Dedicated to South Africans living abroad...and all lovers of Traditional South African food

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We have just come back from two week's vacation, most of the time was spent at Umhlanga Rocks in KwaZulu-Natal, just north of Durban. We had perfect weather and just as we left we heard mention of the first sardine shoals being spotted to the South. The sardine run is when kazillions of sardines come right up to the shore and even beach sometimes, we witnessed the spectacle while holidaying in Margate some years back but have never been to the coast during sardine time again, seems we will miss it this year as well.

To me Durban is synonymous with "curry" and I usually try and have some real Durban curry while in the vicinity. One thing you have to realise about Durban curry, is that their "mild" is our "hot", never, but never, order hot curry while in Durban.

Yes, you guessed it, this newsletter will feature some curry recipes, so scroll down and give them a try!

For those of you that used to live in Durban, here is a panorama pic I took of the Durban beachfront from one of the beach piers, it's the panorama at the bottom:

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That's it for now
Keep well
Peter

The Recipes
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SOJI ....this was sent to me by my friend Charly, the best cook in Durban!

250 g semolina
150 g butter or margarine
750 ml to 1 litre boiling water
2 sticks cinnamon
200 ml sugar (adjust to taste)
100 ml chopped almonds
100 ml sultanas or raisins

Method:
1. Clean the semolina, removing any small black spots.
2. Using a thick bottomed, deep pot, on low to medium heat, stir-fry the semolina (without adding anything) until straw/light golden in colour. Stir constantly to prevent burning or clumping. Takes about 5-10 minutes.
3. Remove the semolina and set aside. Using the same pot, on the same heat, add the boiling water, cinnamon sticks and butter/marg and stir until the butter has melted. Now comes the tricky part.
4. Add the semolina, a little at a time, and stir constantly. This has to be done simultaneously and quickly to prevent lumps from forming (kind of like making a white sauce). When all the semolina has been added, stir well and remove any lumps. Allow to cook on low heat for about 10 minutes until semolina is almost cooked.
5. Add sugar, almonds and sultanas and stir well.
6. Cook for a further 5 minutes on low heat. Adjust sugar to taste, if necessary.

And voila! Serve warm with cream. Enjoy!

Basic curry powder

8 dried red chillies
8 tbsp coriander seeds
4 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 tsp black mustard seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
4 curry leves

Remove stalks and seeds from chillies.
Dry-fry with next 6 ingredients, shaking pan, so as not to burn spices and to release the rich aroma.
Grind to a powder in a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder, then stir in ginger and turmeric.
Makes about 1 cup.

Breyani

500 g mutton or beef knuckles
salt and black pepper
oil
2 onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
15 ml finely grated fresh ginger
2 sticks cinnamon
12 ml curry powder
5 ml ground cumin (jeera)
5 ml ground coriander
10 ml turmeric
3 tomatoes, skinned and finely chopped
200 ml sour milk or plain joghurt
30 ml sugar
200 g uncooked rice

Season the knuckles with salt and pepper and brown small quantities at a time in heated oil. Remove from the pan. Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger in the oil in the pan until soft. Add the cinnamon, curry powder, cumin, coriander and turmeric and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Add the meat, tomatoes and sour milk, reduce the heat and simmer until the meat is tender and the sauce is fairly thick. Season with extra salt and pepper and with 15-30 ml sugar. If desired, add the rice to the meat with a little hot water and cook until the rice is also done. Alternatively, cook and serve the rice separately. Serve with tomato and onion salad, and chutney and banana slices. Serves 4.

Bunny chow...whenever you go camping, try this, no plates to wash, just eat it!

250 g lentils
salt
60 ml sunflower oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
10 ml curry powder
5 ml turmeric
5 ml cumin
60 ml lemon juice
5 ml sugar
1 hard-boiled egg, shelled
0.50 loaf brown bread, soft centre removed

Cook the lentils in boiling water until soft.
Drain and season with salt.
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion and garlic until soft.
Add the spices and sauté until fragrant.
Add the lemon juice and sugar along with the lentils.
Mix and chill.
Spoon the filling and hard-boiled egg slices into the hollowed-out bread.

