IOL Food Issue 5

IOL

FOOD

Issue 5 | September 2020

Heritage

The South African Cuisine Edition

Local is Lekker

TRADITIONAL MEALS DEEP–FRIED TREATS YUMMY... SNACKS

Editor’s Note

SEPTEMBER has become one of my favourite months. Besides it being a new season, it’s a month that allows us to celebrate South African cuisine. I do have a gripe, though, with Heritage Day being rebranded Braai Day. There’s more to South African cuisine than braai.

A few years ago, I interviewed Nompumelelo Mqwebu about her book, Through the Eyes of an African Chef. She said there was a lack of knowledge about the history and development of our cuisine.

“The wealth of knowledge needs to be passed on to educate us and generations to come. We have so much to celebrate through our food and share proudly with the world.”

And this is what we have done in this edition. It’s a celebration of our cuisine – from township specials to desserts and braais. Want to make your own sorghum beer or gemere? We show you how.

It’s an issue I like to think could be a collector’s item. It’s one you’ll keep coming back to and will, hopefully, encourage you to try out the food of other cultures. I hope you will enjoy it. Let’s Get Cooking!

CONTACT US

PUBLISHER | Vasantha Angamuthu vasantha@africannewsagency.com

ULTIMATE BRAAI GUIDE DESSERTS TO DIE FOR! TOWNSHIP STYLE...

FOOD EDITOR | Buhle Mbonambi buhle.mbonambi@inl.co.za

EXECUTIVE LIFESTYLE EDITOR | Nelandri Narianan nelandri.narianan@inl.co.za

PRODUCTION | Renata Ford renata.ford@inl.co.za

DESIGN | Mallory Munien mallory.munien@inl.co.za

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT | Keshni Odayan keshni.odayan@inl.co.za

HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICAN SALADS

THE BEST TRADITIONAL BREW!

LOCALLY DISTILLED GIN AND VODKA

SALES Charl Reineke | charl@africannewsagency.com Kyle Villet | kyle.villet@africannewsagency.com

GENERAL ENQUIRIES | info@anapublishing.com

South African food sings with flavour...

BY BUHLE MBONAMBI

I HATE the term “Rainbow Nation”, but when it comes to our food, we certainly are. And what I love is how passionate we are about it. We fight over amasi (maas and phuthu) and whether you should have it with sugar or not.

We argue about the shape of vetkoek and whether it should be square or round. We can never settle on the difference between dombolo and jeqe, while we are quick to speak out when mealie meal takes too long to cook, which is not an unusual occurence. We get mad when people try to gentrify gatsbys,

while we are always making sure to remind people that Kota and S’pahlo may look similar, but they are not the same. Have I forgotten about atchaar, white liver, chicken feet and tripe? What about our famous potjiekos, melkkos, ting, isjingi, boerewors rolls, inhloko (cow lip) and, of course, our favourite condiment (even though I don’t like it) Mrs Ball’s chutney.

When Gordon Ramsay was here in December, he was most impressed by the melting pot of culture and how it impacts our food. But he made sure, with the help of Zola

Nene, to pair back our food and try go to the beginning and how we like eating and cooking our cuisine.

I am excited by how our chefs are in demand overseas, because it is a chance to introduce elements of South African cuisine in those restaurants.

Jan Hendrik has done it so well in his Nice restaurant JAN, by introducing South African food in his menu. All we have to do now, is to fully embrace how great our food is. It may not be as possible or as elegant as Western cuisine, but you can never touch us on our flavours.

| Chef Lungile Nhlanhla

Our favourite traditional food

BY BUHLE MBONAMBI

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There was a time when the sight of ox tripe disgusted me. The first time I tasted it, it felt like I was eating a towel. I spat it out and everyone around me laughed. But that was almost 30 years ago. I’m now obsessed with usu/ulusu/ mogodu/tripe, and I don’t need an excuse to have it.

Chef Lungi Nhlanhla’s Tripe Stew (Serves 6)

Ingredients: 1kg cleaned sheep tripe 4 cups of water Stock cubes

1 tablespoon white pepper 1 tablespoon salt

Methods: Rinse and ensure the tripe is clean and then cut it into pieces. Place tripe in a pot and add water to cover. Add stock cubes Bring the water to the boil. Once boiled, reduce the heat to low and simmer with a half open lid for the remainder of cooking. Keep tasting the softness of your tripe until tender. For a thicker sauce, remove the lid and increase the heat to reduce the liquid. Season with pepper and salt, five minutes before cooking process ends. Enjoy with dumpling, pap, samp or bread.

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8 tomatoes, 6 green chilies ¼ tsp turmeric powder 1 small piece dried fish 1tsp ginger garlic paste 3 boiled eggs Some curry leaves Dhania (coriander)

MIELIE RICE WITH DRIED FISH CHUTNEY AND BOILED EGGS

By Debashine Thangevelo

The one dish, I absolutely loved - and still do - is my mom’s mielie rice with dried fish chutney. Indians love throwing in boiled eggs to augment dishes like this. And my mom would do just that when preparing this meal. The mielie rice can be cooked as is or spiced up with a bit of turmeric

for colour. And the chutney, which is generally very spicy, is accompanied by pieces of salted dried fish, the dish is topped off with boiled eggs (halved) and garnished with freshly chopped coriander.

