Today’s sweet and spicy apple curry is a blend of savory apples and aromatic Sri Lankan spices. The aroma of this sweet and spicy curry cooking in crock pot speaks to the autumn, winter, and Christmas infused with exotic Island vibe.
Oven baked apples in this spicy apple recipe turn into a savory apple butter consistency as they break down and get infused with cinnamon, nutmeg and chili pepper blend. Natural sugars in apples caramelize during cooking process and the apples break down to a flavor infused, gooey, delicious saucy sweet and spicy apple curry. This sweet and spicy apple curry sauce enhances the flavors of fall rice and curry recipes, also good with Sri Lankan croquettes and Island style cheeseboards or sandwiches.
Let’s get into the details of what makes this apple curry sauce special and unique along with all the tips and tricks of making it in today’s post!
Before getting into the sweet and spicy apple curry, I have a little back story about it to share with you. Since moving into the USA, one of the favorite autumn activities of our family have been to visit one of the nearby orchards and pick up a couple of big boxes of fresh apples. Those apples then get turned into delicious apple recipes in the oven and slow cooker. Over the years it has become a family fall tradition that we built up with other fun activities.
After visiting the orchard, my kids enjoy rinsing apples at home, taking turns and giggling, telling stories and jokes. I enjoy prepping apples and making spice mixes listening to them. While on task, we trade stories, jokes and we talk over apple cider doughnuts and coffee. It makes for a cozy family afternoon full of rich moments. The house fills up with the sweet aroma of cooking apples, sound of the giggles and laughter.
Making this Sri Lankan inspired sweet and spicy apple curry is uncomplicated two step recipe that can be done in the oven while I get chores done or over a movie. Often, I make a large enough batch of apple butter and apple curry and freeze in smaller containers to give away and for myself. I love having a batch of delicious apple butter or a spicy apple curry in the fridge or freezer during the festive season. My daughters love their apple butter on their morning toast and snack crackers. We grown-ups love to spoon out my spicy apple curry on our rice and curry dinners.
Secrets to the best Sri Lankan inspired sweet and spicy apple curry
What apples make the best spicy tropical apple curry?
This curried apple sauce can be made with many cooking apple varieties that you can find. They are grown in many New England orchards and are easy to find.
Selecting the best apples for cooking involves understanding the unique characteristics each variety brings to the table. Sri Lankan sweet and spicy apple curry has more savory notes from blend of chilies and Asian spices. The spice mix goes better with sharp and tart apples that can hold up well to lengthy cooking time. For instance, Granny Smith apples can be a quintessential choice due to their sharp, tangy flavor and firm texture, which make them ideal for pies and crisps where a punch of acidity enhances the overall sweetness of baked goods and spicy notes of slow cooked sauces.
If you are hoping to have sweeter notes, Honeycrisp, celebrated for its crispness and balanced sweet-tart profile, is perfect for savory dishes like apple-stuffed pork chops, hearty stews and such. Additionally, the versatile Fuji apple, with its dense flesh and sweetness, is an excellent candidate for sauces and compotes, as it keeps its integrity while cooking and brings a lush flavor. Braeburn apples deserve mention too, as their complex flavor combines sweet and tart notes, adding depth to any dish. When selecting apples, opting for varieties that keep their texture and flavor during the cooking process can elevate your culinary creations and assure a satisfying texture in every bite.
My personal preference is to use more sharp and tangy flavors with a couple of sweeter Cortland or McIntosh apples for the sweet and spicy apple curry. Adding more of sweeter red cooking apple verities, like Honey crisp and Gala will give a sweeter yet savory curry. I prefer to keep the flavor savory yet spicier. However, use a blend of apples that works best for your preference, and adjust the spices to make this recipe your own.
More about Sri Lankan style spice mix that I use for the apple curry
Sweet and spicy apple curry is my American recipe substitute for the Sri Lankan June plum curry. I consider making this curry from tangy and sweet apples is such an update to the rustic June plum curry. Apples when cooked down carry the flavors of red curry seasoning so much better and becomes sweeter, savory sauce.
Sri Lankan red curry powder along with other ingredients can be coated directly on the cored and sliced apples when you are making an apple curry on stove top. However, if you are making the apple curry in the slow cooker or in the oven, a better way is to make a marinade based on red curry seasoning and coat the apples with the marinade before cooking.
Why do I swear by my clay Dutch oven for this curry?
Clay or ceramic cookware is better suited to make tart and acidic curries and sauces. I dislike and do not recommend making this spicy apple curry in cast iron and cast aluminum for health reasons. Acid in the curry makes the metal erode faster if it is non-coated or non-glazed.
An excellent quality stainless steel and glazed metal cook wear works well and stay stable to slow cooking acidic curry sauces. Having said that, sweet and spicy apple curry made in a clay pot comes out deliciously saucy.
My favorite clay Dutch oven is my Reston Lloyd, clay roaster. I bought it a few years back and have just adored it since then. Curries and sauces cooked in clay roaster is incomparable to any other slow cooking recipes. I have made my pork belly curry and sweet and spicy lamb in it and the flavors are just unmatched. In the clay roaster, apples are cooked down in their own juices in sealed pot and break down to a spicy, delicate sauce infused with curry spices.
