Cape Malay Chicken curry

Name: Cape Malay Chicken curry
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 800g chicken thighs diced or 8-10 chicken drumsticks and thighs, skinned; 2 tbsp curry powder; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 4 cardamom pods lightly crushed; 4 cloves; 2 sticks of cinnamon; 2 onions, sliced; 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 2 tomatoes, diced; 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated; 2 tsp cumin seeds, crushed; 2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed; 1 tbsp tomato puree; 1 tsp turmeric; 2 tsp chilli powder; 1 tbsp apricot chutney; 1 tsp salt (or to taste); 2-3 red chillies, chopped (optional); 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks (optional); Handful fresh coriander, chopped

Instructions

This is a delicious one pot curry I picked up from a recent trip to South Africa, It's known for a delicate sweet and savoury twist that everyone needs to try. It's a simple dish to cook with the sweetness coming from sugar but I have made a few changes and added a some sweet spices to enhance the depth. I don’t usually use curry powder but I think with this dish the curry powder adds the unique South African feel making it a truly Malay dish. The sweet, fruity flavour can also be enhanced with apricots or mango chutney. The dish comes from the Cape region in South Africa where it originates from Indian and Indonesian people who were brought to work the farms in Cape Town back in the 17th century. These workers were called Cape Malays and due to their influence curries are very common across the region. Some people like to add potatoes to it which helps to thicken the sauce. It is usually served with yellow rice, roti’s and a selection of lentil sambals. I hope you like it.

Updated at: Sun, 21 Dec 2025 08:24:23 GMT