Ingredients: ½ cup boiled pea dhall, 1 cup mealie rice, 1tblsp oil 3 dry chillies, 2 onions 3 cinnamon sticks ½ tsp mustard seeds, ½ tsp jeera

Preparing the Kitcheri: In a pot add 1 tablespoon of oil and allow it to heat up. Add the following thereafter: 3 dry chillies, 3 cinnamon sticks, 1 sliced onion, ½ teaspoon mustard seeds, ½ teaspoon jeera, 1 cut tomato Let it braise for a while then add curry leaf and boiled dhall. Wash mealie rice and add to the above dhall mixture. Let it boil until it’s a little soft then remove from the stove.

Preparing the Dried fish Chutney with Boiled Egg: Soak the dried fish in hot water to remove excess salt. In a pot, add a little oil and fry the dried fish until it browns a little. Add 1 onion & 6 green chilies. Allow it to fry for a bit until it browns a little. Add ¼ teaspoon of turmeric powder. Add 8 sliced tomato and a 1 teaspoon of ginger & garlic paste. Let it cook for a while until the tomatoes are melted. Thereafter add the curry leaves and dhania. Add 3 boiled eggs to the chutney. | Recipe: Passing It On

Samp with beans

By Lutho Pasiya

I love umngqusho (samp and beans). This is a traditional Xhosa dish loved by many South Africans. Umngqusho can be eaten on its own, mixed with vegetables, mashed potatoes, or any kind of stew or gravy. I love that this meal goes a long way and is just so comforting. There are several ways to prepare and serve umngqusho. I prefer having this dish with ulusu (tripe), a delicacy usually cooked like stew

and I sometimes add chillies to give it a kick.

Ingredients: Samp, well rinsed Sugar beans, cleaned and well rinsed Stock cubes, Salt, to taste Oil, 1 onion, cut in small pieces Potatoes, cut in pieces Carrots, cut in pieces

Method: Place the samp in a pot, cover with water and bring to the boil and allow to simmer, allowing most of the water to evaporate. When the samp is

about to get cooked or when the water has almost sunk, add the sugar beans and more water. Add salt. Reduce the heat and cook until soft. Note: You have to keep checking to see that the mixture is not sticking to the bottom of the pot and add water if necessary. While the samp and beans cook, sauté the onion in a little oil. Add the potatoes, carrots, and stock cubes and allow to simmer until the potatoes and carrots are slightly soft. Drain the slightly soft samp and beans and add to the mixture.

Want something deep fried?

Try these delicious fried recipes, they pair well with any dish

Amagwinya/Vetkoek

Vetkoek, literally meaning fat cake, is one of the most loved traditional dishes in South Africa.

Vetkoek is something that’s very popular in the townships. Usually served with polony and cheese

Ingredients: Half packet of instant dry yeast Half a cup of white sugar 3 cups of sieved baking flour A pinch of salt Sunflower oil to fry the dough 500ml lukewarm water

Method: Put yeast in half a cup of lukewarm water and add a pinch of sugar to help activate the yeast. Incorporate all dry ingredients in a big bowl. Once the yeast is building, pour into dry ingredients and mix. While kneading add the water sparingly until the dough is sufficiently.

Cover and leave in a warm place until the dough doubles in volume. Proceed with frying the dough until golden brown. Serve warm...

Koeksisters (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients: For the dough: 2 cups cake flour 2 tablespoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon salt 1 large egg 4 tablespoons butter/margarine 150ml of water/ milk mixture Oil for deep frying

For the syrup: 500g sugar 2 cinnamon sticks 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1½ cups of water juice of one lemon

Method Syrup: Prepare the syrup a day ahead (it needs to be very cold). Dissolve sugar in the water. Add the spices and lemon juice to this and boil together until thick about 25-30minutes. Leave the syrup in the fridge overnight.

Dough: Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Rub in the butter to resemble fine bread crumbs. Add the milk mixture in the flour and egg mixture and try to form dough. Make sure to add little bits of water if the dough appears too dry or you can also add more flour if it is too sticky.

Work the dough well. If the dough appears to be lumpy and sticky, continue to work the dough until it makes a ball. Let the dough rest at room temperature for about two to three hours in an airtight container.

To prepare the koeksisters: Roll out the dough (thickness 5mm). Cut the dough into strips of 6cm long, 2cm wide. Cut each of these strips into three strips (not all the way through, leave the strips connected at the top). Plate each strip, pinch together at the end of the strip. Deep fry until golden brown. Remove and drain quickly – dip the hot koeksisters in the cold syrup (that was stored in the fridge up to now). The secret is to keep the syrup cold and the koeksisters hot, this way it will draw just the right amount of syrup. You can keep the syrup cold by placing the syrup bowl in another container filled with iced water or ice cubes.

