Cape Malay coconut beef curry

11 hours ago

15 min read

This Cape Malay coconut beef curry is made with toasted desiccated coconut rather than coconut milk. It's a filling, slow-cooked meal with a rich gravy with fragrant spices and a certain sweet-'n-sour aspect to it, partly a result of the tamarind paste and sultanas. In addition to beef, it's packed with vegetables—onions, bell peppers and sweet potatoes. And, it's easily converted to a vegan curry.

Jump straight to the ingredients and cooking method

Cape of Good Flavour

This Cape Malay coconut curry is another of the recipes taught to me by the inimitable Violet decades ago. Violet was a born 'n bred Capetonian who grew up in Cape Town's District Six. But she had long been settled in the UK by the time I learned it from her.

It's a lesser-known curry that Violet explained to me was one that her grannie would cook on special occasions such as for birthdays or at New Year rather than as everyday fare. Nonetheless, while taking time to prepare and slow cook, possibly one of the reasons it was served on special occasions, it uses the canon of spices for which Cape Malay cooking is known, has relatively few ingredients, and is not difficult to cook.

One of the things I find particularly interesting is its use of toasted desiccated coconut. In many ways, this strikes me as an unusually direct "red thread" showing the link between Cape Malay cooking and the Indonesian cooking from which it originated. It immediately brings to mind the Indonesian cooking style of rendang that uses the combination of beef and toasted coconut. But it is also notably different, marginally less of a very dry curry in the way that rendang is, and also in its use of vegetables not used in rendang dishes in Indonesia and the absence of certain herbs that are.

Like all diasporan cuisines, it reflects how those arriving in new lands—the Cape Malay are the descendants of the slaves, servants and artisans from Indonesia who arrived with the Dutch settlers in the 17th century—adapted to using locally available ingredients. Over time this evolved into a distinctive diasporan cuisine of its own. Thus, things like lemongrass, lime (leaves) and galangal, not grown in the Cape at that time are absent from many Cape Malay dishes. But turmeric powder, cumin, coriander, cinnamon or star anise that last a long time in their dried form and could be relatively easily imported from the then Dutch colonies in Asia are. While technically expensive imported luxury goods in the early period of the Dutch at the Cape, Violet had a theory about how they became staples of humble Cape Malay down-home cooking: "Ja, Boet, our ancestors were sly, hey! The were the ones who did all the cooking for the rich Dutch colonists. So they made sure they got them addicted to this stuff so they would import it for their own enjoyment. Anyway, the rich white bosses who had been stationed in the East Indies needed no convincing. They were already hooked."

Despite her flippancy, I suspect that Violet's theory is good history. There are remaining letters that testify to relatives or senior officers reminding those travelling to the Cape from Batavia to bring them coveted spices. And passing Portuguese traders stocking up on supplies in Table Bay would also do good business with spices. After all, they were the ones who have introduced chillies to India and the East Indies.

Coconut, as oil, creamed coconut or coconut milk, are used in Cape Malay cooking, but in relatively restrained amounts compared with Thai, Indonesian or Southern Indian cooking. But, what makes this dish notable—and reminiscent of rendang—is that desiccated coconut is used almost exclusively in cakes, cookies and other sweet dishes in Cape Malay cuisine, or as a condiment, often mixed with sliced bananas in milk to prevent them from turning brown, spooned over savoury dishes at table.

I love the Cape Malay colloquial name for desiccated coconut. It's called "klapper", onomatopoeia derived from the sound of clapping two halves of a coconut shell together. Most etymologists think it was popularised during the early days of vaudeville or broadcast radio in South Africa when this was the method used to create the sound effect of horses' hooves on cobbles. Some however, think it is even older, derived from a children's game when Cape Malay kids would pretend to be horses, smacking coconuts together as they followed riders on cobbled streets in the oldest parts of town.

In this recipe, the klapper is toasted, in the style of kerisik in Indonesian rendang, but not pounded into. a paste.

If the history of Cape Malay cooking is of interest, you can also find more about it on this page with a recipe for Cape Malay seafood curry.

Tipple or no tipple?

