Globecooking recipe : Beef & Apricot Sosaties (South Africa)

Sosaties are usually made with lamb, marinated in a mixture of apricot jam, balsamic vinegar and Durban curry powder, then threaded on to skewers with dried apricots. I used some leftover grilled beef from the barbecue and also made it in a pan rather than on skewers. I wasn't worried about the mixture of jam and meat, having tried and loved another South African recipe, Bobotie, which has the same unlikely combination, but adding balsamic vinegar to the mix did have me wondering whether it would work. It's a tangy, sharp flavour with an undercurrent of sweetness coming through then the warmth of the curry powder. Surprising but nevertheless tasty.

Beef & Apricot Sosaties

ingredients :

150g apricot jam

150ml balsamic vinegar

4tbsp apricot juice

3tbsp Durban curry powder (or mild curry powder)

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

2tbsp fresh grated ginger

2tsp ground coriander

1tsp ground cumin

2 bay leaves

salt, pepper

650g diced meat (raw or cooked - I used beef but lamb is traditional)

2 onions

200g dried apricots

Pour boiling water over the dried apricots and leave to soak for about an hour.

Put the apricot jam, balsamic vinegar, apricot juice (I used orange juice), garlic, curry powder, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, ginger and bay leaves in a large pan and bring to the boil, stirring from time to time, until it is all dissolved.

I had some South African Curry Powder (from Seasoned Pioneers) but you could just use mild curry powder. I also used Christmas Orange Marmalade with Cranberries in place of apricot jam and orange juice in place of apricot juice.

Pour into a bowl and leave to cool. Taste and adjust the balance of flavours - if it's too sharp and vinegary, add a bit of sugar. If you can't taste the curry powder, add a bit more.

Leave raw meat to marinade for an hour in the fridge. I used cooked BBQ leftovers and left it for about ten minutes, which was plenty.

Chop up a couple of onions and fry them in a drizzle of olive oil (in the same pan you used to make the marinade).

You should really thread the meat and dried apricots onto skewers and grill them but I just tipped it all in with the onions and stir-fried it. Drizzle over any remaining marinade if you like but go easy as it's a strong flavour. Serve with rice or couscous.

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Fancy trying some more South African recipes? How about Durban Curry, Malva, Mild Curried Butternut Squash Soup or Peri Peri Chicken & Pap?