Cape Malay — savory, rich, and spicy curry from South Africa with rice, roti, and pickled tomato-onion relish.
The list of ingredients is long but, an Ottolenghi-prepared mise-en-place-enthusiast, I breezed through it with pleasure. This is my favorite way to cook acquired years ago reading books by Fu Pei Mei, a distinguished Chinese culinary artist: lists and steps.
Besides curry, a pleasant discovery was the relish, or sambal. There was so nothing special in the list of ingredients that I almost skipped making it —the abundance of garden tomatoes became the decisive factor. Glad It happened — the relish turned out quite special, which I credit to the combination of white vinegar, sugar, and salt.
CURRY
Step 1 — dry toasting whole spices until fragrant:
— 2 cinnamon sticks
— 6 green cardamom pods
— 6 allspice berries
— 6 cloves
Step 2 — sautéing aromatics until caramelized and thick:
— 1/2 cup neutral oil
— 3 onions, chopped
— 5 garlic cloves, minced
— 1.5” piece of ginger, minced
— 3 tomatoes, grated
Step 3 — dry spices — 10 min simmer:
— 1 tsp turmeric
— 2 tsp chili powder
— 1 tsp chili flakes
— 2 tsp cumin
— 2 tsp coriander
— 10 curry leaves
— 1 tsp sugar
— 1 tsp salt
Step 4 — meat and vegetables — simmer:
— 1/2 cup boiling water
— 2 lb lamb, cut into 1.5“ cubes — 30 min, covered
— 1 lb potatoes, cut as lamb — 30 min uncovered
Step 5 — garnish:
— cilantro
— scallions
— chopped fresh chilies
RELISH
— 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
— 2 tsp sugar
— pinch of salt and pepper
— 1 chopped tomato
— 1/2 minced onion
— 1 green chili pepper
— chopped cilantro