Devil's Curry

A very spicy classic Malaysian curry with strong flavours of galangal and vinegar
Ingredients - Serves 6
  • 500 g potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 400 g carrots, peeled and cubed
  • 200 g broccoli, cut into florets, optional
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp mustard seeds
  • 4 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 tbsp soft brown sugar or palm sugar
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 10-12 curry leaves
  • fresh coriander, chopped, optional
  • For the spice paste
  • 15 dried red chillies, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes
  • 1 medium-sized (or 200 g) onion, preferably brown, cut into large pieces
  • 20 g garlic, chopped
  • 10 g lemongrass (stalks only), thinly sliced
  • 10 g ginger, chopped
  • 10 g galangal, chopped
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 1-2 tbsp water
Steps
  1. Make the spice paste
    1. Grind together all of the ingredients for the spice paste until smooth
      2. Use a {mortar and pestle} if you are making small quantities. Otherwise, use a {spice mill}, {Indian mixie grinder} or {magic bullet} or something similar. Regular blenders are too large, so they will just toss the contents around instead of grinding them
  2. To make the curry
    1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large pan. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves and fry till the seeds splutter
    2. Add the spice paste and fry it until it starts to thicken. You will eventually see oil separating out towards the sides of the pan
    3. Add the potatoes and carrots and 5-6 cups of water. Cover and cook till the vegetables are soft
    4. Add vinegar, sugar and soy sauce. Mix well and add the broccoli
    5. Let the curry simmer for one minute and turn off the heat
    6. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with plain rice
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