Low-Carb Tomato & Onion Beef Curry with Herby Cauliflower 'Couscous'

An aromatic slow-cooked curry in a tomato and onion gravy, served with low-carb cauliflower & turmeric 'couscous' and a refreshing cucumber, mint and coriander raita.  This curry takes some time to put together, but once you've assembled it, you can boot it into the oven and leave it to burble for several hours, during which time you can drift into the kitchen to make the raita and cauliflower couscous.

Low-Carb Tomato & Onion Beef Curry with a fresh yoghurt/cucumber raita.

This is a delicately spiced curry, just the way I like them.  Although I'm smitten by the warming spices of Indian cuisine, I don't like aggressive curries with bitter or overly pungent spices. Last year, watching one of the interminable series of MasterChef Australia, I wanted to tweak the nose of one of the judges, who added fistfuls of every spice known to mankind to his curry. No need for that, boet!

Some spices are so powerfully perfumed that they can easily ruin the taste of a curry - cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves are good examples.  I like a curry with many subtle layers of flavour, with no one spice stomping bossily over all the others. A subtle hand with spicing is the secret to creating complex and intriguing curries.

Having said that, I think you might quail when you read the long list of ingredients in my recipe, and I don't blame you. Because of my love of curry, I have tightly sealed jars of all these whole spices in my cupboard, and I restock them by visiting my favourite specialist spice shops every three months. I also buy packets of spanking-fresh pre-ground spices such as cumin and coriander every fortnight or so. (By the way, it's not true that you'll get better flavour from your spices by roasting and grinding them yourself. This is a foodie affectation, in my view. Roasting and blending spices should be left to the professionals; buy fresh powdered spices from a reputable merchant and you cannot go wrong.)

If you don't have a similar array of spices in your cupboard, you can make this curry using whatever you have available or - at a push - a few tablespoons of a good fresh generic curry powder, such as Rajah Medium Strength.

What sort of beef to use in this recipe?  I always use shin in stews because in my opinion it's the best cut for this purpose - not too fatty, and soft, flavoursome and fork-tender after a few hours of cooking. Be sure to cut away the membrane that encircles the slices of shin and, if you'd like your curry to have wonderful depth of flavour, toss in the bones so their marrow melts into the stew. You can also make this with bog-standard 'goulash' cubes, or topside, but the meat will be somewhat dry.

This recipe contains a large quantity of fresh ripe tomatoes, which I always add to stews because they have a delectable umami-ness that somehow is lacking in tinned tomatoes. I throw in a tin of chopped Italian tomatoes and a few tablespoons of tomato paste anyhow, to help create deep colour.  It's time-consuming to peel fresh tomatoes - and I have no objections to tomato peel - so now I chuck them whole into my blender to create a thin tomato purée that cooks down over 15-20 minutes to a beautiful thick brick-red.

The 'couscous' that accompanies this curry is made from the new darling of low-carb and diabetic cooking: cauliflower.  I've become a big fan of cauliflower since I switched to a very low-carb regime, and this is one of my favourite ways to eat it.  Most people steam or boil cauliflower 'couscous' and what's known as 'cauli-rice', but I've found that the best way to cook it is to zap it quickly in the microwave, which retains its flavour and gentle bite.

The low-carb 'couscous' in this picture is made of blitzed cauliflower yellowed
with healthy turmeric and flavoured with butter, toasted almonds and fresh herbs.

There is no need to brown the beef cubes before you add them to the tomato base, but be sure to take time over cooking the onions to a rich golden tangle.

Low-Carb Tomato & Onion Beef Curry with Turmeric & Almond Cauliflower 'Couscous'

For the curry: 
2.3 kg stewing beef, such as boneless shin
4 Tbsp (60 ml) sunflower oil, or a similar vegetable oil
1 stick cinnamon, or a thumb-sized piece of cassia bark
1 whole star anise
16 dried curry leaves
1 Tbsp (15 ml) black mustard seeds
2 fresh bay leaves, or 3 dried ones
4 whole cloves
4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
5 medium onions, peeled and finely sliced
900 g very ripe fresh tomatoes
1 x 410 g tin low-fat coconut milk
6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely grated
1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, grated
3 Tbsp (45 ml) tomato paste
1 x 410 g tin chopped Italian tomatoes
1 tsp (5 ml) chilli powder (or more, to taste)
1 tsp (5 ml) coriander powder
2 tsp (5 ml) tumeric
2½ tsp (7.5 ml) cumin
salt and milled black pepper
a squeeze of lemon juice
fresh chopped coriander, to serve

