Cape Malay Chicken and Vegetable Curry
A delightful chicken and vegetable curry dish from the Malay district in Cape Town, South Africa.
Ingredients
  • 1tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow oniondiced
  • 1 green chileseeded, ribs removed, and finely diced
  • 1/2inch piece gingerpeeled and shredded
  • 1 garlic cloveminced
  • 4 chicken breastscut into 1-inch pieces
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 1tsp ground coriander
  • 1tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2tsp turmeric
  • 1tsp mixed spice
  • 1/2tsp cinnamon
  • 2tbsp garam masalaor your favorite masala
  • 1cup tomato sauce
  • 2tbsp tomato paste
  • 2cups chicken stock
  • 1 1/2cups frozen veggies of your choice
  • 1/4tsp cayenne pepperoptional
  • 1tbsp chopped cilantrofor garnish
Instructions
  1. In a large stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat, add the olive oil. Once heated, add the onions, chile, ginger, and garlic. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are just translucent
  2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add to the stockpot with the veggies, turn the heat up to medium-high, and brown on all sides.
  3. After the chicken has browned, add the coriander, cumin, cinnamon, mixed spice, turmeric, and masala. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Fry until spices are fragrant, 2-3 minutes.
  4. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, and chicken stock to the stockpot. Bring to a simmer and let cook with a lid on but tilted to let steam escape for 20 minutes.
  5. Add the veggies and cook for another 10 minutes.
  6. Taste the curry. If you’d like it to be spicier, add the optional cayenne pepper and let cook for another 5 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
  7. Serve over rice or in a wrap. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Recipe Notes

 

We usually eat this curry over white rice cooked with a bit of ground coriander, but it’s also great in a roti (a wrap, essentially) or you can definitely eat it as is. One of the tricks I use to making this dish so easy is using my favorite frozen veggies.

Although frozen veggies aren’t great when roasted (or served on their own at all, if we’re being honest) the perfect way to use them is in soups and stews, and curry is very similar to a stew. The mix I use has carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, and green beans.

If you have picky eaters in the house, I bet they’ll barely notice the veggies in there! They soak up all that delicious curry flavor and make it pretty hard to complain. You can absolutely use fresh veggies if you prefer!