This is a typical South African dish, so be sure to include it on the menu when you have foreign guests you want to impress.

Lamb curry sosaties on the braai

(Serves 10)

What you need

• 2 kg lamb, deboned and cubed (at a stretch, the marinade will be enough for 2,5 kg meat)
• 2 tots oil or butter
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed peeled and grated ginger (equal in volume to the garlic)
• 2 tots curry powder
• ½ tot turmeric
• 2 cups brown vinegar
• 450 g tin smooth apricot jam
• ½ tot salt
• 4 to 8 fresh bay leaves, torn
• dried apricots and pieces of onion and peppers (optional)
• 10 skewers
• closed, hinged grid

What to do

To make the marinade, fry the onions in oil for about four minutes until they’re soft and golden but not brown. Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder and turmeric, and fry for another two minutes. Stir in the vinegar, jam and salt and heat until boiling. Remove from the heat and let the marinade cool down to room temperature. This takes a few hours.

Meanwhile, debone the lamb and remove all silver skin and sinews. Then cut the meat into cubes of about 3×3 cm, but remember this is not an exact science. You can also ask your butcher to prepare the meat in this manner. Place the meat into a marinating bowl, add the torn bay leaves and pour the cooled-down marinade over the meat. Toss thoroughly and make sure you coat all the meat. Cover and marinate for at least 12 hours, but two or three days is better. Stir the meat every eight to 12 hours.

Skewer the meat while the fire is burning. If you like, you can also add dried apricots and pieces of onion and peppers between the meat cubes when you are skewering. Braai for about 10 minutes over hot coals, turning a few times. The easiest way to do this is to clamp all the sosaties in a closed, hinged grid.

Tip

The classic curry sosatie is made with lamb but there are other options. The recipe also works well with venison and I’ve made some tasty sosaties using this marinade with a mix of lamb and springbok.

Photo by Matthys van Lill.