Okay, so I really am going to trying to avoid the politics of this. However, the formally recognised Cape Malay communities, technically as sub-classification of the "Coloured" group later defined after the Apartheid-era Population Registration Act of 1950, overwhelmingly identify as practising (Sunni) Muslims—or are assumed to be practising Muslims.

Many visitors to Cape Town enjoying Cape Malay food in Muslim-owned restaurants in Bo-Kaap, strongly promoted by the tourism boards as one of the traditional cultural centres of the Cape Malay community in Cape Town, will notice that these restaurants don't serve alcohol. And, indeed, while some operate a BYOB policy, others do not. And, this observance of not drinking alcohol at home remains prevalent in many Cape Malays domestic settings.

But, there are layers of complexity. Some Cape Malay people who can clearly trace their lineage back to the earliest days of Dutch settlement feel that their experience has been elided. The equating of Islam with Cape Malay identity, is partly as a result of the simplistic (and idiotic) classifications of race under Apartheid. There are both Cape Malay people who are Christian and those that have no religious beliefs.

In the case of the former cohort, this embracing of Christianity isn't only something that occurred at the Cape. It's notable that some the earliest Cape Malay settlers had converted to Dutch Protestantism in Indonesia long before departing. This may partly be due to the fact that Protestant slaves and servants received preferential treatment in the wealthy Dutch households to which they were attached.

In the case of the latter, many Cape Malay people who became political activists against Apartheid rejected all religion. For example, there are those like my friend Violet, who taught me to cook this dish, who come from those activist generations. She described herself as "culturally Muslim" or a "culturally Muslim socialist". But, having grown up with a Muslim cultural background, she also grew up in a politicised household that did not observe any religion. She liked a tipple, especially Cape Wines.

In short, what this means is that this dish—and all Cape Malay dishes—may be served with or without alcoholic beverages in Cape Malay homes. And some Cape Malay people, like Violet, almost make a point of of serving alcohol, rejecting the hardline, conservative positions that grew in Cape Town in the era of global Islamic radicalisation, some of which openly rejected non-Muslims as not being "real" Cape Malay.

But, Cape Malay cuisine is one that most Capetonians have embraced for decades, if not centuries, and it's popularity has spread to all corners of South Africa amongst people of all cultures and faiths. I am stating all of this because I will be listing both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages in the 'Pairings' section below.

Recently I was sent an officious message regarding this Cape Malay lamb curry recipe by a British woman who had visited Cape Town and, inevitably had the tourist dining experience in Bo-Kaap. So told me that I was "uniformed" and "culturally inappropriate" to suggest drinking wines with it. Well, your Ladyship, I am neither. I'm certainly more informed about and respectful of Cape Malay culture than you are after your one and only visit to Cape Town. I would have thought that even on your holiday you would have learned that South Africa is "the rainbow nation".

Take note:

This version is for 4 to 4 diners as a main course depending on sides and appetite. You can easily scale it up or down.

This dish stores well in the fridge for a couple of days and freezes well. It's also one of those dishes that reheats well in a microwave, even from frozen.

In these quantities, this nets out as a moderately hot curry. Almost all of this heat comes from the green chillies (none of the powders used are hot). Thus, if you don't like things spicy, reduce the number of chillies e.g. use only one green chilli.

Please note that in the images I am cooking it in a slightly different quantities from those in the recipe below.

3 top tips to get this recipe right:

I am using very lean beef (5% fat) and in a slightly smaller quantity for dietary reasons. The end result is certainly delicious. But, traditionally, this dish would be made with South African stewing steak (aka chuck or topside) that has a higher fat content. Let's not pretend: that extra fat does enrich the flavour. If you opt for beef with a higher fat content, the gravy may thicken faster than indicated below and you may need to add slightly more water at various stages of the cooking.

It's important that this dish cook slowly (enough) to give the beef and coconut time to become tender and integrated. The cooking times indicated below are the fastest time in which it should be cooked; nearing two hours excluding the 20 to 25mins to toast the coconut, which needs to be done gently. It is also a dish that is particularly wonderful cooked in a slow cooker if you have the time. Cook as in the recipe below on the stove, then transfer all the ingredients to a slow cooker as soon as you have stirred in the sweet potatoes.

