Hey there, I'm Jill, the founder of GrownupDish.com and your go-to gal for everything midlife. As a recovering CEO, food lover, world traveler, and self-proclaimed pop culture aficionado, I've got a wealth of experience and wisdom to share with you.
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This one pot Cape Malay Chicken Curry will tickle your tastebuds with a unique mix of spices. It’s traditionally eaten without utensils (try using your hands – it’s fun!)
We spent part of our honeymoon in Capetown South Africa where I took an African Malay cooking class taught by Gamidah Jacobs who runs a company called Lekka Kombuis. Gamidah taught us to make this traditional Malay Chicken and Potato Curry and today I’m sharing my version of her recipe with you.
Gamidah lives in the historic Bo Kaap neighborhood and runs cooking classes and neighborhood tours from her home. There were 10 people in my cooking class and I was the only American (which was very cool!) The other participants were from all over the world … France, Phillipines, the Netherlands … but food and cooking is the universal language and everyone was able to communicate beautifully.
The colorful Bo Kapp neighborhood is one of the most Instagram-worthy places I’ve ever been with its brightly-colored painted houses (all set against the bright blue South African sky). Gamida lives on this street:
Beginning in the 17th century, slaves from Indonesia and India were brought to work the farms of Cape Town, South Africa. They came to be known as Cape Malays, and as a result of their influence, curry dishes are widespread in South Africa. Cape Malay curry is known for combining sweet and savory flavors–using sweet spices and savory seasonings like garlic and onions.
Although there are various types of dishes in a Malay meal, all are served at once, not in courses. Food is eaten with the hands (often using the bread to scoop up all of the yummy sauce.)
Typical Cape Malay Spices
The spices in Cape Malay cooking aren’t super spicy but they’re very flavorful. Typical spices found in many recipes include:
Chili powder
Turmeric
Cumin
Ground Coriander
Masala – A blend of many spices, similar to curry powder.
How To Serve Cape Malay Chicken Curry
Serve Cape Malay Chicken Curry over rice or with roti (or naan). You could also serve it over cauliflower rice and keep the whole recipe Whole30 compliant and keto. Whatever you do, don’t skip the sambal sauce. It’s so delicious to top your curry with the fresh and slightly sweet sambal as it perfectly balances the heat.
Sambal to Accompany Chicken Curry
This fresh Cape Malay Sambal is the perfect compliment to serve with any kind of curry and it only contains a few ingredients and comes together in a flash. It’s the perfect mix of sweet and spicy. I can’t wait to try it on more things.
INGREDIENTS: 1 tomato, chopped 1 onion, chopped 1/2 cup of malt or apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons of jam (I used apricot) fresh chopped cilantro (optional) fresh or dried chilies – depending on how much spice you like. You could also add a dash of red pepper flakes salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and let the flavors marry for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Try this Cape Malay Chicken Curry recipe and let me know what you think. Be sure to tag #grownupdish or @grownup_dish on Instagram so I can share your posts.
This one pot Cape Malay Chicken Curry will tickle your tastebuds with a unique mix of spices. It’s traditionally eaten without utensils (use your hands – it’s fun!)
Ingredients
UnitsScale
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 cloves)
2 medium potatoes, skin on, large diced (see notes)
1 – 2cups of water or chicken stock. I used my chicken bone broth which I always meal prep and keep in the freezer.
Instructions
In a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat, add onions and cook them until they are golden brown. You do not need to add any oil although feel free to add a spash of olive oil if they are sticking.
Add fresh chopped tomato or tomato paste and mix well for 2-3 minutes.
Add garlic, ginger and all of the spices and stir well.
Add chicken and potatoes.
Add water or chicken stock to just cover half way.
Cover the pot and simmer for 45 – 60 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and the potatoes are soft.
To thicken the mixture, you can mash a few of the potatoes and/or remove the lid of the pot for a few minutes.
Notes
You can use chicken on or off the bone (breasts, thighs, drumsticks) but remove the skin. I used a mixture of one very large chicken breast (chopped into pieces) and 3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs. But when we made this in Africa all of the chicken we used was on the bone.
The masala I used is a blend of cumin, coriander, fennel, star aniseed, chili powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and bay leaves. So basically it’s a blend. You can substitute the curry powder of your choice – something like this Frontier Organic Tandoori Masala would definitely work.
I used one orange sweet potato and one white sweet potato (japanese yam). Keep the skins on the potatoes.
Awesome. My mouth is watering. Thank you so much for sharing the special recipe Cape Malay Chicken Curry. I believe that I will find some times to cook it. But I am also a little bit afraid of much hot.
From a Capetonian this is just a very easy meal to prepare and so delicious I’m going to try it next with no chicken and try chickpeas the spices stock tomato onion stay the same.
I Made this last night and it was a hit!
Made a few changes though,fried the onions in sunflower oil and found the sauce to be richer. I added a tablespoon of tomato paste as well as the tomato called for in recipe card. I omitted the potatoes and it still turned out yummy.
In the last few minutes of cooking I added finely chopped coriander leaves and stems and 2 tablespoons of smooth apricot jam.
Served with sambal and naan bread.
This is definitely going into my weekly rotation.
Excellent
Awesome. My mouth is watering. Thank you so much for sharing the special recipe Cape Malay Chicken Curry. I believe that I will find some times to cook it. But I am also a little bit afraid of much hot.
You can control how spicy it is by adjusting the amount of curry powder you use.
[…] 19. Cape Malay Curry […]
This came out so well, so flavourful and the sambal was a great addition too.
I’m so happy to hear that you loved the recipe. I think the sambal is amazing.
From a Capetonian this is just a very easy meal to prepare and so delicious I’m going to try it next with no chicken and try chickpeas the spices stock tomato onion stay the same.
That sounds amazing. Let me know how it turns out.
I Made this last night and it was a hit!
Made a few changes though,fried the onions in sunflower oil and found the sauce to be richer. I added a tablespoon of tomato paste as well as the tomato called for in recipe card. I omitted the potatoes and it still turned out yummy.
In the last few minutes of cooking I added finely chopped coriander leaves and stems and 2 tablespoons of smooth apricot jam.
Served with sambal and naan bread.
This is definitely going into my weekly rotation.