Cape Malay lamb chop curry

Cape Malay lamb chop curry is an updated version of a very traditional dish from Cape Town that makes good use of what doesn't make it onto the braai—that famed South African barbecue. Based in the legacy of Cape Malay cooking with its Indonesian influences, it nonetheless has a few contemporary tricks up its sleeve. As always, vegan and vegetarian options are included.

Surplus to need

This Cape Malay lamb curry made with lamb chops is a riff on the very traditional lamb curry from Cape Town. You will find a more traditional version for Cape Malay lamb curry here, along with more information on the legacy of Cape Malay cooking in general.

The origins of this dish however are for more practical. Another dish taught to me by the wonderful Violet who explained that it was a variation on the traditional version that her father evolved to deal with the inevitable surplus of lamb chops that occurred whenever they held a family braai—the famed South African barbecue. General braai etiquette is that everyone brings something, whether salads, pudding or meat. Sometimes people bring all three. With a large extended family who were all invited, inevitably the aunties would bring far too many lamb chops—"Hey, the kids love them!"—and so her father found a great way to make use of them.

This isn't so much a "leftovers" recipe in that it isn't made with meat that has already been cooked, but the lamb chops that never make it onto the fire by the time everyone is already stuffed. Lamb chops aren't a regular feature in my cooking repertoire. But, a while back I bought some for a dish that I ended up not cooking due to a run of unexpected last-minute dinner invitations. So, they went in the freezer. However, when I planned to experiment with a Greek dish that required only one lamb chop, I found that they had all frozen tightly together. I put them in the fridge, intending for them to only be there long enough to ease a little so I could separate them without damage. I promptly forgot they were there. So, after trying out the Greek dish, I was left with three small lamb chops that needed to be used because they could not be refrozen.

It seemed like a very good opportunity to dig out this recipe.

The Cape of good difference

I would describe this as a medium-spicy dish in these quantities. Unlike a lot of South African Indian Diasporan cooking with its Goan and South Indian influences, known for fiery curries, the spiciness in Cape Malay cooking, influenced by its Indonesian origins, is often added at the table in the form of fiery sambals or hot pickles. This makes it a great dish for groups where how spicy people like their meal varies.

From a cooking perspective, it also varies notably from Indian approaches to "opening" all of the spices in the early stages of cooking. For example, in this dish only the whole spices go in at the beginning while the majority of the spices are added as powders in the second stage. Furthermore, this is definitely a "slow cook" dish that takes longer to cook at lower temperatures than various South African curries that are cooked reasonably quickly.

There are also other differences. Compared with other Cape Malay dishes, the onions, cooked with the whole spices, are browned to the point of near caramelisation before adding the chops to brown them in turn. The bell peppers, garlic and ginger are all added at slightly later points than they are in numerous other Cape Malay curries.

Another point of difference is the sweet potato. This was something of a shift on the part of Violet's father. While Cape Malay curries, especially meat curries, often include potatoes, apparently Violet's poor father, after the family had dined on buckets of leftover potato salad for days after he'd slaved over the braai, decided it would be some time before he could face a potato, even in his beloved Cape Malay lamb curry. But he knew his kids loved sweet potatoes, so he went there. He was spot on: sweet potato is somehow hearty but is overall a far lighter, more easily digested affair.

The past is another curry

Traditionally Cape Malay curries—like Indian curries—are cooked in a kadai, a curved dish very similar to a wok with or without a lid. .And, if you don't have a kadai but have a wok with a lid, I suggest you cook this dish in that. Of course you can cook it in another pot with a lid. But, one of the things people into Indian and Cape Malay cooking learn is that with dishes such as this that use larger pieces of meat or poultry on the bone, curved pots bypass the tendency for smaller ingredients to get pushed down to the bottom and stick as tends to happen with straight-sided pots. That's easily solved by stirring frequently, but with this dish that is cooked for longer on a low heat, it just makes life easier that you can rest assured you won't have to stir it every five minutes, especially in the later stages when the sauce thickens.

The garden peas weren't part of the recipe Violet passed on to me. They were my addition when cooking for kids—I can slightly obsess about chlorophyl intake for wee bairns—and I was thinking about lamb and that general keema direction. Anyhoo, the kids loved it and so did I, big kid that I am. So, I now always cook it with peas, but they're entirely optional.

I'm serving it with "yellow rice"—though mine is less yellow because I cook it in stock. In terms of traditions, while both Cape Malay yellow rice and Durban yellow rice are similar to pilau rice, it's important to note that they are not the same. Yes, all three use turmeric for that distinctive colour. But, pilau is traditionally started off by cooking spices, onions and vegetables in ghee, something that isn't the case with the other two that are cooked in water or broth with the spices added directly to the liquid in which the rice is cooked. While there is now a lot of crossover across Southern Africa, historically Cape yellow rice would include raisins or sultanas readily available locally, whereas Durban yellow rice would not, drawing on flavours of green cardamom and chopped green chillies. Inevitably, as the transport infrastructure grew, so did cross-fertilisation.