For the cucumber raita: 
1 large English cucumber
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
1 cup (250 ml) thick Greek yoghurt
the juice of a small lemon
4 Tbsp (60 ml) finely chopped fresh coriander [dhania; cilantro]
2 Tbsp (30 ml) finely chopped fresh mint
milled black pepper

For the cauliflower 'couscous'
2 heads of fresh crisp cauliflower
2 Tbsp (30 ml) warm water
1 tsp (5 ml) turmeric
3 Tbsp (45 ml) butter, or olive oil if you like
½ cup (125 ml) toasted whole almonds or almond flakes
½ cup (125 ml) finely chopped fresh parsley, mint or coriander - or all three
salt and milled black pepper

Heat the oven to 160 ºC. Trim any fat or sinew off the beef, cut it into large cubes and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large ovenproof pot, wait until it is very hot (but not yet shimmering or smoking) and add the cinnamon stick, star anise, curry leaves, mustard seeds, bay leaves, cloves and cardamom pods. Fry the whole spices for a minute or so, or until the mustard seeds begin to crackle and pop.

Tip in all the sliced onions and fry them over a medium heat, stirring frequently, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they have reduced by about half and are golden. Don't let them to catch or burn!

In the meantime, prepare the fresh tomatoes. Roughly chop them and put them in the goblet of a liquidizer or a food processor, along with a third of the contents of the tin of coconut milk.  Whizz them to a fairly fine, pale-pink purée and set aside. If you don't have a liquidizer, you will need to grate the tomatoes, or chop them very finely.

When the onions are ready, stir in the garlic, ginger and tomato paste and fry gently for a further minute. Don't allow the garlic to brown, or it will add a bitter taste to the curry

Tip in the puréed tomatoes, the remaining coconut milk, and the tin of chopped tomatoes.  Now stir in the chilli powder, coriander, turmeric and cumin.  Season the mixture with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

Let the sauce bubble briskly for 10-15 minutes, lid off, or until it has thickened and reduced by about one third.  Stir now and then, and skim off any foam that rises to the top.

Now add all the beef cubes and stir well. Bring back up to the boil, and then put the pot into the oven, with its lid on.  Cook your stew at 160 ºC for two to two-and-a-half hours, or until the meat is fork-tender and falling apart. If the sauce seems a little thin, place the pot back on your hob and simmer it briskly so the sauce can reduce.

In the meantime, make the cauliflower 'couscous'. Break off the florets and discard the stalks.  Place the florets - several batches at a time -  in a food processor fitted with a metal blade, or in the jug attachment of a stick blender. Whizz to fine crumbs. Place 2 tablespoons of warm water in the bottom of a microwave-safe bowl and stir in the turmeric.  Now add the cauliflower crumbs, stirring well to distribute the colour.  Cover with clingfilm and microwave on high for 6-8 minutes, or until the crumbs are just tender, but retain a slight bite.  Drain well in a sieve, tip back into the bowl, and stir in the butter. Allow to cool for a few minutes, then mix in the toasted almonds and chopped herbs.

Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to the curry and serve it with the turmeric couscous, a dollop of raita and a shower of fresh coriander.

Serves 8. 

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Spiced Baked Aubergines with Yoghurt and Pomegranate Seeds

Every family has a handful of famous recipes, and a famous recipe in my family is my brother-in-law Freddy's Aubergines with Garlic Yoghurt. (We call them brinjals, as do most people in South Africa.) Freddy, who is of Cypriot descent, always makes this excellent dish for family gatherings, along with his equally famous Smashed Olives).

Spiced Baked Aubergines with Yoghurt and Pomegranate Seeds

Freddy's recipe involves salting and rinsing thick slices of brinjal, frying them in hot oil until crisp and golden, then layering them in a dish with thick, garlicky yoghurt and few secret ingredients. (I assume he has secret ingredients, because when I make this, it doesn't taste half as good as Freddy's.)