With the combination of sweet potatoes, sultanas, tomatoes and tamarind, this dish has a rich sweet-'n-sour flavour profile. However, if you are someone who isn't wild about "sweet", leave out the sultanas and/or use cubed, peeled potatoes in lieu of sweet potatoes. According to Violet, the version with potatoes is just as traditional.

Shopping list

for the Cape Malay coconut beef curry

Approx. 450 to 500g boneless beef, cut into bite sized cubes
2 large onions, (red or brown); sliced
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes (or chopped fresh equivalent)
1½ cups desiccated coconut
1 large red bell pepper, sliced vertically
3 or 4 hot green chillies (e.g. finger; bird's eye); sliced vertically; deseeded
One large sweet potato, peeled and cut into fairly large pieces
4 to 5 tbspns sunflower oil (or vegetable or peanut oil)
3 black cardamom pods ; bruised
4 or 5 whole cloves
1 tspn yellow mustard seeds
3 or 4 bay leaves (dried)
4 or 5 curry leaves (dried or fresh)
2 whole star anise
2 tspns garam masala + ½ tspn for use towards the end of cooking
1 tspn dried cumin powder
1 tspn dried coriander powder
1 tspn turmeric powder
1 tspn mild curry powder (e.g. Madras style)
½ a cinnamon stick
2 tspns ginger & garlic paste
1 tspn Demerara sugar (or other coarse brown sugar)
2 tspns tamarind paste (3 tbspns HP sauce)
1½ handfuls seedless sultanas (optional)
Approx. 450ml water
Salt, to taste

for the green beans side dish (snyboontjies) - optional

Approx. 200g fresh fine green beans; cut into fairly big pieces
1 onion, (red or brown); diced
2 hot large hot red chillies; deseeded and sliced
1 tspn garlic & ginger paste
1 tbspn sunflower oil (or vegetable oil)
salt to taste
A generous pinch of dried methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

for the parsnips and peas side dish (witwortels en ertjies) - optional

1 fresh parsnip per dinner; peeled and cut into irregular "cubes"
Approx. 1 to 1½ cup of peas; (depending on number of diners);fresh or frozen
1 vegetable stock cube
1 tspn mild curry powder (or garam masala)
A clutch of fresh coriander; chopped
2 tspns of minced fresh mint (or mint sauce)
1 tspn of vinegar (not needed if using mint sauce)
2 tspns sunflower oil (or vegetable oil)
salt to taste

Sides and condiments

There are many options with sides and condiments. The most common sides and condiments served with this dish include:

Yellow rice ( with or without with sultanas), roti or even vetkoek (deep-fried dough bread)
sambals"— "tradisioneel"; chopped chillies, cucumber, onions and tomatoes in vinegar or "klapper met piesang"—sliced banana and desiccated coconut bathed in milk
Mango, apricot or peach chutneys—or any other fruit chutney
Hot pickles and achars

However, I'm serving it here in a couple of different ways on two different occasions. One with naan bread, not a traditional Cape Malay bread, but simply because it works so well with this dish, and another with yellow rice (cooked with turmeric) with some cumin seeds, but without the sultanas or raisins, because these are already in the curry.

Cape Malay food uses a lot of vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, peas, green beans, spinach and parsnips, among others, that stand testament to how Cape Malay cuisine evolved as those arriving from Indonesia adapted to using vegetables the Dutch settlers planted in their kitchen gardens. A number of Indonesian herbs and vegetables that thrived in the humid climate of the Dutch East Indies fared less well with the Cape's Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cold, wet winters. Thus, alternatives were sought.

Sautéd spiced green beans
Parsnip and peas with mint and coriander

I'm serving this with a dish of sautéd spiced green beans on one of the occasions; and a milder parsnip and pea dish on the other.