This version—made with three lamb chops—serves 3 to 4 people, depending on the your side dishes and condiments.

3 top tips to get this recipe right:

• This recipe calls for both black and green cardamoms. If you can't get your hands on black cardamoms where you are, simply use a few extra of the green variety and add a dash or HP Sauce or tamarind paste to add that slightly smoky vibe.

• Whether tinned or fresh, never use plum tomatoes in this dish (or indeed any Indian or Cape Malay dish) because their sweetness doesn't bring the tartness of other tomato varieties that is important in balancing the sweet-'n-sour aspects of the flavours in this dish.

• Don't cut up the lamb chops (no smaller than cut in half) and don't trim off any fat or remove any bones. Together, these add to the flavour of the dish. While it is slow cooked, you will find that the lamb, even if remaining as whole chops (more normally they will break up during this cooking process) should flake easily once served.

Shopping list

for the Cape Malay lamb chop curry

• Approx. 1 lamb chop per diner (2 if very small)

• 2 large onions, (red or brown); thinly sliced

• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes (or chopped fresh equivalent)

• 1 small green bell pepper; roughly cubed

• ½ a small red bell pepper, roughly cubed (optional)

• One large sweet potato, peeled and cut into fairly large pieces

• 1 cup garden peas; fresh or frozen (optional)

• 5 to 6 tbspns sunflower oil

• 3 black cardamom pods ; bruised

• 4 green cardamom pods ; bruised

• 4 or 5 whole cloves

• ½ tspn whole black peppercorns

• 3 or 4 bay leaves (dried)

• 5 curry leaves (dried or fresh)

• 1 whole dried Dandicut chilli (i.e. hot chilli)

• 2 tspns garam masala

• 1 tspn dried cumin

• 1 tspn mild Kashmiri chilli powder

• 1 tspn turmeric powder

• ½ a cinnamon stick

• 1 or 2 thumb's lengths of fresh ginger (depending on girth); finely chopped

• 5 cloves of fresh garlic; finely chopped

• A few sprigs of fresh thyme

• 2 tbspns finely minced mint (or mint sauce as a quick hack)

• 2 tspns Demerara sugar (or other coarse brown sugar)

• 1 tbspn white wine vinegar

• 125g full-fat yoghurt

• A generous clutch of fresh coriander; chopped

• Salt, to taste

for the sides and condiments

There are many options with sides and condiments. I am doing it here with rice and only two condiments: the classic "klapper met piesang" and a spicy raitha; yoghurt with chopped cucumber and hot dried chilli flakes. This isn't a condiment much associate with Cape Malay cuisine, but it seemed like a good use of the remaining yoghurt. The most widely preferred options are:

• Yellow rice with sultanas, roti or naan breads

• sambals"— "tradisioneel"; chopped chillies, cucumber, onions and tomatoes in vinegar or "klapper met piesang"—sliced banana and desiccated coconut bathed in milk

• Mango, chutney—or any other fruit chutney

• Hot pickles and achars

  
  

Cooking Method

the Cape Malay lamb chop curry

1. Heat the oil on a medium-high heat. Add all of the whole dry spices except for the curry leaves. As soon as their aroma is released, add the onions and fry, stirring almost constantly. Wait until the onions are well browned, bordering on catching, then add the lamb chops. Brown the chops, turning, and pulling the browned onions to the top

2. Once the lamb chops brown and release their fat, add the bell peppers and stir in. Continue turning the chops, mixing the bell peppers into the onions and dry spices

3. Once the lamb chops are suitably browned—don't worry about whether the bell pepper is fully soft yet—add the chopped garlic and ginger and fold in. Cook for barely a minute or so, taking care the garlic does not burn

4. Add the tomatoes and their juices and gently fold in. Bring to a vigorous simmer and cook for about 4 to 5mins, seasoning with salt. Then add about 150ml boiling water and stir in. As this mix comes to a gentle simmer, reduce the heat and add all of the powdered spices and stir in. Cover and gently simmer for 10mins, occasionally turning the chops

5. Add the sweet potato pieces and the thyme sprigs and about an additional 100ml boiling water. Push the sweet potato and thyme sprigs down into the liquid. When it begins to simmer, cover and simmer for at least 15mins, checking occasionally

6. Reduce to a very low heat so that the liquid is barely bubbling. Re-cover and simmer for another 15mins, stirring occasionally.