Cape Malay chicken curry

180 ml butter
4 onions, chopped
80 ml garlic and ginger paste
80 ml curry powder
10 ml paprika
250 ml tomato purée
1.50 kg chicken breasts, cut into strips
80 ml chutney
15 ml sesame seeds
65 ml curry leaves
60 ml ground cumin
125 ml fresh coriander, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
water, if necessary

Heat frying pan, add butter and onions, and cook until transparent.
Add ginger, garlic, curry powder, paprika and tomato purée.
Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Add chicken to garlic mixture and cook for 10 minutes.
Add chutney, sesame seeds, curry leaves and cumin, then cook for a further 4 minutes.
Add chopped coriander, salt and pepper.
Add a little water and cook for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
Serve with rice

Curried brawn

1 sheep's tripe, thoroughly cleaned
4 sheep trotters, thoroughly cleaned
4 bay leaves
15 ml whole coriander seeds
10 allspice seeds
6 whole cloves
4 cardamom pods
125 ml brown vinegar
125 ml lemon juice
15 ml curry powder
15 ml turmeric
15 ml sugar
5 ml fresh root ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, finely grated
25 ml salt
15 ml black pepper, freshly ground

Cover the tripe and trotters with water and simmer slowly until the meat falls off the bone. Remove all the bones and cut the tripe into smaller pieces. Tie the bay leaves, coriander seeds, allspice seeds, cloves and cardamom pods in a muslin bag and place in the saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer slowly for about two hours. Stir frequently to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the saucepan. Pour into moulds rinsed with cold water. Leave to set. Serve with bread

Curried kaiings (crackling)

1 large onion sliced
3 potatoes, diced
2 tomatoes, skinned and diced
5 ml medium curry powder
5 ml turmeric
1 l kaiings
sugar
brown vinegar
salt
pepper

Place the onion, potatoes and. tomatoes in a heavy-based saucepan and add the curry powder and turmeric. Add a little water and simmer until the potatoes are soft. Add the kaiings and season to taste with sugar, brown vinegar, salt and pepper. Mix well and cook through. Serve with mealie rice. Serves 4.

Curried mogodo (tripe)

1.50 kg tripe, cleaned, pre-cooked and cubed
5 ml salt
15 ml lemon juice
60 ml oil
20 ml curry powder
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
115 g (1 can) tomato paste
400 g (1 can) chopped tomatoes
30 ml sugar

Wash and rinse tripe thoroughly.
Place in cold water, and add salt and lemon juice.
Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 2 hours, or until tender.
To make sauce:
Heat oil and add curry powder, onion and garlic.
Sauté until transparent, then add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.
Drain tripe and add to tomato sauce.
Cook for a further 20 minutes.
Serve hot with samp or maize rice.

Curried mince vetkoek...mince is the perfect filling for vetkoek, more so if it be curried mince!


CURRIED MINCE
10 ml oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
500 g mince, preferably lean beef or ostrich
3 ml salt
45 ml mild curry powder
2 medium carrots, sliced into thin strips
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 green apple, grated
25 ml fruit chutney
7 ml vinegar
30 ml tomato purée
3 ml Worcestershire sauce
150 ml water
1 large cooked potato, peeled and cubed
65 ml frozen peas (optional)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh coriander leaves for garnishing (optional)

VETKOEK
1 kg cake flour
10 g instant yeast
10 ml salt
650 ml lukewarm water (approximately)
1 l oil for deep-;frying

