Cape Malay Curry Recipe: South African Aromatic Stew

Cape Malay curry is a mild, fragrant curry from the Cape Malay community of Cape Town, South Africa. Its warmth comes from cinnamon, cardamom and turmeric rather than chilli heat. This version braises lamb shoulder with tomatoes, dried apricots and a spoonful of apricot jam for 90 minutes, then adds potatoes for the last 30. Plan on 3 hours from start to finish, most of it hands-off simmering.

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours 35 minutes | Servings: 6

Difficulty: Medium | Calories: ~520 per serving

Where Does Cape Malay Curry Come From?

The Dutch East India Company set up a supply station at the Cape in 1652 and brought in enslaved people and political exiles to work for the settlement. They came from the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), India, Sri Lanka and Madagascar, among other places, and many were Muslim (South African History Online). Estimates cited by Wikipedia put Malagasy, Indian, Southeast Asian and continental African captives in roughly equal numbers.

Their mostly Muslim descendants came to be called Cape Malays. The name is misleading, since the community’s roots lie more in Indonesia than in Malaysia, in places such as Aceh, Sulawesi and Java (Daily Maverick). Few of the cooks left written records, so the exact origin of Cape Malay curry, like most of these dishes, is hard to trace.

Enslaved cooks worked with turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, coriander and chilli, and toned down the heat for the households they cooked for (Fine Dining Lovers). Popular Cape Malay curries today include chicken, mutton, beef, crayfish, lentils and beans.

Should Cape Malay Curry Taste Sweet?

Only a little, and not every cook adds fruit. Cape Malay cooking does use sweetness, but sour, tangy and salty flavors balance the sugar, as Nikita Singh wrote in the Mail & Guardian. Dried fruit shows up most clearly in bobotie, which usually includes apricots and raisins or sultanas (Wikipedia). It also goes into blatjang, a chutney of dried fruit, usually apricots, and chillies cooked in vinegar (Dictionary of South African English).

Many curries have no fruit in the pot at all. Cass Abrahams’ Cape Malay lamb curry, published by TASTE, uses lamb, onions, tomato, potatoes and whole and ground spices, with no fruit or sugar.

This Cape Malay curry sits on the sweeter side. The dried apricots soften into the sauce over 90 minutes, and the jam rounds out the tomatoes. Adjust it to your taste:

Less sweet: leave out the brown sugar and jam, keep the apricots, and finish with the lemon juice.
No fruit: leave out the apricots, jam and sugar, and serve a fruit chutney at the table instead.
Before serving: if the sauce tastes flat or cloying, add lemon juice a teaspoon at a time. If it tastes sharp, stir in 1 more teaspoon of jam.

How Is It Different From a Durban Curry?

South Africa’s other well-known curry comes from Durban, on the east coast. Indentured laborers from southern India arrived there between 1860 and 1911, and Durban curry is rich red, slightly oily and very hot (Fine Dining Lovers). A Cape Malay curry is less red and less spicy. According to TASTE, Durban curries lean on curry powder and tomatoes, while Cape Malay curries favor cardamom and cinnamon.

The spices also go in differently. Faldela Tolker, who teaches Cape Malay cooking at her home in Cape Town’s Bo-Kaap neighborhood, showed Milk Street a tin of whole curry leaves, cinnamon, cardamom, fennel and coriander. They simmer whole in the sauce, and most come out before serving. “The spices are the same, but they are used differently,” she said. This recipe uses both kinds: ground spices for color and body, and whole cardamom, star anise and cinnamon that you lift out at the end.

Ingredients for Cape Malay Curry

Main Ingredients:

2 pounds (900 g) boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1.5-inch (4 cm) cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large onions, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered

For the Spice Blend:

2 tablespoons Cape Malay curry powder or another mild curry powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
2 whole star anise
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick

For the Sauce:

1 can (400 g) diced tomatoes
1 cup (250 ml) beef or lamb stock
1/2 cup (about 75 g) dried apricots, halved
2 tablespoons smooth apricot jam
1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
Juice of 1/2 lemon, to taste
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh cilantro for garnish

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Brown the Lamb

1Pat the lamb cubes dry with paper towels and season them with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 5-quart (5-litre) Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the lamb in 3 batches, leaving space between the cubes, for about 6 minutes per batch. Turn the cubes until every side has a deep brown crust, since crowded meat steams instead of browning. Move each batch to a plate as it finishes, and leave the browned bits in the pot.