7. When the sweet potato is cooked "al dente", very slightly increase the heat. Add the yoghurt to the pan and gently fold in, making sure it does not boil. Add the minced mint and stir in, allowing it to cook in for a minute or so. The yoghurt is likely to slightly separate or curdle. Ignore this tantrum. Stir for another 3 or 3 mins as it cooks in

8. Add the sugar and the vinegar and stir in. Reduce the heat and re-cover, very gently simmering for another 10 to 12mins

9. By now, the sauce should be thickening notably and the lamb chops flaking or breaking into smaller pieces. Add the peas and curry leaves, re-cover and simmer for 5mins

10. Uncover and check the peas are cooked (if not, re-cover and cook for a few more mins). Then, cook uncovered, slightly increasing the heat so that the sauce reduces further, stirring occasionally and gently. You want a fairly thick gravy with this curry. Add the chopped coriander and fold in. Simmer for a few more mins. Cover and remove from the heat

11. Allow the curry to rest for a few mins as you prepare your side dishes and sambals. Then plate or take to table in serving dishes. Be careful with the bones that may be in there and don't get the thyme stems stuck in your teeth! Enjoy.

Alternatives

This is fundamentally a lamb dish. So, you might find it a little unexpected that it's one of my tried and tested vegan and vegetarian crowd pleasers, in fact, since lamb chops rarely appear in my fridge, I cook the vegan or vegetarian versions more often. The two versions I recommend are simply using three sweet potatoes or substituting the lamb with fresh fennel—I would use two fresh fennel with the quantities, cut into large pieces. I also always add a teaspoon of tamarind paste to the vegan versions (added with the tomatoes) to tease out some of the "muskier" flavours offered by lamb in the meat version.

In in either case, since you're bypassing the earlier stages of browning and simmering the lamb, it will cook faster. Add only a minimal amount of water (e.g. 30ml) when first cooking the spices in with the tomatoes, but add the additional water when you add the sweet potato. If using the fresh fennel, add about 7mins after the sweet potatoes. Obviously, the vegan version doesn't use the yoghurt and I reduce it by cooking longer, uncovered, towards the end. But, otherwise, follow the same recipe for both the vegan and lactovegetarian versions.

My best pescatarian version so far has been with calamari rings. Follow the process of creating the vegan version above—I tend to leave the yoghurt and peas out of the squid version—adding the calamari rings in above the last 10mins of cooking, allowing them to cook gently on a very low heat as I reduce the sauce by cooking it uncovered.

Yep, this is a carnivore dish that can also be cooked with beef, chicken or game orphaned from a braai. You might think that steak is hardly something that can go to waste at a braai (and if it wasn't previously frozen it can easily be frozen) but on some occasions I have been left with steaks no one wanted to take home. On the whole, I have braised them to turn into steak pies or made a version of this beef curry. But, there is no reason you can't make this curry if Cape Malay is more to your taste. I cut the steak into large pieces/strips, treating it in the same manner as the lamb, but leave the mint out of the recipe.

With chicken, on the bone or not, I brown it if first with a little garam masala in a separate pan, then add at the appropriate stage after cooking down the tomatoes and spices, earlier if on the bone and later if breasts, first cut into large slices. The combination of chicken and sweet potato works very well and I do add the mint, a common combination in KZN Indian curries that is something of a signature of the South African Indian Diasporan cooking. On the whole, however, I tend to make this KZN chicken curry when I need to use up raw chicken, especially because it freezes very well once cooked.

Pairings

Like many curries, this dish works well with both beer and wine. Though, respecting the Muslim traditions in which it was forged, it's also great with iced mint tea or iced sparking water with a dash of lemon or lime, my choice here. As stated elsewhere, I am also a sucker for, Sparletta Creme Soda, with many Cape Malay dishes—it's not only a memory or association thing: its flavour works incredibly well with these spices, if you can get your hands on it.

Beer and curry are a winning combination. You can go fully SAFA and have it with Carling Black Label or Castle Lager. In Europe and beyond, I think Becks or Amstel probably comes closest to being an honest, simple beer that works well served pretty cold in the South African style. And, of course, there are plenty of craft IPAs out there that would work well.

On the red front, tend to head straight for medium-bodied Cape pinotages or Côtes du Rhône, because they are a good balance between the heavier flavours of the lamb and the herbal, vegetal freshness in this dish. However, I also remember it working well with an Australian shiraz when I made it with some notably chunky orphaned lamb chops where the depth of the meat was more notable. Sadly, I can't remember the specifics because, like the dish, none of these were "occasions".

That said, given you're more likely to end up with surplus lamb chops during the braai season in Europe during warmer months—yes, I know it's all-year-round in some parts of the world—don't underestimate a good chilled rosé. I remember it being fantastic with a Bodega Otazu Otazu Merlot Rosado one hot September.