This recipe is a variation on the theme, except that I have added lemon thyme, and lightly spiced the slices with some warming flavours of the middle east. The combination of aubergines, cumin, coriander and yoghurt brings to mind Persan cuisine, so I've also added a scattering of fresh pomegranate seeds, which pop gloriously in your mouth and provide a bright crunchy contrast to the silken centres of the brinjal slices.

Also, I've baked these, not fried them, to prevent the spices from turning bitter in the pan.

This is a good party dish because you can prepare the brinjals in advance and keep them, covered, in the fridge until you're ready to bake them. You will find that the slices suck up the oil like blotting paper (especially if you haven't degorged them; see below), but don't be tempted to add more before you bake the dish: I promise they'll be beautifully golden and crispy-edged when they come out of the oven.

It's not strictly necessary to degorge the brinjals before you bake them (today's modern varieties are not as bitter as the brinjals yesteryear) but I have found that this process helps to prevent the slices from absorbing too much oil. Choose firm, tight-skinned brinjals with a dark glossy skin, and not too big.

A very rich, creamy Greek yoghurt is essential. Use ordinary thyme if you can't find lemon thyme.

The sumac sprinkled on the slices at the end of cooking gives them a lovely tang. Sumac is available at good delis and spice shops, but if you can't find it, leave it out. Smoked paprika is now widely available, but you can use ordinary paprika. As always, use very, very fresh cumin and coriander (and by that I mean that you bought them less than a week ago!).

Spiced Baked Aubergines with Yoghurt and Pomegranate Seeds

4 medium aubergines
1 tsp (5 ml) salt
⅓ cup (80 ml) olive oil
1.5 tsp (7.5 ml) cumin
1 tsp (5 ml) coriander
½ tsp (2.5 ml) smoked paprika
½ tsp (2.5 ml) chilli powder (or more, if you'd like some real heat)
milled black pepper
8 sprigs of lemon thyme
1 tsp (5 ml) sumac

To serve:
thick natural Greek yoghurt
fresh pomegranate seeds
extra olive oil
lemon wedges

Heat the oven to 180 ºC. Remove the tops and tails of the aubergines and cut them into 1-cm thick discs. Sprinkle the slices with the salt, place them in a colander, put a small plate on top and allow to degorge for half an hour. Pat them dry with a piece of kitchen paper (but don't rinse them).

In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil, cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, chilli powder and pepper. Take a spoonful of the oil and smear it across the bottom of a baking sheet. Rub each slice, top and bottom, with a little of the remaining oil. Arrange the slices on the baking sheet, scatter over the thyme sprigs and season quite generously with black pepper.

Brush the aubergine slices with the spiced olive oil. 

Bake the slices at 180 ºC for 25 minutes. Now turn the heat down to 160 ºC and bake for another 20 minutes, or until the slices are golden and rustling on the outside and soft and silky inside. Crumble the now-dry thyme leaves over the slices and discard the stalks. Sprinkle the sumac over the slices and season with salt, if necessary (but remember they may be salty enough after degorging).

Arrange the slices on a plate. Add dollops of yoghurt and drizzle with a little extra olive oil. Scatter with pomegranate seeds and serve piping hot or warm, with lemon wedges.

Serves 6 as a starter or side dish.


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Slow-cooking with a wonderful Wonderbag: easy Chilli Beef Tacos

The Wonderbag amazed me.

I am bowled over by the Wonderbag: a simple, brilliant, energy-saving South African innovation.

I'd heard of this product but never managed to get my sticky paws on one. When I carried my bag - which looks like a bean bag with a drawstring - home, I couldn't help but feel sceptical. Although it's a beautiful thing (my bag is covered in gorgeous navy Shweshwe cloth; see left and below), it seemed improbable to me that a polycotton bag stuffed with little polystyrene beads would hold food at a sufficiently high temperature for long periods. How wrong I was.

I was astonished, the first time I used the bag, to discover that the pot handles were so hot (after it had nestled in the bag for a full six hours) that I needed oven gloves to lift it out. What's more, every single dish I've tried in it has turned out perfectly, except for a pot of rice, which I foolishly left in the bag for two hours (oh me of little faith!). When I took it out, it was so overcooked I could have plastered a wall with it. (Instructions for cooking rice, quinoa and pap properly here.)

