Few things announce a South African braai like a tray of sosaties waiting for the fire. They are skewers of lamb, sometimes pork, beef or chicken, steeped overnight in a marinade that could only come from the Cape: onions softened with curry spices, garlic and ginger, then sharpened with vinegar and sweetened with apricot jam. Threaded with plump dried apricots and wedges of onion and grilled until the edges catch, they are sweet, sour, fragrant and smoky all at once.

The dish comes from the Cape Malay community, descended in large part from people brought to the Cape from Southeast Asia under the Dutch East India Company, and the name tells its story: sate, the skewered meat of Indonesia and Malaysia, joined with saus, the Afrikaans word for a spicy sauce. Older recipes add curry or lemon leaves and tamarind to the marinade; modern butchers sell them ready marinated by the tray. Either way, the marinade does most of the work while you sleep, which leaves the cook free to argue about the fire, the true national sport of the braai.

The marinade

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) sunflower or canola oil
• 1 large yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons mild curry powder
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 cup (160 g) smooth apricot jam
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) water
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
• 4 bay leaves or fresh lemon leaves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt

Method

1. Heat the oil in the saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring now and then, for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute more.
2. Stir in the curry powder, coriander and turmeric and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
3. Add the apricot jam, vinegar, water, sugar, tamarind if using, bay leaves and salt. Stir until the jam melts, bring to a simmer and cook gently for 5 minutes. Take it off the heat and let it cool completely, about 30 minutes.

The skewers

Ingredients

• 2 lb (900 g) boneless lamb leg or shoulder
• 24 (about 6 oz / 170 g) dried apricots
• 2 medium red or yellow onions
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil

Method

1. Put the lamb cubes in the large bowl or bag and pour over the cooled marinade. Mix well so every piece is coated. Cover or seal and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours, turning the meat once or twice.
2. About 30 minutes before cooking, put the dried apricots in the small bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for 15 minutes. Drain them. Take the lamb out of the fridge at the same time.
3. Lift the lamb out of the marinade, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Keep the marinade. Thread the lamb onto the skewers, alternating each cube with an apricot or two layers of onion. Pack them snugly but do not squash them, and leave a little space at each end of the skewer.
4. Light the charcoal and wait until it is covered in grey ash, about 30 minutes, or heat a gas grill or grill pan to medium high. Brush the grill bars with oil.
5. Grill the skewers for 10 to 12 minutes in total, turning them every 2 to 3 minutes with tongs so all sides brown. Because of the jam, the outside will char quickly; move them to a cooler part of the grill if they darken too fast.
6. Move the skewers to the platter, cover loosely with foil and let them rest for 5 minutes before serving.

The sauce

Ingredients

• all reserved marinade
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) water

Method

1. While the skewers grill, pour the leftover marinade into the small saucepan, remove the bay leaves and add the water. Bring to a full rolling boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring, so that it is safe to eat after touching raw meat.

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