Pineapple Curry and Coconut Kale Sambal
This Pineapple Curry may be the start of my eldest son’s culinary journey. At least I hope it is!
When your seven-year-old sees a recipe on TV and asks if you can make it, the answer must certainly be yes! And then, fingers crossed it turns out to be delicious, and he gains the gift of knowing he can create something in the kitchen than can spark joy!
Delicious it was!
From May to August, my own culinary fire gets re-lit as I enjoy the multiple episodes weekly of Masterchef Australia. It is hands down the best food TV ever made. Twelve seasons in, it never disappoints. If you are a food lover like me, I highly recommend you find a way to watch it. The food is spectacular, everyone is kind and supportive to one another and then there are the Aussie accents. To me, every episode is like a warm hug.
Last week my son happened to join me to watch the end of one of the episodes. He was just in time for the judges to taste the contestants’ dishes. The winning dish that day was a Sri Lankan Pineapple Curry. There had been many other scrumptious creations. So when he asked me, “mom, do you ever cook things you see on the show?”, I said, “sometimes, why? which dish would you like to try?” I was pleasantly surprised he picked this one!
After picking up pineapple, we decided to learn about Sri Lanka and try out a recipe.
I had to substitute basil for curry leaves, but I actually think they make a great stand in. Added as a chiffonade right at the end, it adds a hint of earthiness with a nice contrasting freshness and colour. Other than that we stayed fairly close to the recipes I had checked out in advance.
The result, pineapple curry that was both surprising and delicious. Our whole family enjoyed it!
But of course, the best part was the pride I saw in my son’s face tasting the food he had helped to create!
My husband and I were the only ones to eat the Sambal, but for me it really completed the plate. The tangy, salty heat was a sharp contrast in texture and flavour from the sweet and sour creaminess of the curry.
For our first lunch, I had some time and turned it into a proper feast by also making some Pol Roti. I used this recipe from a Sri Lankan born food blogger. They were also great!
Serve the curry on top of rice with a good amount of Sambal. It is pure tropical satisfaction!
Enjoy!
Pineapple Curry and Coconut Kale Sambal
Ingredients
Pineapple Curry
- 1 PINEAPPLE
- 3 TBSP COCONUT OIL
- 1 LARGE ONION sliced into half moons
- 1 CLOVE GARLIC grated
- 1/2 GREEN CHILLI finely chopped
- 1 TSP TSP TURMERIC
- 1/2 TSP TSP MUSTARD SEEDS
- 1 CARDAMOM POD slightly bruised
- 1 CUP COCONUT MILK
- SALT Season to taste
Sambal
- 1 CUP GRATED COCONUT
- 1 CUP KALE finely chopped
- 1/2 SMALL RED ONION finely chopped
- 1 LEMON (JUICE ONLY)
- 1 GREEN CHILLI
- 1/2 TSP SALT
Instructions
- Peel and chop the pineapple, removing eyes.
- Heat oils in a large pan. Add onion, chillies, turmeric and cardamom and cook on low heat until onions are translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Add garlic and mustard seeds and saute 2 to 3 more minutes until the onions are a bit browned.
- Add the pineapple and season with salt.
- Add the coconut milk. Cover and simmer until pineapple is soft (10-15 minutes, or just 5 minutes if using canned pineapple).
- While the curry simmers, prep and combine all the Sambal ingredients in a small bowl. Adjust salt seasoning to taste.
- Serve warm over rice with Sambal on the side.
Leave a Reply