Creamy Cape Malay Chicken Curry with Apricots

Femmes et Vins du Monde Concours International 2012-  Winning Wine 3

Cape Malay Chicken Curry with Apricots

Earlier this year, I was invited to participate in the Women and Wine of the World International Competition 2012 (Femmes et Vins du Monde Concours International) in Monaco. It was an amazing experience, and you can read about it by clicking on this link.

I mentioned that as the appointed ‘god mother’ I would be preparing some dishes to pair with the winning wines. I received the wines last month and set about testing, tasting and testing again.

The Wine

The third wine that I present, also a Diamond winner with a score of 90.2, a Czech Muscat. Well balanced, crisp wine with characteristic sweetness on the palate and the nose.

DIAMOND 90.2 VINO DALIBOR MUSKAT MORAVSKY 2011 WHITE VINARSTVI O KAPLICKY S.R.O. RÉPUBLIQUE TCHÈQUE

Tasting Notes:

“The pale yellow with green tints lie waiting to be discovered. Finesse, nose resulting white flowers, notes of orange blossom with little touch of vanilla. Notes of citrus follow, just acid key with the honeyed sweetness and flavor of muscat. Crisp in the mouth, we find the expression of aromatic nose with a taste of grape very pleasant. A very sense of balance
and harmony to this wine.” *as provided

After discussing the options with local wine buffs and my good friends at Batonage, I decided to make this non-traditional Cape Malay curry, with a touch of coconut milk and Turkish apricots. The wine is crisp enough to handle the spice and sweet enough to compliment it. The apricots in the dish are echoed in the honeyed nose of the wine, I found.

Janine Mare has this to add about the Cape Malay people and their food:

Warm and fiery are words that describe the Cape Malay cuisine but also the Cape Malay people. Cape Malay cuisine dates back hundreds of years from when the Dutch East India Company imported slaves to the cape. These groups became known as today’s Cape Malays and the characteristic flavors of their cuisine have developed into a distinctive style unique to Cape Town.

Rich, spicy and earthy, these dishes are aromatic & delicious. They’re derived from distinctive blends of turmeric, garlic, ginger, bay leafs, cardamom, saffron, mustard seeds, nutmeg, cumin and star anise. Scrumptious bredies warm the tummy on cold, winter’s nights while crayfish, lamb and chicken curries (wrapped up in rotis make for the perfect, no-cutlery-needed, take-away.

From: Cape Malay Cuisine in South Africa

You can read about a lovely Food History Tour in Cape Town that I went on, that covers Malay cuisine here. 

Ingredients

2 T olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 star anise

1 small cinnamon stick, broken

2 small bay leaves

2 t medium-hot masala

1/2 t ground coriander

1/2 t ground cumin

1 t turmeric powder

4 free range chicken breasts, sliced

1 t fresh grated ginger and smashed garlic (or paste)

1 yellow pepper, diced

1 medium sized tomato, roughly chopped

1/4 t sugar

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup coconut milk

8 soft Turkish apricots (or regular dried apricots), sliced

salt, to taste

fresh coriander (cilantro) to serve

Method

1. On medium heat in a large saucepan or pot, add olive oil and fry onions for a minute, stirring. Add star anise, cinnamon and bay leaves and fry until onions are translucent and soft, stirring.

2. Add powdered spices, including the masala and fry for 30 seconds, stirring to prevent them from burning.

3. Add chicken and ginger and garlic, stir to mix spices into chicken and fry for 5-6 minutes. Add yellow pepper and fry for two minutes.

4. Add tomato, sugar and stock. Lower heat slightly and cook for another 4-5 minutes, uncovered.

5. Add coconut milk, season with salt and turn heat to low and simmer until the sauce thickens a little. Add apricots in last 5 minutes of cooking. (Add earlier if using regular apricots which are not as soft as Turkish apricots and need rehydrating).

If the sauce looks like it’s curdled a little, strain through a fine sieve and add chunky ingredients back to the smooth sauce. Strain twice if necessary.

Serve with basmati rice and garnish with fresh coriander.

Cape Malay Chicken Curry with Apricots