Lamb and Apricot Sosaties
Photography by Becky Nunes.
This South African recipe was introduced by the Indonesians who came to the Cape as slaves in the days of the Dutch East India Company. They brought their wonderful cuisine and spices and many went on to become cooks in the houses of the rich.
INGREDIENTS
800 grams lamb leg steaks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons Madras curry powder
2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon allspice
½ cup apricot jam
½ cup tamarind concentrate
¼ cup water
1 bay leaf
30 dried apricots
9 x 20 cm wooden skewers, soaked in cold water
METHOD
Trim the lamb of any skin and excess fat. Cut into 2 cm cubes.
Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic until tender. Add the spices and cook for 1 minute. Add the jam, tamarind, water and the bay leaf and simmer the marinade for 3 minutes. Tip into a dish and set aside to cool.
Combine the lamb and marinade and turn to coat each piece of meat. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours and up to 24 hours. The longer the meat marinates the better the flavour. Remove from the fridge 1 hour before cooking.
To cook: Thread 1 apricot, 2 pieces of lamb then another apricot on each skewer, repeating the combination once more to fill the skewer. Rub any remaining marinade over the sosaties and season with salt.
Preheat the barbecue to medium. Lightly brush with oil and cook the sosaties for about 6 minutes each side. Serve with a roasted kumara, red onion and green bean salad. Makes 9 sosaties

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