In the 17th century, the Dutch and French landed and settled in Cape Town, bringing slaves from Indonesia, India and Malaysia, along with their spices and traditional cooking methods.
When combined with local produce, the aromatic spices such as cinnamon, saffron, turmeric and chilli created fragrant curries and stews, which are still popular in the area today.
Spice up chicken thighs in a South African curry, packed with flavourful spices and served with a side of sweet, fragrant rice.
Try making your own with these recipe below.
- Prep:30 mins
- Cook:1 hr and 20 mins
Ingredients
For the curry
- 2 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 1 large onion , finely chopped
- 4 large garlic cloves , finely grated
- 2 tbsp finely grated ginger
- 5 cloves
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- seeds from 8 cardamom pods , lightly crushed
- 1 cinnamon stick , snapped in half
- 1 large red chilli , halved, deseeded and sliced
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp mango chutney
- 1 chicken stock cube , crumbled
- 12 bone-in chicken thighs , skin removed
- 500g potato , cut into chunks
- small pack coriander , chopped
For the yellow rice
- 50g butter
- 350g basmati rice
- 50g raisins
- 1 tsp golden caster sugar
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- 1 cinnamon stick , snapped in half
- 8 cardamom pods , lightly crushed
Method
- STEP 1
Heat the oil in a large, wide pan. Add the onion and fry for 5 mins until softened, stirring every now and then. Stir in the garlic, ginger and cloves, and cook for 5 mins more, stirring frequently to stop it sticking. Add all the remaining spices and the fresh chilli, stir briefly, then tip in the tomatoes with 2 cans of water, plus the chutney and crumbled stock cube.
- STEP 2
Add the chicken thighs, pushing them under the liquid, then cover the pan and leave to cook for 35 mins. Stir well, add the potatoes and cook uncovered for 15-20 mins more until they are tender. Stir in the coriander.
- STEP 3
About 10 mins before you want to serve, make the rice. Put the butter, rice, raisins, sugar and spices in a large pan with 550ml water and 0.5 tsp salt. Bring to the boil and, when the butter has melted, stir, cover and cook for 10 mins. Turn off the heat and leave undisturbed for 5 mins. Fluff up and serve with the curry.
