Growing up in a Coloured community in South Africa meant being exposed to a diversity of cultures but probably the most influential was the Malay/ Muslim cuisine.
The basics of learning how to make a curry were one of the first things we learned as young girls where methods and flavours varied from household to household. These are the kind of things that cannot be unlearned and throughout my travels, wherever I was, my search for local spices to create that very specific blend of the right flavour, an aroma that stirred up the warm and familiar feeling of home was a never-ending pursuit. Simply finding the right spice store in South Africa that could mix that right blend of spices is a journey of trial and error on its own.
So you can imagine why it felt like I struck gold on a recent visit to South Africa. Tucked away in a small district in Johannesburg, a small little spice shop not even noticeable to the trained eye was where I found my own little spice heaven.
They were able to mix up a special blend for me while I waited and as I watched in awe as he carefully and purposely measured, tasted, mixed again, added, smelled, and tasted again until he was completely satisfied with what he thought I needed. The thing with buying spices, though is that you really can't be sure how good it is until you get it into a pot to make that first pot of curry.
Fast forward a few weeks, I am back in my European kitchen and this is where the magic happened. I played around with the proportions, trying to figure out the amounts to get the right amount of spicy sting without compromising the flavour. A good curry needs to have that right amount of spicy burn, not too hot that it takes away the focus and intensity of the infused flavours.
Normally, I would have a few different bags of various spices and create my own mix which always varied and always created a different curry. A little bit of Garum masala, a dash of Jeero, and sometimes even mass production Packo roasted masala found its way into my pot. But this mixture is all prepared and ready to add to my braised onions.
And the results?? ....... Heureka!
The most amazing results every time! The perfect blend, aroma, intensity, and flavour that takes me back to South Africa with every spoonful of African goodness. Soul food at its best!
I have been to countless authentic Indian restaurants in more than a few countries but this South African style of cooking is authentic in its own right.
I would love to be able to share the recipes and techniques but in all honesty, the very secret lies in the blend of spices. After almost two decades of experimenting with Indian curry spices I could find locally, wherever I was, I can wholeheartedly, without a doubt say that creating this pot of curry just cannot be done without the right spices.
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