This Durban chicken curry with green peppers, mushrooms, cashew nuts and yoghurt is a lesser-known Durban curry. It's origins lie in the Parsi cooking of KwaZulu-Natal, the traditions of one of the smaller cultural groups arriving from India. It has an earthy, nutty flavour, ideal for those who don't like their curries on the sweeter side. In these quantities, it is moderately spicy, but the heat can be cranked up or toned down easily enough.

This Durban vegan eggplant curry —usually simply called brinjal curry after the lead vegetable's name in various Indian languages —uses baked or grilled eggplant (aubergine) to bring a deep, slightly smoky flavour to a curry brimming with the flavours of onions, pepper, chillies, tomatoes, coconut, and sweet potato in a rich mix of spices. It can be cooked fiery hot in accordance with the cliché about Durban curries or as a milder affair.

This vegan mushroom masala from Durban has become a go-to weekday curry, easy and fairly quick to make. If you love mushrooms and a bit of spice, this should definitely be in your repertoire. It's also easily adapted for non-vegans.