Curried beef mince with fresh turmeric and raisins

Ground turmeric, also known as borrie in South Africa, is found in most boboties, both in the curried mince itself and in the yellow rice that traditionally accompanies it. 

But fresh turmeric is growing in popularity now that it has become fairly commonly available, and I wanted it to be the king of the spices in this curry. Fresh turmeric was the starting point for this recipe, along with a pack of lean beef mince I had bought. I put them together in my mind, and even though my next thought did go to curry, it did not go to bobotie.

I’m glad I stuck with my first instinct, because the resulting curry was sweet and tangy with a perfect level of spice and as well balanced as a curry could be.

It has plenty in common with bobotie, despite the absence of eggs as a topping, and being baked. There are bay leaves in it, though in the old days Cape cooks used to grab some lemon leaves or even orange leaves from the garden. You could even use bay and citrus leaves if you like. But I used bay.

I love our Cape dried fruit, as followers of my recipes will know well by now, and I love the little pops of sweet raisins that studded this quick and easy weeknight curry.

I served it with bonnet rice, which is an odd choice for me, as I always use basmati. I d0n’t even know why there was bonnet rice in the pantry and no basmati.

I used coconut oil, not ghee, because that is what I had. There’s onion and garlic in it too, and a fair touch of jeera (cumin). Holding the base of the flavour profile is a cinnamon stick, which is also traditional in bobotie.

Tony’s curried mince and fresh turmeric curry with bay and raisins

(Serves 2 generously)

Ingredients

400g beef mince (ground beef)

3 Tbsp coconut oil

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

4 pieces of turmeric root, about 2cm to 3cm each in length, peeled and sliced thinly

4 or 5 bay leaves

1 cinnamon stick

1 x 400g can of chopped tomatoes

1 tsp cumin powder

1 Tbsp masala

Salt

A handful of raisins

Fresh coriander leaves, chopped, for garnish

Rice, cooked

Method

Peel and chop the onion and garlic, and peel and slice the turmeric.

Melt the coconut oil in a deep, heavy pot and add the onion, cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Simmer on a moderate heat, stirring, for 3 or 4 minutes, then add the garlic and cook, stirring, for another minute. Add the sliced turmeric and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add the beef mince, and work it with a wooden spoon to break it up and avoid it forming clumps. 

Cook on a moderate heat, turning the mince over with the wooden spoon until it is well combined and the mince has taken on colour.

Add the chopped tomatoes, cumin and masala, and season well with salt.

Simmer on a low heat, stirring now and then to prevent the curry from catching at the bottom of the pot, for about 30 minutes. 

You’ll note that I added no extra liquid other than the can of chopped tomatoes – this provided sufficient moisture and also ensured that the flavours remained strong.

Five minutes before the end of cooking, add the raisins, stir, and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make your rice.

Serve the curry with the rice, garnished with chopped coriander leaves. DM

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Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the Year award.

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