Cape Malay Curry Powder

Cape Malay Curry Powder is a fragrant, profoundly earthy, salt-free curry blend that brings deep flavor to the kitchen. It’s got a heady aroma, as the citrusy freshness of coriander rises up with floral, peppery ginger, pine-and-pepper sweetness from cardamom, and hints of fenugreek’s maple perfume, with the winking allure of heat. Heat is present when you taste this blend; it greets you first, with cayenne and brown mustard leading the way. The heat lingers, hovering over the grounded sensibilities of turmeric, cumin, and fenugreek, and makes just enough room for the sweet finish from ginger and cloves. We blend our Cape Malay Curry Powder in small batches in our facility, so we can protect flavor and freshness in our product.

Cape Malay cuisine evolved out of the impact caused by European colonization. Cape Town was a strategic stop along Dutch trade routes, and the Dutch needed bodies to provide the agricultural labor that would farm the food needed to fuel their trading fleet. Since they had already established colonies throughout the islands of southeast Asia, Dutch traders brought slaves from Indonesia to Cape Town, South Africa, to work in tandem with enslaved indigenous people. Malay was a common language spoken among the slaves and they became known as the Cape Malay people. Their cuisine is a fusion of Indonesian and indigenous influences, incorporating local cooking styles and ingredients.

Tips From Our Kitchen

The secret to an authentic Cape Town Malay style curry is to balance the heat of the curry with the sweetness of fruit. Try making a curry and including apricots or mangoes. This would also be good tossed with roasted plantains, over grilled pineapple and chicken, or mixed into dressing for a kale and strawberry salad. Add just a touch to braising liquid for pears, or toss over a brie-and-pear grilled cheese sandwich. Add to cherry sauce and drizzle over honey-mustard coated pork chops.

Blended from coriander, turmeric, fenugreek, cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, organic curry leaves, clove, fennel, brown mustard, cayenne and ginger.

Hungry for more information?

What is Curry?
The Culinary Regions of African Cuisine
Global Grilling Habits
History of Slavery and Early Colonization in South Africa