Cape Malay Lamb Shoulder Curry Recipe

Executive Chef Grant Daniels and his team has been serving up the perfect cure for the winter blues. Inspired by the local flavours of the Cape Malay community and the desperate need for comfort food during the cooler climate of the Cape Town winter season – here is the recipe for his much-loved Malay Lamb Shoulder Curry.

Marinating the Lamb Shoulder

• 2kg Deboned lamb shoulder, cut into large chunks
• 100g Bulgarian yoghurt
• 30g Malay curry paste
• Handful fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Combine all the ingredients and add the chunks of lamb. Marinate the lamb for 24 hours.

Making the Malay Curry Paste

• 2 Red peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 3 Green peppers, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 2 Lemongrass, crushed
• 3 Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2 Ginger (thumb sized)
• 10 Red Chili, roughly chopped

Combine the ingredients in a blender and blitz into a paste. Place the paste in a large saucepan and cook through on a low heat for 20 minutes.

Preparing the Spice Blend

• 2tsp Garamasala
• 2tsp Cinnamon powder
• 5 Cardamom pods, lightly bruised
• 2 Aniseed
• 2tsp Whole coriander seeds
• 2tsp Whole cumin
• 2tsp Fennel seeds

Combine the seed mix with the paste and cook through for 15 minutes to remove all the moisture from the blend.

• 1tsp Turmeric
• 2tsp Malay Curry
• 3 Whole spice, grinded
• 1tsp Paprika

Add the mixture to the curry paste and cook through for a further 10 minutes.

Starting the Lamb Curry

• 100ml Vegetable oil
• 50g Ghee or unsalted butter
• 2 Large onions, finely chopped
• 6 Curry leaves
• 2 Cardamom pods
• 3 Cassia sticks
• 3g Fennel seeds
• 5g Whole Coriander Seeds

Combine the ingredients in a heavy base pot and sauté for 10 minutes on a low heat to avoid burning the onion and spices.

• 3 Garlic cloves, grated
• 1 Ginger (thumb sized), grated

Add the garlic and ginger to the sautéed onions and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes.

• 3 Bunches spring onion, roughly chopped
• 1 Handful fresh coriander
• 3 tbsp Cape Malay Paste

Blend the ingredients together and add to the sautéed mixture for a further 10 minutes.

• 4 Plum tomatoes, cut in half

Add the tomatoes to the curried onion mix and cook on a low heat until almost dry.

• 100mil Bulgarian Yohgurt

Add the yoghurt to the sautéed onion and tomato mix and cook through for a further 15 minutes.

Remove the excess yoghurt from the Lamb Shoulder and add to the pot to braise for a further 10 minutes or until sealed off.

• 5L Lamb meat stock

Add your lamb stock to the pot and cover with foil. Place in a pre-heated oven and braise for 1 hour or until tender.

• 100g Malatya apricots
• 10 Baby eggplant, cut lengthwise and roasted in the oven for 10 minutes
• Basmati rice, steamed
• Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Add the apricots and warm them through in the lamb curry.

Serve with baby eggplant, fresh coriander and steamed basmati rice.

Enjoy!