A sweet, flavorful curry that’s warming without being too hot, brought to you by my incredible new intern Tanzie who has lived all over this planet, including South Africa where she picked up this recipe. We had a lot of fun making this together on Valentine’s Day. ♥ This dish is naturally vegan, or can be served with meat.
South African cuisine is known for bridging diverse influences, and this is a classic example with a mix of South African, Malaysian, Dutch, and Indian traditions.
Curry is a powerful dish, not only in flavor but also in physiological effects. As a spice blend, curry varies by the maker, including spices like black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, chili peppers, fenugreek, ginger, mustard, nutmeg, and of course turmeric which gives it its signature yellow hue. This dish creates a unique curry by combining turmeric with the spice blend garam masala which features many of the above, along with a blend of other aromatics.
Breaking up the cardamom pods
Turmeric is also one of the most medicinal of the curry spices, its most well known active healing phytonutrient being curcumin. Curcumin holds an affinity for the brain, helping to promote cognitive health, slow and prevent neurodegenerative decline, and reduce plaque buildup in the brain. This cognitive support is evident in Indian culture where rates of cognitive decline conditions such as Alzheimer’s are markedly lower, thought to be related to the prevalence of turmeric in the diet.¹
Turmeric is also known to relieve pain and inflammation as a powerful anti-inflammatory that protects against the deterioration of joints.² It has also been associated with improved liver function.³ To effectively absorb these wonderful healing benefits, you can combine turmeric with black pepper as the piperine in black pepper has been shown to enhance curcumin absorption by up to 2000%.⁴
We included fresh cardamom in the dish, breaking open fresh pods to extract the seeds. In addition to being delicious, cardamom is a vasodilator that promotes healthy blood flow, lowers blood pressure, and reduces the risk of cardiovascular issues.⁵
Feeds: 4-6
Time: about 45 minutes
Options:
Meat such as lamb, goat, or chicken is also optional.
Choose from two variations of starch: rice or potatoes. Potatoes are a common alternative to rice in South Africa.
RICE
1 cup basmati rice
1 cup water
12 oz can of coconut milk
1 large garlic clove
1 small onion or ½ large onion
1 bell pepper (color of choice)
2 medium tomatoes
2 TBSP olive oil
12 oz can of pineapple chunks OR ⅓ cup of fresh pineapple
¼ cup green onions chopped (approximately 2 green onions)
1 large carrot or 4 baby carrots
½ cup snap peas
SPICES:
2 tsp ground cardamom OR 15 cardamom pods broken open*
½ - 1 TBSP ground fennel (less if very aromatic) OR fennel seeds slightly chopped
1 TBSP diced fresh ginger
2 TBSP garam masala
1 tsp turmeric½ tsp black pepper
¾ cup pecans OR macadamia nuts
DIRECTIONS
Start rice (unless instant) using 1 cup water and ½ cup coconut water strained from coconut milk can.
Open cardamom pods if using pods.
Slightly chop fennel to open aroma and flavor and to cook more thoroughly.
Mince the ginger and garlic.
Dice the onion.
Chop pecans OR macadamia nuts in half lengthwise.
Heat up pan with olive oil on low-medium (your typical stir fry temperature).
Chop bell pepper into roughly 2 inch pieces.
Dice the tomatoes into generously sized 2 inch pieces (too small will turn to mush).
Place garlic and onion in preheated pan.
If adding meat, add now and cook until golden browned.
Once slightly golden, add: liquid from pineapple can, rest of coconut milk from can.
Add cardamom, fennel, ginger — IF FRESH.
Turn up heat slightly if needed to get to a low boil. When gently bubbling, add tomatoes, bell peppers, all remaining spices (garam masala, turmeric, pepper AND cardamom, fennel, ginger if not fresh).
Simmer for 5 minutes. Don’t stir.
Chop green onions and add to pan.
Shave carrots directly into pan.
Add snap peas.
Simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
Serve over rice.
POTATOES
4 red potatoes, diced
4 cups water
12 oz can of coconut milk
1 large garlic clove
1 small onion or ½ large onion
1 bell pepper (color of choice)
2 medium tomatoes
2 TBSP olive oil
2 ounce can of pineapple chunks OR ⅓ of fresh pineapple
¼ cup green onions chopped (approximately 2 green onions)
1 large carrot or 4 baby carrots
½ cup snap peas
SPICES:
2 tsp ground cardamom OR 15 cardamom pods broken open*
½ - 1 TBSP ground fennel (less if very aromatic) OR fennel seeds slightly chopped
1 TBSP diced fresh ginger
2 TBSP garam masala
1 tsp turmeric½ tsp black pepper
¾ cup pecans OR macadamia nuts
DIRECTIONS
Start boiling water. Chop the potatoes. Once the water is boiling, add in the potatoes.
Open cardamom pods if using pods.
Slightly chop fennel to open aroma and flavor and to cook more thoroughly.
Mince the ginger and garlic.
Dice the onion.
Chop pecans OR macadamia nuts in half lengthwise.
Heat up pan with olive oil on low-medium (your typical stir fry temperature).
Chop bell pepper into roughly 2 inch pieces.
Dice the tomatoes into generously sized 2 inch pieces (too small will turn to mush).
Place garlic and onion in preheated pan.
If adding meat, add now and cook until golden browned.
Once slightly golden, add: liquid from pineapple can, and the coconut milk from can.
Add cardamom, fennel, ginger — IF FRESH.
Turn up heat slightly if needed to get to a low boil. When gently bubbling, add tomatoes, bell peppers, all remaining spices (garam masala, turmeric, pepper AND cardamom, fennel, ginger if not fresh).
Strain the potatoes and add into the mixture.
Simmer for 5 minutes. Don’t stir.
Chop green onions and add to pan.
Shave carrots directly into pan.
Add snap peas.
Simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
Serve over potatoes.
SOURCES
Ono K, et al. “Curcumin Has Potent Anti-Amyloidogenic Effects For Alzheimer’s Beta-Amyloid Fibrils In Vitro. – Pubmed – NCBI.” Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 July 2017.
N, Chainani-Wu. “Safety And Anti-Inflammatory Activity Of Curcumin: A Component Of Tumeric (Curcuma Longa). – Pubmed – NCBI.” Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 July 2017.
P, Rivera-Espinoza. “Pharmacological Actions Of Curcumin In Liver Diseases Or Damage. – Pubmed – NCBI.” Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 July 2017.
S.J., Hewlings, D.S., Kalman. “Curcumin: A Review of It’s Effects on Human Health”. NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5664031/ . Web. 22 October 2017.
”Gut Modulatory, Blood Pressure Lowering, Diuretic And Sedative Activities Of Cardamom – Sciencedirect.” Sciencedirect.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 July 2017.