You can read all about the bag, its incredible energy-saving capacity and its potential to alleviate grinding rural poverty, here.

The Wonderbag is one of Africa’s first projects to be registered with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project. In a nutshell, this means that means that for every wonderbag sold, verified carbon offsets will be traded on the international market.

From a cooking point of view, a Wonderbag can do exactly what a conventional slow cooker (or very low oven) can do, but it uses a fraction of the electricity. There are two stages to cooking a meal in a Wonderbag: first, you bring your pot of food to the boil on a conventional hot plate or hob. When it reaches boiling point, you clamp on a tight-fitting lid, let it simmer for a few more minutes, then transfer it immediately to the bag. A little cushion fits snugly on top, and a sturdy drawstring pulls up the edges of the bag to form a perfectly insulated container. The contents of the pot remain at a whisper below boiling point for hour after hour, making the bag perfect for slow-cooked stews, curries, soups, casseroles and even potroasts.

Some important tips: if you open the bag before the end of the cooking time, the temperature will drop. If you can't resist the temptation to peek, make sure to bring the contents of the pot back up to a boil before you replace it in the bag.

Second, never put a warm or lukewarm pot in the bag, because bacteria will burst forth and multiply. (With two exceptions: the Wonderbag is ideal for making yoghurt, and I have used it with great success to hold delicate hollandaise and Béarnaise sauces at the correct temperature for up to an hour.)

Third, you will get best results if your pot is almost full (it's vital to choose the correct-sized pot for the amount of ingredients it holds).

Fourth, make sure that there is enough liquid just to cover the ingredients. Finally, it pays to give the bag a gentle shake every hour or so - without opening it - to ensure that the ingredients are well mingled during the cooking process.

Here is a quick beef chilli I made for the kids last night. I will never make chilli or a bolognaise sauce on top of the stove again. You can serve this in tacos, or wraps, or on its own in a bowl, topped with all the lovely crunchy bits. (It was this very dish that persuaded my teens to start loving salad when they were kids.)

Note, 5 August 2013: I've updated and amended this blog post to repair the broken links so they point you to the new Wonderbag site.

Wonderbag Chilli Beef Tacos

3 Tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil
1 kg lean minced (ground) beef
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 large red or green pepper (capsicum), chopped
2 Tbsp (30 ml) tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 x 200 g tin chopped Italian tomatoes, or tomato-and-onion mix
½ cup (125 ml) white wine
1½ tsp (7.5 ml) cumin
1 tsp (5 ml) coriander powder
1 tsp (5 ml) red chilli flakes[optional, and to taste]
2 tsp  (10 ml) dried oregano
1 x 200 g tin kidney beans and its liquid
salt and freshly milled black pepper, to taste

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot (it needs to be a pot with its own tight-fitting lid). Brown the minced beef, over a high heat, in two or three batches. Tip the cooked beef into a bowl and set aside. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pot, turn the heat down to medium, add the onion and pepper and fry until just softened (about 4 minutes). Stir in the tomato paste and garlic and cook for exactly one more minute, without allowing the garlic to brown.  Return the beef mince to the pot and add in all the remaining ingredients.

The liquid should just cover the mince; if there is not enough liquid, add a little water, wine or stock.

Bring to the boil, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook at over a medium flame for about 4 minutes, or until the pot is very hot and puffs of steam are escaping from under the lid. (The lid should feel very hot to the touch - too hot for you to place your hand on it - before you proceed with the next step.)

Open the Wonderbag, remove the cushion and place the bag next to the hob. Transfer the pot to the bag and immediately cover it with its cushion. Draw the string up tightly and tie a secure bow.

Leave the pot in the Wonderbag for at least two hours, without opening the bag. This mixture is lovely after four hours, and heavenly after eight.

Serve with taco shells, sour cream (or Greek yoghurt whisked with lemon juice, a clove of crushed fresh garlic and a few tablespoons of mayonnaise), grated cheese, avocado, chopped tomatoes, cucumber and coriander, and a shower of shredded lettuce.

Serves 4-6

Wonderbag picture courtesy of Natural Balance.


