Cape Malay sosatie marinade
A cooked marinade of onion, curry powder, apricot jam, vinegar and bay leaves, simmered and cooled, for lamb or chicken sosaties.
- CoalsGas
- No fire needed
- Prep
- 15 min
- On the fire
- 10 min
- Plan ahead
- 4 hours to 2 days marinating
- Serves
- makes about 500 ml (2 cups), enough for 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) lamb or chicken
- Done at
- 165°F (74°C)
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oil in a small pot over medium heat. Cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft, then add the garlic, ginger, curry powder, turmeric and coriander and stir for 1 minute.
- Add the jam, vinegar, water, sugar, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring now and then.
- Let the marinade cool completely. Pour a quarter of it into a clean jar and keep it in the fridge for basting.
- Cut the meat into 3 cm (1 inch) cubes. Put it in a glass or ceramic dish, pour over the rest of the marinade and stir so every piece is coated.
- Cover and refrigerate, stirring once or twice a day. Lamb or mutton needs at least overnight and is best after 2 days. Chicken thigh needs 4 to 12 hours.
- Thread the meat onto skewers with dried apricots and onion. Scrape the thick marinade and onion bits off the meat so the jam does not burn.
- Cook over medium coals, turning every few minutes. Chicken takes 12 to 15 minutes and lamb 10 to 12 minutes. Raise the grid if the edges darken too fast.
- Baste with the clean marinade from the jar in the last 5 minutes. If you want to use the marinade the raw meat sat in, boil it for 2 to 3 minutes first.
Done when: the meat has turned yellow from the curry and smells of vinegar, and once cooked a thermometer reads 74°C (165°F) for chicken or 63°C (145°F) for lamb.
Tips
- It suits other meat too. Pork neck cubes: overnight, 12 to 15 minutes on medium coals. Lamb chops: overnight, 8 to 10 minutes on medium coals. Firm fish cubes: 1 hour only, 6 to 8 minutes.
- Boil the leftover jar marinade for a few minutes with a splash of water and serve it as a sauce with rice.
- The cooked marinade keeps for a week in the fridge before it touches meat, so you can make it ahead.
Cape Malay cooks in Cape Town have made sosaties for generations, and the marinade is the heart of the dish. It is cooked first, which takes the raw edge off the curry powder, then poured cold over the meat. Older recipes leave lamb or mutton in it for up to three days. Use it for chicken sosaties or the classic lamb version.
Source
Adapted from Cape Malay mutton sosaties at Sunday Times and Cape Malay Sosaties (Kabobs) at Food.com.