ChowChow

Chop all the vegetables and fruits into pieces, roughly the size of the pineapple chunks. Finely mince the garlic and the pickled ginger. The pork should be in strips and the bacon in square pieces.

Heat up a skillet or wide pot and add the bacon. Let it fry over medium heat until it starts to brown and release its fat. Add the curry and the onions and let them sizzle until they turn golden.

Add the pork and fry until brown but not cooked through. Add the mushrooms slices and let brown. Season with salt and black pepper, then add half a stock cube, crushed, or a teaspoon of stock powder, and the water. If you have homemade stock, use 300 milliliters of that instead of the water and stock powder. Let it come up to a boil, then add pineapple, red bell pepper, apples and ginger. Stir and add the tomato purée. Mix the corn starch with the cream and then add that to the pot. Let it come to a boil and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

Now comes the crazy part : the toppings. Apparently, sliced bananas, nuts and chopped cucumber were served alongside this dish in the 1970s! I tried it and the bananas and cashews were actually delicious. And when you think about Indian food, a chilled raita (which is a relish of grated cucumber, yoghurt and mint) is very often served alongside curries, as well as chutneys made of apples and other fruits. In essence, this is a Westernized version of an Indian curry!

Serve with rice. Or naan bread. Or both.