Curry in a hurry.... There’s no such thing

Except for tray bakes, which take a little less time, a good curry can’t be hurried. Besides potatoes and butternut ( I always use butternut as a thickener) which have to cook soft, the curry flavour needs time to infuse into the ingredients. I take about two hours to make a delicious curry.

The recipes include both Durban and Malay curry. I must admit being a born and bred Capetonian, I prefer the Malay curry. Difficult to take sides though. A well made Indian curry, using an Afrikaans expression, is ‘uit die boonste rakke!’

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Whole roast-chicken red curry

INGREDIENTS

• Curry paste:
• 1 tsp (5ml) ground cumin
• 2 tsp (10ml) ground coriander
• 1 packet (50g) dried chillies, deseeded
• 3cm knob ginger, chopped
• 1 stalk lemongrass, chopped
• Grated peel of 1 lime
• Handful fresh coriander, chopped
• ½ red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
   
• Curry:
• Vegetable oil
• 1 can (400ml) coconut milk
• 1-2 Tbsp (15-30ml) fish sauce
• 1 red onion, cut into wedges
• 1 Hokkaido pumpkin, cut into wedges
• 1 whole chicken, spatchcocked
   
• For serving:
• Handful coriander
• 2 limes, cut into wedges
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• Jasmine rice, cooked

METHOD

1. Place all curry-paste ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth.
2. Heat a glug of oil in an ovenproof pot and sauté paste until fragrant.
3. Add coconut milk, fish sauce, onion, pumpkin and chicken and cover with a lid or foil (if you don’t have a lid).
4. Roast in the oven at 200°C for 45 minutes. Uncover and roast for 45 minutes more, or until done.
5. Garnish with coriander, lime wedges and spring onions.
6. Serve with rice.

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Curried lentil and pumpkin soup with ‘naanwiches’

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tbsp (30ml) olive oil
• 800g pumpkin, diced
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2cm knob ginger, grated
• 1 Tbsp (15ml) curry powder
• 1 Tbsp (15ml) masala powder
• 2 tsp (10ml) ground cumin
• 2 tsp (10ml) ground coriander
• 10 fresh curry leaves (optional)
• ½ packet (125g) red lentils
• 3 cups (750ml) vegetable stock
• Salt and milled pepper
• 1 can (400g) coconut cream
• Handful fresh coriander
• 4-6 garlic naan breads
• 3 Tbsp (45ml) chutney
• 2 salad tomatoes, sliced
• ½ red onion, sliced
• 1 cup (125g) mozzarella, grated

METHOD

1. Heat olive oil in a pot and brown pumpkin all over. Remove and set aside.
2. Sauté onions until soft.
3. Add garlic cloves and ginger and fry for a minute.
4. Stir in curry powder, masala, cumin and coriander.
5. Fry for another minute, or until fragrant, adding an extra glug of oil if needed.
6. Return pumpkin to pot and add curry leaves, lentils and stock.
7. Season and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until pumpkin is soft and lentils are cooked.
8. Stir in coconut cream and fresh coriander and heat through.
9. Spread naan breads with chutney on one side.
10. Top with tomatoes, red onion and mozzarella, then fold over. Toast in a sandwich press or a dry frying pan.
11. Serve soup with ‘naanwiches’.

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Durban lamb curry

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tbsp (30ml) canola oil
• 4 onions, sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely grated
• 4cm knob ginger, finely grated
• 2 chillies, halved (and deseeded if you prefer)
• Pinch salt
• 1.4kg stewing lamb or goulash
• 10 fresh or dried curry leaves
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 sticks cinnamon
• 1-3 tsp (5ml-15ml) chilli powder
• 2 tsp (10ml) ground coriander
• 2 tsp (10ml) ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp (30ml) hot curry powder
• 1 large packet (100g) tomato paste
• 3 salad tomatoes, grated
• 800g baby potatoes, halved
• 2 cups (500ml) vegetable stock
• Handful fresh coriander
• Rice, cooked, for serving

METHOD

1. Heat oil in a pot and sauté onions for 5-8 minutes or until soft and golden.
2. Add garlic, ginger and chillies, and fry for a further 2 minutes.
3. Season meat, add to pot and brown all over.
4. Add curry leaves, bay leaves and spices and fry until fragrant.
5. Gently stir to coat meat with spices.
6. Stir in tomato paste, salad tomatoes, potatoes and stock.
7. Adjust seasoning and simmer on low-medium heat for about 60-75 minutes or until meat is soft (take care not to overstir, rather swirl pot occasionally).
8. Once meat is tender, stir in fresh coriander.
9. Serve curry with rice or a side dish of your choice.

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Cauliflower curry traybake

INGREDIENTS

• 1 packet (500g) baby potatoes, halved
• 1 packet (300g) cauliflower florets
• Glug vegetable oil
• 2 tsp (10ml) garam masala
• 2 tsp (10ml) curry powder
• Salt and milled pepper
• 1 can (400ml) coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp (30ml) tamarind paste
• Handful fresh coriander, chopped, plus extra for serving
• 1 packet (300g) fine green beans, steamed
• 1 punnet (15g) pea shoots, for serving (optional)
• Cooked basmati rice, for serving (optional)

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Toss potatoes and cauliflower with oil, spices and seasoning and place on a roasting tray.
3. Roast for 20-35 minutes, or until tender.
4. Stir through coconut milk, tamarind and coriander and roast for 10 minutes more.
5. Scatter with green beans and pea shoots, if using, and serve with rice, if you like.

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Cape Malay lamb curry

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg lamb knuckles
• 2 tsp (10ml) crushed garlic
• 1 Tbsp (15ml) crushed ginger
• 2 tsp (10ml) ground turmeric
• 1 tsp (5ml) ground cumin
• 1 tsp (5ml) ground coriander
• 1 tsp (5ml) chilli powder
• 1 tsp (5ml) mother-in-law masala or atchar masala
• 1 tsp (5ml) salt
• 2 Tbsp (30ml) canola oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 tsp (5ml) cumin seeds
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 3 cardamom pods, crushed
• 2 large salad tomatoes, chopped
• 1 green pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 2 cups (500ml) water or beef stock
• 4 (about 180g each) medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 tsp (10ml) cornflour
• Handful fresh coriander, chopped
• Rice, naan or rotis, for serving

METHOD

1. Combine lamb, garlic, ginger, ground spices and salt in a large bowl and marinate for 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a large pot and fry onions, cumin seeds, cinnamon and cardamom for 6-8 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes, green pepper, lamb mixture and water or stock and simmer gently for 30-40 minutes.
4. Add potatoes and simmer for a further 20-25 minutes, stirring at regular intervals.
5. Combine cornflour and ¼ cup (60ml) of the curry sauce in a small bowl until smooth.
6. Whisk back into pot and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until curry has thickened.
7. Season and stir coriander through.
8. Serve with rice, charred naan or rotis.
    
9. Pickle sliced red onions or shaved cucumber ribbons in warm white or red wine vinegar and set aside to cool. Serve alongside curry.