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Spicy, Super-Crunchy Garlic Potato Wedges with Roast Pepper Dip

Potato wedges are much loved by the teens in my house, who will happily eat them every day, and thank goodness for that, because they (the wedges, not the teens) are so easy to make and packed full of energy and nourishment.

On my quest for the perfect wedge, fluffy on the inside, rustly and super- crunchy without, I have found that they do need to be parboiled first (read more on this subject).

But what a pain in the neck it is to wait for a pot of water to boil! So when I spotted a packet of sturdy, ziplocking microwave steaming bags in my supermarket, I decided to try a new method.

(If you don't hold with microwave ovens, for whatever reason - don't get me started on that subject! - feel free to parboil the wedges in the normal way, or, if plastic is your bugbear, use a lidded glass dish to microwave the spuds.)

For ultra-crunchiness, I tossed the wedges in channa (chickpea) flour and some mild aromatic spices. You can find chickpea flour in Indian supermarkets or spice shops. (If you're in a real hurry, and live in South Africa, use Pakco Chilli-Bite Mix in place of the spices and channa flour; that is what I used the first time I made these). Or use any herbs and spices of your choice.

These wedges stay crunchy for hours after they've come out of the oven, and don't turn leathery, as wedges that have not been parcooked tend to do.  You do need a fan-assisted oven to achieve this level of crunch, it must be said. I've tried these in an oven without a fan, and they just weren't the same.

The dip, a variation on my Aunt Gilly's sublime red pepper sauce, has a mild, sweet smoky flavour that pairs beautifully with the spicy wedges. These are also nice with a creamy dip made of a third Hellman's mayonnaise and two-thirds thick Greek yoghurt, mixed together with a little crushed garlic and a generous squeeze of lemon juice.

Spicy, Crunchy Garlic Potato Wedges with Roast Pepper Dip

First make the dip:
2 large red peppers (capsicums/bell peppers)
2 large yellow peppers
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 Tbsp (60 ml) olive oil
a squeeze of lemon juice
salt and freshly milled black pepper

Heat the oven to 190°C. Using the point of a sharp knife, cut a 1-cm slit in the side of each pepper, and push a whole clove of garlic into each pepper. Put the peppers directly on the hot oven racks (with a drip tray beneath) and roast for 35 to 40 minutes or so, or until they are very soft and the skin is blistered, but not charred. Place on a plate, cover with another plate, and allow to cool for 15 minutes. (Put the potato wedges in the oven in the meantime; see below). Pull off the stalks, peel away the skin, slice the peppers open and scrape out the seeds with the back of a knife. Put the now-softened whole garlic cloves and the flesh of the peppers into the goblet of a liquidiser or a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the olive oil and process to a smooth sauce. Add a squeeze of lemon juice - just enough to give the dip a little zing - season with salt and pepper, stir well and decant into a bowl.

For the potatoes:
6 medium potatoes, rinsed
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 T (60 ml) olive oil
1 ½ tsp (7.5 ml) ground cumin
1 ½ tsp(7.5 ml mild curry powder
½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground coriander
1 tsp (5 ml) chilli flakes (optional)
4 tsp (20 ml) channa [chickpea] flour
salt and freshly milled black pepper

Turn the oven up to 200°C and switch the fan on. Cut the potatoes into slim, even wedges (I use this wonderful potato-dividing device that produces even wedges in a jiffy). Put them into a sealable microwave cooking bag (or a glass dish). Add a single garlic clove, roughly sliced, and a good pinch of salt. Close the seal tightly (or cover with a lid). Microwave for 6-8 minutes, on high, or until the wedges are just tender on the outside. (Alternatively, cook them in rapidly boiling salted water for 6-7 minutes.)  Allow to stand for a minute.

Pour the olive oil into the bag (or dish). Crush the three remaining garlic cloves directly into the bag, and add the cumin, curry powder, coriander, chilli flakes and channa flour.

Reseal the bag and toss its contents around gently so that every wedge is completely coated. Tip the wedges onto a baking sheet, making sure that they are skin-side down, and season with salt and pepper. Bake at 200°C, with the fan on, for 25-35 minutes (depending on your oven) or until they are very crisp and golden.

Serve, in cones of newspaper, with red pepper dip.

Serves 6 as a side dish and 8 as a snack.

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