Debal curry is a festive occasion dish for people of Portuguese ancestry. — Photos LOW LAY PHON/The Star
THE fiery-red debal curry is a festive must-have for people of Portuguese ancestry in Malaysia.
This is especially evident in the Portuguese Settlement, Melaka, where Christmas, for most families, is incomplete if the curry is not on the menu.
2383815_4353The slightly tangy, somewhat spicy but big in flavour dish is also known as kari debal or devil curry.
This Kristang dish unleashes the spicy, peppery taste of ginger as well as lemony aroma and woodsy appeal of lemongrass.
Turmeric is an important ingredient in the rempah (paste) for the rhizome lends its beautiful colour that results in that orange hue in the curry.
While it is common for cooks to opt for shortcuts and use powdered turmeric, Eurasian cooks will scoff at any attempt to move away from the traditional way of making this dish.
Other important components for debal curry are candlenuts, mustard seeds and vinegar.
The use of vinegar and mustard seeds here bring to mind the Goan vindaloo which also has these ingredients in the spicy Indian dish.
Vinegar and mustard seeds are vital ingredients that provide debal curry its interesting flavour.
Aside from these are shallots, garlic, lots of dried chillies and interestingly, the dish does not require santan (coconut milk).
Adding a few candlenuts help give it that creamy and luscious texture.
Some debal curry recipes call for galangal among its ingredients but not this one.
This feature recipe has been in 78-year-old Margaret Lopez’s (also known as Margaret Danker) family for more than 200 years as it has been handed down from her great grandmother to her mother before it came into her possession.
“Debal curry is a dish cooked by the Eurasian community for special occasions such as weddings or festive occasions like Christmas.
“It is known as debal curry but many mistakenly refer to it as devil curry because it is hot and spicy.
“When there is a wedding in the house, the first dish that is served is a thick stew which is eaten with bread, followed by main dishes such as debal curry, curry seku (dried beef curry, salad, sebak (roasted pork with sauce) among others,” said Lopez from Seremban.
“If you visit the Portuguese Settlement during Christmas, debal curry is served in every home.”Debal curry
Curry paste
1kg chicken pieces
60g dried chillies
17 shallots
4 garlic pips
4 stalks lemongrass
20g turmeric
3 candlenut kernels
20g ginger
1 tbsp mustard seeds
½ tbsp thick black soy sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
Garnish
2 red chilli (cut lengthwise)
20g ginger
1 big onions cut into four
Method
Soak dry chillies in two cups of hot water for 20 minutes.
Roughly slice shallots, garlic, a knob of ginger (20g), lemongrass as well as turmeric.
Next blend all the above ingredients together with half a cup of cooking oil.
Fry the julienne ginger and set aside.
Pound one tablespoon mustard seeds and add to the blending jug too.
Next pound and add three candlenut kernels and blend all ingredients until it resembles a paste.
Slice one big onion into quarters, two chillies lengthwise and julienne 20g ginger.
Blend the dry chillies with the other ingredients.
In a pot, heat half a cup of oil and fry separately – the quartered onion, ginger and chillies on shallow flame until they release their aromas, then remove and set aside.
The onion, julienne ginger and chillies are for garnish.
In the same oil, add the blended chilli paste and cook on medium flame. Don’t forget to keep stirring to prevent it from burning.
Vinegar is a crucial ingredient in giving the debal curry its taste.
The chilli paste is ready once the oil rises to the surface, roughly after 20 minutes.
Now add the chicken and mix it with the paste.
Rinse the jug with half cup of water and add to thin the paste.
Boil the potatoes, cut them into quarters and add to the debal curry.
Cook the chicken for 20 minutes or until it is ready for consumption.
Season with salt, dark soy sauce and vinegar.
In a separate pot, boil two potatoes until fluffy and cooked.
Cut the potatoes into four and add to the debal curry.
Scoop out the chicken pieces into a bowl and garnish with onions, ginger and chillies.
Fresh coriander leaves can be added to give colour to the presentation.
