grainy. Add the seasoned duck and keep turning until it is coated.
Add the coconut milk powder and continue mixing.
Cover the pot and allow water to render. If you do not like coconut milk in your duck, then you need to try it this way, and I promise you that you will love it. People who tasted my duck have described it as "tasting sweet and nice!" Well, this is the reason why 😄.

Boojay-ing the duck

Keep turning the duck at 10-minute intervals. When the water has dried up, put the flame on low. Continue turning the duck every 5-10 minutes - this is the start of the boojaying step. You want it to start sticking; whenever it starts sticking, you have to turn it while scraping up all the good stuff that gets stuck onto the pot. Keep doing this for about 30 mins or when it starts to stick to the bottom of the pot in such a way that you are hearing a sizzling or frying sound and need to apply more strength to scrape the bottom of the pot. At this point, it is ready for more water to be added. Also take note of the smell - this is usually what I use to know when the boojaying process has completed. This is where the most unique and intense flavour of the duck develops. You cannot skip this step. If you do then your duck will not have that extra oomph! This step is what will distinguish your duck from most other’s.

Add enough water to cover all the meat. Put the heat on medium and let this simmer until the sauce has thickened and has become about half of what it was or even less, depending on how you like your sauce. My husband likes plenty sauce, my mom likes a very little and I am somewhere in between. Remember to taste for salt and adjust as you like; my guess is that you may need to add some more 😏.

For the Duck

6 tablespoons duck and goat curry. If you do not have this then use same amount of curry masala mixed with 1 tsp anchar masala.
1 medium onion, chopped (save 1 tablespoon).
3 tablespoons minced garlic, I use 1 head of garlic (save 1 tablespoon).
2 cups coarsely chopped bhandania/shadow beni/culantro. If you are finely chopping it in a mini chopper, then use 1 cup. (save 1 tablespoon).
4 medium-sized pimentoes, chopped.
2 tablespoons salt.
1 tablespoon roasted ground geera/cumin.
1 Scotch bonnet pepper. If you like it HOT like I do, then use 3 peppers.
6 tablespoons coconut milk powder, Maggi brand by Nestle or any other brand will work.
Water.

For the chounkay-ing:

4 tbsp olive oil. You can use whichever oil you prefer.
1 tablespoon each of garlic, onion and bhandhania (saved from the above ingredients list).
4 tablespoons curry powder, I use the Chief brand.
1 teaspoon anchar masala, I use the Chief Brand.
1 teaspoon whole geera/cumin.
20 methee/methi/fenugreek seeds.
1/4 cup water.