Turning a cube of lamb with stainless steel tongs in a cream enamelled cast iron pot of browning lamb over a gas flame, with a white plate of browned lamb cubes on the wooden counter beside the stove — Step 1- Brown the Lamb

Step 2: Build the Aromatic Base

2Lower the heat to medium and add the onions to the same pot. Fry them for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring often, until soft and golden. Their moisture loosens the browned bits from the bottom. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 1 minute. Add the curry powder, turmeric, ground cinnamon, cumin and coriander, and stir for 2 minutes, adding a splash of water if the spices start to stick. Drop in the cardamom pods, star anise, bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Pour in the tomatoes and stock, and scrape the bottom of the pot clean.

Tipping a glass bowl of diced tomatoes into a cream enamelled cast iron pot of golden spiced onions with a cinnamon stick, star anise, bay leaves and cardamom pods, stirred with a wooden spoon, beside a glass jug of stock — Step 2- Build the Aromatic Base

Step 3: Simmer the Curry with Fruit

3Return the lamb and its juices to the pot. Add the dried apricots, the apricot jam and the brown sugar, if using, and stir until the jam melts into the sauce. Bring it to a gentle simmer, then cover the pot and turn the heat to low. Cook for 1 1/2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes and scraping the bottom. The sauce should barely bubble. If it gets thick before the lamb is tender, add 1/4 cup (60 ml) of stock or water.

Dropping a spoonful of apricot jam into a cream enamelled cast iron pot of browned lamb simmering in tomato curry sauce with dried apricot halves, a cinnamon stick, a star anise pod and a bay leaf, beside an open jar of jam on the counter — Step 3- Simmer the Curry with Fruit

Step 4: Add Potatoes and Finish

4Add the potatoes and push them down so the sauce mostly covers them. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes more, until a knife slides into a potato easily and the lamb breaks apart under a spoon. Lift out the star anise, bay leaves and cinnamon stick, and the cardamom pods if you can find them. Taste, then season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Scatter cilantro over the top and serve with rice or roti.

Scattering chopped cilantro over finished Cape Malay curry with lamb, potatoes and dried apricots in a cream enamelled cast iron pot, beside a saucer holding the removed cinnamon sticks, star anise and bay leaves and half a lemon — Step 4- Add Potatoes and Finish

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make Cape Malay curry with chicken?

Yes. Use 8 bone-in chicken thighs (about 2 pounds or 1 kg) instead of the lamb, and brown them skin side down for 5 to 6 minutes. Build the sauce as in step 2, then return the chicken with the fruit and add the potatoes at the same time. Cover and cook for 40 to 45 minutes. It is done when a knife slides into the potatoes and the thickest thigh reads 165°F (74°C) near the bone.

What can I use instead of Cape Malay curry powder?

Any mild yellow curry powder works. To mix your own, combine 2 tablespoons ground coriander with 1 tablespoon each of ground cumin and turmeric. Add 1 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, ginger and fennel, 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom and 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves. Use 2 tablespoons in the recipe and keep the rest in a closed jar.

What do you serve with Cape Malay curry?

Serve Cape Malay curry with white rice or roti, and sambals on the side. Cass Abrahams’ lamb curry on TASTE suggests jasmine rice or rotis and a selection of sambals. In the video above, Fatima Sydow serves hers with flaky roti and slaai, a salad. A spoonful of fruit chutney suits it too.

How long does Cape Malay curry keep?

Three to four days in the fridge, per USDA guidance on leftovers, as long as the curry goes in within 2 hours of cooking. To freeze some, set that portion aside before the potatoes go in, since they turn soft and grainy in the freezer. The lamb and sauce keep their best quality for 3 to 4 months. Reheat it gently with a splash of water until it steams.