Fresh green beans (snyboontjies), peas (ertjies) and split peas, parsnips (wtiwortels) and carrots (wortels) are used a lot in Cape Malay cooking, but not usually as side dishes. More usually, they are also cooked into the curry (kerrie) or stew (bredie). But since this dish has quite a lot going on it it, I'm serving these dishes separately. Also, I want them to lean more towards the bitter and fresh in flavour given the sweet-'n-sour richness of the curry itself.

Neither are essential though I always lean towards more rather then less veggie dishes. But, if you think they're an unnecessary palaver, simply serve with your carb of choice and a couple of condiments

Cooking method

the Cape Malay coconut beef curry

Toast the coconut first. You can even do this some days before and store in a sealed container. Add the desiccated coconut to a large dry pan on a low heat. Stir almost constantly as you toast until golden brown. Keep the heat low and don't rush it in order to avoid burning. It usually takes 20 to 25mins. Place to one side
Add three quarters of the oil to a deep pot with a lid. Heat on a medium-low heat. Once hot, add all of the whole spices (except the bay leaves) and powdered spices (except for the half a teaspoon of garam masala you will use later). As soon as the aromas release, add the onions and green chillies and stir in. Sauté, adding little dashes of water as needed to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Once the onions begin to soften, add the red pepper and stir in. Sauté the ingredients together, stirring almost constantly and adding little dashes of water to prevent sticking. When the peppers have notably softened, even if not fully cooked, allow any excess liquid in the pot to boil off
Push the ingredients to the side of the pot, pouring the remaining oil into the centre. When it has heated, add all of the beef to the centre of the pot, turning so that it is evenly coated in the oil. Then, add the garlic & ginger paste, a dash of salt, and bay leaves, and gently fold all of the ingredients together. Cook until the beef has browned on all facets, adding dashes of water if needed to prevent sticking—don't overdo the water; you want the pot to remain fairly dry for the next stage
Add the toasted coconut and fold in. Stir as it cooks for a minute of so—you should be able to smell a slight toasted smell—then add the tomatoes. Fold in the tomatoes and allow to cook for about 2min, adding dashes of water if needed
To what should now be a fairly dry mixture, add 400ml of water and stir in. As soon as it comes to a simmer, cover the pot and reduce to a low heat so that the contents are barely simmering. Cook at this low temperature for 30 to 40mins, stirring occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot to ensure you loosen any sticking "bits"—the coconut can be quite prone to sticking at this stage of cooking
By now the liquid should have started to thicken a little. Add the sweet potato and fold in. If necessary, add additional hot water—you want the sweet potato to be at least three quarters submerged. Once the liquid is at a gentle simmer, cover the pot and cook for 20mins, stirring occasionally
Add the tamarind paste and brown sugar. Re-cover and simmer for 15mins, stirring occasionally
From this stage, you will cook the ingredients uncovered, allowing the gravy to thicken and reduce. You want to keep it cooking at a very gentle simmer, so you might need to slightly increase the heat to compensate for it cooking uncovered. Add the sultanas (if using) and fold in
When the sauce has notably thickened—this usually takes 15 to 20mins, but let it take the time it needs—add the remaining garam masala and dried curry leaves and fold in. After a minute or so, taste and season with salt as needed
Cook, stirring regularly until the curry has a thick consistency with practically no "wet" gravy. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to rest for a couple of minutes. Then plate and garnish with a little chopped coriander, almond flakes or untoasted desiccated coconut. Take to table with your condiments and side dishes of choice.

the green beans side dish (snyboontjies) - optional

Blanch the beans by cooking in in boiling water for 3mins then running under the cold tap and draining. Or, my preferred method, cook for 2mins in a microwave steamer (900W) then cool, running under the cold tap
In a pan or wok, heat the oil on a medium heat. When hot, add the onions and sauté until they begin to soften
Add the chillies and stir in. Sauté, stirring regularly until the onions are notably soft, then add the green beans and stir in. After a minute or so, add the garlic & ginger paste, slightly reducing the heat. Stir constantly to prevent the paste from burning
When the beans are ready—cooked but a little al dente—season with salt as needed
Remove from the heat and break the dried methi over the dish by crushing between clean fingers or palms. Cover to keep warm
When ready to serve, fold the methi in, plate or take to table in a serving dish

