Curry Debal

Serves 6–8

Curry debal or curry devil is perhaps one of the most popular dishes in the Eurasian food repertoire. Every Eurasian family will have their own version of this dish and my family’s recipe was passed down from my grandmother. Debal means leftovers in Creole-Portuguese as this curry was actually prepared with leftovers, but as not everyone understood what debal meant, reference was made to the heat of the dish and it became known as curry devil.

Chicken 1, about 1.5 kg (3 lb 4½ oz),
cut into pieces

Light soy sauce 4 Tbsp
Ground white pepper 2 Tbsp
Cooking oil 5 Tbsp

Onion 1, peeled and halved; ½ thinly sliced
and ½ quartered

Ginger 3-cm (1¼-in) knob, peeled and
cut into thin strips

Bacon bones 200 g (7 oz)
Mustard seeds 1 Tbsp, roughly pounded
Salt ½ Tbsp
Crushed chicken stock cube ½ Tbsp
Potatoes 2, peeled and quartered
Chicken cocktail sausages 10

Water 700 ml (23½ fl oz)
Cabbage ½ head

Cucumber 1, peeled, cut into quarters
lengthwise, soft centres removed and
cut into 5-cm (2-in) lengths

White vinegar 5 Tbsp
Red bird’s eye chillies 6–8

Ground Paste

Shallots 15, peeled
Large onions 5, peeled and sliced
Ginger 10-cm (4-in) knob, peeled and sliced
Red chillies 10

Dried chillies 50 g (1⅔ oz), cut into
short lengths, soaked for 10 minutes,
seeds removed

1.   Season chicken with soy sauce and pepper and leave to marinate for 20 minutes.

2.   Pound or grind together ingredients for ground paste until fine. Set aside.

3.   Heat oil in a pot over medium heat and fry thinly sliced onion and ginger until
light brown.

4.   Add marinated chicken and bacon bones and continue frying until chicken
changes colour.

5.   Add ground paste, mustard seeds, salt and chicken stock and fry until oil rises.

6.   Add potatoes, cocktail sausages and water. Boil until potatoes are soft and curry
is thickened. This will take about 10 minutes on medium heat.

7.   Add cabbage, cucumber and vinegar and mix well. Remove from heat.

8.   Dish out and serve hot, garnished with whole bird’s eye chillies.

NOTE

•  This curry can be prepared days ahead without the vegetables and kept in an airtight
container in the refrigerator. Add the vegetables only when reheating to serve.

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EURASIAN HERITAGE

Cooking