Spring is here, but the weather is wobbling between wintry and warm. So what to cook in such temperamental weather? Take a leaf from those who live in Kenya, the setting of my novel Burning Embers, and dish up a curry.

Curry is traditionally associated with India, but in fact Africans have also been using spices in their meat and vegetable dishes for centuries – and the results are delicious. I call the following recipe Mombasa Curry because it’s a simple African recipe that the native characters in Burning Embers would certainly have had no problems rustling up. It’s not a very hot curry, just pleasantly tangy – but simply reduce the quantities of spices if you prefer less kick.

Thinking about it, perhaps I should have had Cybil, one of the ‘other women’ in Burning Embers, cook this up for Rafe as vengeance for his desertion, ‘accidentally’ mis-measuring the spices along the way. Poor Rafe, I can just imagine him manly swallowing down mouthfuls while turning progressively redder…

Ingredients:
500 grams beef fillet steak, cut into bite-sized chunks
10 large garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
8 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon dried coriander

1. The day before making the curry, rub the beef with the garlic, salt and pepper. Leave in the fridge to marinate.
2. Fry the onions in a little oil until transparent.
3. Add the tomatoes, red pepper and ginger and bring to a simmer.
4. Add the spices, meat and water and simmer on a low heat until the meat is cooked through.

Serve with rice or chapatti bread.

Variations: Try adding a splash of coconut milk in place of some of the water; and using fresh coriander, added right at the end. You can also make this curry in a slow cooker, for wonderfully tender meat – simply follow all four steps and then cook on a low heat for eight hours, until the meat is cooked through.