Heat the oil in a large shallow saucepan and sauté; the onion and garlic until fragrant and soft. Add the mince and brown well. Add the salt and curry powder and sauté; until fragrant. Add the carrot, green pepper, apple, chutney, vinegar, tomato puré;e, Worcestershire sauce and water and stir well. Cover partially and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Stir occasionally. Add the potato and peas, stir gently and simmer until heated through. Season to taste and keep warm.
VETKOEK:
Sift the flour in a large mixing bowl and add the yeast and salt. Mix well. Add just enough lukewarm water to make a soft dough and knead for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic and no longer sticks to your hands. Coat the top of the dough with oil, cover with a tea towel and leave to rest in a warm place for about 10 minutes. Knock the dough back and break off pieces of dough. Shape into rounds and leave in a warm place to rise once more until double in volume. Heat the oil until very hot and deep-fry the vetkoek until golden brown and done. Drain on paper towelling. Make a slit in the vetkoek and fill with the hot curried mince mixture. Sprinkle the filling with extra coriander leaves, press the vetkoek gently to close and serve.

Curried ox tongue

1 kg ox tongue
5 whole peppercorns
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs parsley

SAUCE
4 carrots, cut into julienne strips
1 chicken stock cube
250 ml boiling water
250 ml cream
60 ml vinegar
30 ml sugar
15 ml curry powder
5 ml cumin seed (jeera)
5 ml garam masala
1 ml ground ginger
5 ml ground coriander
250 g stoned prunes
salt
pepper
cornflour

Place the ox tongue in a large saucepan or pressure cooker. Add the peppercorns, onion, bay leaves and parsley and simmer for about 2 hours or until the tongue is tender (for 1 hour if cooking the tongue in the pressure cooker). Remove the tongue from the cooking liquid and remove the skin while still hot. Slice the tongue. In the meantime prepare the sauce: Boil the carrot strips in the chicken stock cube dissolved in the boiling water until tender but still crisp. Add the remaining ingredients for the sauce and simmer until the sauce has thickened. Stir occasionally. Season with salt and pepper and thicken with cornflour mixed to a paste with a little water if necessary. Serve with the tongue or place the tongue slices in the sauce and heat through.

Curry oxtail stew...once again one of my personal favorite combinations, oxtail and curry!

1.5 kg oxtail
30 ml curry powder
4 cloves
4 peppercorns
1 bay leaf
250-500 ml meat stock
1 small onion, sliced
1 carrot, chopped
1 turnip, chopped
butter
30 ml cake flour

Cut the oxtail into joints and wash thoroughly.
Place meat in a heavy saucepan and add the spices and boiling water.
Simmer for three to four hours, adding more stock when necessary.
After two hours add salt, pepper, onion, carrot and turnip.
Remove spices and skim off as much fat as possible.
Melt the butter in a pan, add the cake flour and fry until brown.
Add the flour mixture to the meat and gravy in the saucepan and stir until the gravy thickens.
Simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve with rice or mashed potatoes.

Curry pie

MINCE MIXTURE
15 ml oil
2 onions, sliced into rings
15 ml curry powder
2 ml ground cumin seed
500 g mince
salt
pepper
1 apple, grated
10 ml apricot jam

PASTRY
220 g cake flour
7 ml baking powder
2 ml salt
7 ml curry powder
70 g margarine
100 ml milk

FILLING
50 g margarine
50 ml chutney
30 g sultanas
25 ml coconut

Preheat the oven to 180 ºC (350 ºF). Grease an ovenproof dish with margarine. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion until soft. Add the seasonings and sauté for another minute. Add the mince and brown it. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the apple and apricot jam and cook through. Add extra water if necessary. Transfer to the prepared ovenproof dish. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, salt and curry powder together in a mixing bowl. Rub in the margarine with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add just enough milk to form a stiff dough. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it is about 7 mm thick. Combine all the ingredients for the filling and spread over the rolled out dough. Roll the dough up lengthwise and cut into 1 cm slices. Arrange on top of the meat mixture and bake for about 40 minutes or until the pastry slices are cooked through and golden brown. Serves 4-6.
 

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