Ever since I was little, I always missed someone the most on the day I knew I was going to see them again. All I can think about these days is that I’ll be back in South Africa soon, which in my case usually means eating my way through my first few days back, trying everything I haven’t had in a while. One of those things I miss most about Cape Town is the Cape Malay food, and the pinnacle of my Malay mania must be the samosa, which was the inspiration behind this rice-filled triangular treat. And few accompaniments go quite as well with these flavours as a boldly flavoured chutney.
Cape Malay Spiced Croquettes (with spring onion and lemon chutney)
TIME: 1½ hours + 4 hours freezing time | SERVES: makes 20 cones
INGREDIENTS
for the croquettes
1 aubergine (large)
2 potatoes
30 ml olive oil
250 ml Spekko Jasmine rice
15 ml ground turmeric
125 ml corn flour
125 ml water
500 ml panko breadcrumbs
80 ml flour
1 garlic clove (minced)
10 ml chilli powder
30 ml curry powder
5 ml ground cardamon
5 ml ground cinnamon
5 ml cumin seeds
5 ml ginger
1 lemon (zest)
3 sprigs fresh mint
4 g fresh coriander
salt
pepper
oil (for deep-frying)
for the spring onion and lemon chutney
4 lemons (plus zest)
2 spring onions
180 ml brown sugar
60 ml raisins
60 ml apple cider vinegar
1 knob ginger (minced)
30 ml water
30 ml olive oil
for garnish
fresh mint
fresh coriander
spring onions
METHOD
for the chutney
Roughly chop the spring onion. Remove the zest from the lemons with a fine zester and segment the lemons ensuring there is no rind left behind. Place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan, stir through and allow to cook over medium heat until thickened. Remove from the pan and reserve until needed.
for the croquettes
Cook the rice according to the supplier’s instructions, adding the turmeric powder to the water. Once cooked, drain the rice and reserve until needed.
Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes. Place the olive oil in a medium pan and add the potatoes, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, chilli powder, curry powder, cumin and ground ginger, and sauté until cooked and crispy. Remove the potatoes from the pan and keep until needed.
Fill a medium pot with water and bring to a boil, adding a generous amount of salt to the water. Remove the skin from the aubergine and cut into small cubes. Place the cubes in the boiling water and blanch for 2-3 minutes. Drain the aubergine from the water and place in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Use a stick blender to pulse the aubergine until a chunky mixture is achieved. Keep until needed.
Finely chop the mint and coriander. Place the panko breadcrumbs in a blender, and blend until fine breadcrumbs have formed. Decant the breadcrumbs into a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, add the cooked rice with turmeric, aubergine, potatoes, mint, coriander and 30ml of blended breadcrumbs. Mix everything together until well-combined.
Dust the surface with cake flour and portion the mixture in 8 – 10 g for each croquette. Form a ball and roll the croquette into a cone shape on the floured surface. Adjust the shape until a perfect cone is formed.
Place the croquette cones on a tray lined with baking paper and place in the freezer until firm. Once frozen, remove the croquette cones from the freezer. Add the water and corn flour together in a small bowl and whisk until fully combined.
Take each croquette cone, place it into the corn flour mixture and fully coat. Remove the cone from the corn flour mixture and place in the breadcrumbs. Coat the cone with the breadcrumbs and place it back in the corn flour mixture to coat for a second time. Remove the cone from the corn flour mixture and coat with breadcrumbs again. Repeat with each cone until all the cones are crumbed twice. Place the cones back in the freezer, while the deep-frying oil is heating up.
Over a medium heat, place the oil in a medium pot and heat to 180° C. Fully submerge each cone in the oil and deep-fry until golden and crisp. Remove from the oil and place on a kitchen towel to drain any excess oil. Serve immediately while still hot. croquettes croquettes croquettes
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