the parsnips and peas side dish (witwortels end ertjies) - optional

Add about 400ml of salted water to a pot with a lid, and bring to the boil. As it comes to the boil, add the stock cube and dissolve (alternatively bring 400ml of vegetable stock to the boil). Stir in the curry powder (or garam masala). NB if won't actually fully dissolve and in this dish the vegetables are only a mildly fragranced i.e. not "curried"
Add the parsnips to the boiling water and boil for 1min. The cover and reduce the heat to the point that the water is barely simmering. Simmer, covered, for 15 to 20min—until the parsnip pieces are fully cooked but still fairly firm. Pour off approx. 1 cup of the stock into a cup and place to one side. Then drain the parsnips and allow to fully cool
In a pan or wok with a lid, heat the oil on a medium heat and add the parsnips, stirring to ensure they are fully coated in the oil and cooked from about 3mins, stirring regularly. The wont actually crisp, but you want to allow them time to absorb the oil
Add the peas—from frozen is fine—and stir in, cooking for a minute or so, stirring to ensure the skins don't burn. Slowly pour in about half of the stock you have put aside and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and simmer for about 5 to 6mins, adding more stock if it cooks off to quickly
Once the peas are nearly fully cooked, uncover and allow the remaining liquid to cook off. Add the vinegar, stir in and allow it too to cook off.
Add the mint and stir in, tasting and adding salt as needed. Remove from the heat and sprinkle the chopped coriander into the pan and stir in.
Cover and keep warm. When ready to serve, plate or take to table in a serving dish

Alternatives

This is a carnivore dish. But is is easily turned vegan or vegetarian and I have done such versions many times. The only thing that makes this curry not vegan, is the beef itself. My two go-two vegan versions are one that uses Quorn pieces, browned in a little oil and garam masala, added about three quarters of the way through the cooking so that it doesn't break down too much. The other is to use whole closed-cup mushrooms browned in a similar manner, but added about halfway through the cooking process. Both bring an umami, earthy flavour that maps well onto the beef in this dish.

This is not a dish with which I have attempted a pescatarian version so far and I suspect I am unlikely to do so. Fish and seafood are not something that combine well with slow-cooked sweet potato in my opinion. I would opt for this Cape Malay seafood curry instead.

In terms of alternative carnivore versions, I haven't tried any. I don't think lamb and desiccated coconut work well together based on other dishes. So, if I were forced to opt for alternative meat lover version, I'd probably opt for skin-on duck or chicken on the bone.

Pairings

Given that many Cape Malay households are Muslim, this dish is most often served with non-alcoholic beverages. All kinds of locally available fizzy drinks are popular with it. One of the most traditional drinks enjoyed with it is homemade (non-alcohilc) ginger beer. It packs quite a ginger punch that is very good at cutting through the richness of the curry. However, my favourite remains simply mineral water infused with lime and cucumber.

As a curry-loving nation, South Africans often drink beer with their curries and, indeed any one of the locally brewed lagers, some of which are available in other parts of the world, such as Carling Black Label, will work well. If you're after something more obscure, try one of the beers from the Devil's Peak Beer Company, one of the leaders on Cape Town's craft beer scene. Remember that in South Africa, warm beer is bad beer, so always serve cold.

This is one of those dishes that I think only really works with red wines. Also, given the richness, it needs something with enough body to stand up to the flavours. And a woody note doesn't go amiss either, balancing the sweeter flavours in the dish. But, it doesn't have to be heavily oaked. Overall, I think Shiraz, South American Syrah or Malbec wines are the best places to look.

I once had it with a Cape Winemakers Guild Teen Die Hoog Shiraz a guest brought to supper and that worked superbly, a bold wine rich in black fruit and mild oaky notes, and enough acidity to cut through the richness. But, it's a fairly pricey wine. More recently I had it with affordable Boekenhoutskloof The Wolftrap Shiraz and that also worked well, offering excellent value for money, again with notes of black fruits and an almost sweet oak note. But, there are plenty of other South African and Australian Shiraz wines that will work well.