Making the Sweet and Spicy Apple Curry
There are two steps to making my apple curry, in the first step we will make the marinade for the apples and in the second step we will make the apple curry in the oven. Although it is a lengthy two-step process it isn’t a difficult one. Once the marinade is made it can be frozen to use in other savory and sweet recipes for later. We would only need to use a cup of marinade for today’s spicy apple curry recipe.
Red curry infused marinade
For the marinade, we are going to need to separately roast ingredients for the red curry and blend them to a fine powder. It is optional to use some toasted coconut, toasted rice and little bit of black cumin seeds [ Kala jeera], but in small quantities they add beautiful aromatic notes to this curry. Black cumin mostly used in Indian cooking and does have stronger flavor, but in smaller quantity, I love the flavor and aroma it adds the apple curry.
Herbs are blended to make a smooth puree as much as possible before cooking. Lemongrass can be woody unless pureed and will leave fibers in finished curry. I want to make my spicy apple curry to cook down to a smoother sauce as much as possible, so spending time to make a smooth pureed marinade is helpful.
Caramelized red onion enhances the sweetness of apples with beautiful aroma, color and savory sweet notes. It does take little bit of time to get onions to caramelize to a dark golden stage, but I have it going on the side while I get other ingredients, making sure to stir occasionally so that it does not burn.
Ingredients needed for the marinade
Cooking time : 20 minutes , Use just a cup to one and a half cup of marinade
- 3 tablespoons whole coriander
- 3 tablespoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon of black cumin
- 6 red chilies
- Tablespoon of black pepper
- 2 tablespoons of sea salt
- Half a teaspoon of mustard seeds
- Half a teaspoon of nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons of Spanish paprika
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 6 cloves
- 3 cardamom pods
- 6 cloves of garlic
- One inch piece of ginger
- 2 tablespoons of dry rice
- 2 tablespoons of grated coconut
- Handful of curry leaves
- Two green chilies
- 2-inch piece of lemongrass
- 2 whole red onions
- 2-inch stick of cinnamon
How to make the marinade
- Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black cumin seeds and red chilies.
- Dry roast rice and scraped coconut separately. ( This step is optional and if you do not want to add toasted rice and coconut skip altogether.)
- Crush black paper and mustard seeds with pinch salt in a motor and pastel.
- Puree roasted seasonings in a high-speed blender with half a cup of water and salt.
- In the same blender, add ginger, garlic, crushed black pepper, mustard seeds, nutmeg and puree everything into a smooth paste.
- Heat a frying pan on medium high and caramelize onions until golden brown on the edges. Do not add salt while caramelizing because we already have salt in the seasoning blend.
- Add cardamom, cloves, green chili, curry leaves, lemongrass and cinnamon fry for few minutes until fragrant.
- Add pureed seasoning paste and cook another 5 minutes on low until seasonings are blended and fragrant.
- Let the marinade cool enough to manage, and puree in to a very smooth paste before making the curry.
Last step of Cooking the sweet and spicy apple curry
Having made the marinade needed, we can now get on with preparing apples and finishing the curry. This half of the recipe does go fast and is simple to make. I do not peel my apples and leave the peels on if I use freshly picked apples. However, peeling the apple will leave a smoother sauce.
Once the marinade cools down, puree it and pour it over the apples and mix it in to coat. Slow cook until apples are broken down and soft. Read all the steps below.
Cooking time: 3 hours Servings: 10 to 12 Servings
Ingredients for the apple curry
- 8 green Granny smith apples and two red apples ( Granny smith, Cortland, McIntosh works best)
- One half cup of marinade
- One and half cup of water
- 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of tamarind paste
Cooking the spicy apple curry
- Wash, core, and slice apples.
- Place the apples in a clay Dutch oven, spread the marinade over the apples. Mix in to coat well.
- Add water or just enough to cover the apples.
- Soak the clay Dutch oven in water for an hour before starting.
- Place the Clay pot inside your oven. Start cooking with the cool oven. Oven does not need to be preheated beforehand.
- Turn the oven on to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for three hours turning every half an hour, until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back side of the spoon.
- Add a teaspoon of tamarind paste and 2 tablespoons of sugar to curry during the final half an hour and mix to combine.
Post recipe notes!
This spicy apple curry is a seasonal favorite of my family, and I loved writing this detailed post on how I make it, with all the helpful tips. An introductory version of this apple curry went on the blog couple of years back and I updated that original recipe post to give more details from how to make the spice mix to making the apple curry. While updating I also included back stories, that tells you why it is important to my family. Traditions come alive during the holiday season, and this is one of mine.
As first-generation immigrant family in USA, we are discovering and creating routines and traditions for our small family. My blog is my story. We enjoy home cooking, eating out and trying out different recipes from around the world. This is one such recipe that I made with inspiration from autumn recipes in North America and rustic Sri Lankan recipes.
If you enjoyed my sweet and spicy apple curry, please write to me and let me know in a note, email or a comment below. I would love to hear from you. Subscribe and follow more of my own family recipes and meal ideas.