Fried Koesisters

Ingredients:

Dough: 4½ cups cake flour 1 cup lukewarm water ½ cup lukewarm milk 1 tsp baking powder 1 sachet instant yeast (10g) 2 tbs caster sugar 3 tbs butter (melted) 1 tsp salt zest of 1 naartjie (optional) 1 tbs fine ginger 1-2 tsp mix spice (optional) 2 tbs aniseed 2 tsp cinnamon ½ tsp freshly ground cardamon seeds 2 eggs

Ingredients for syrup 3 cups sugar 2 cups water 1 cinnamon stick 2 naartjie peels (optional) Oil for deep frying Desiccated coconut for coating

Method: Mix all ingredients until a sticky dough is formed. The dough must be very soft. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes using a little oil on your hands to stop it from sticking. Rub some oil over the dough, cover it with a cloth and allow to rise for an hour, or to double in size. Roll out into little balls and fry in oil on medium to high heat until brown. Sprinkle with sugar and cover in desiccated coconut.

Sugar syrup: Boil the sugar with 2 cups of water and a few cinnamon sticks, on medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes. Add naartjie peel if desired.

Allow the syrup to simmer while dipping the koesisters into it and letting them soak for a minute before removing. Hint: If dough isn’t soft and sticky, it won’t rise well and the koesisters won’t be light.

Yummy... local snacks

South African cuisine reflects the diverse range of culinary traditions embodied by the various communities that inhabit the country. Here is our pick of the tastiest local snacks...

NELANDRI NARIANAN, LUTHO PASIYA & MEGAN BAADJIES

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WARME WORSIE SMOORTJIE

This Cape Town favourite is also known as “Penny polonies” or, as my mom used to say, “Oulap- worsies”, which meant it cost a penny or one cent. A very cheap staple that to this day is a go-to quick meal. Ingredients

45 ml (3 T) oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped Salt and pepper to taste 2 fresh chillies, chopped 60 ml (¼ C) tomato paste 30 ml (2 T) sugar 800 g warme worsies (Penny polonies), Method Heat the oil in a large pot on medium heat, then fry the onion until golden brown. Add a little water to the pot and braise for 10 minutes. Next, add the rest of the ingredients, except the warme worsies, and braise for another 10 minutes. Add the warme worsies and some more water and cook for about 15 minutes. Serve with bread and butter.

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VEDDAH This is a traditional Indian savoury split pea (dhall) snack.

Ingredients: 500ml split peas (soaked in water overnight) 3 red dried chillies (soaked with the split pea) 3 finely chopped green chillies ½ a cup of chopped coriander 5ml each of roasted cumin and coriander seeds (fry the seeds in a pan for a minute without oil) 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon mixed ginger and garlic paste 1 medium sized onion diced finely 2 sprigs of sliced spring onion ¼ levelled teaspoon of baking powder Oil for deep frying

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SWEET CHILLI LEMON MASONJA (MOPANE WORMS) SERVES 3

There are several ways to prepare mopane worms and here’s a modern twist. The lemon heightens the flavour in the dish.

Ingredients: 150g mopane worms 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce 30ml fresh lemon juice salt to taste a little oil for frying

Method: Put your mopane worms into a bowl. Add boiling water to re-hydrate them. Let them soak for 5 min. Drain the water. Heat oil in pan. Add the mopane worm and fry for about 10 min, stirring regularly. De-glaze the pan with a little lemon juice at a time. Add the sweet chilli sauce and some salt. Fry for a further 10 min, serve.

Method: Grind the cumin and fennel seeds together to form a powder. Drain the water from the split pea and red chilli. Blend together the split peas and red chilli in a food processor until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. The mixture can be emptied into a bowl. Add in the green chilli, salt, cumin and fennel powder, ginger and garlic paste, onion, spring onion, coriander and baking powder. Place a tablespoon of the mixture into the palm of your hand and pat it flat. It should be round, smaller than your palm and about 5mm in thickness. You make a hole in the centre with your finger. Fry in hot oil until reddish brown in colour. The mixture is loose and crumbly, take care when placing it in the oil. Turn the veddah once over during cooking and place onto an absorbent paper towel to drain access oil.

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INDIAN DOUGHNUT GOOL GOOLAS

Gool Goolas is something every Indian child grew up eating. It’s a South African Indian dessert or snack and uses very few ingredients to make this fried sweet batter.

Ingredients: 2 cups cake flour 1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 2 level teaspoons baking powder 4 tablespoons castor sugar 2 pinches cardamom powder 2 pinches salt 1 cup milk + additional 3 or 4 tablespoons separate 350ml oil for frying

Method: Before preparing the batter, heat oil in a heavy based pan on medium to low heat. Sift the dry ingredients together – add sugar, cardamom powder and salt. Add milk and mix until a thick batter forms. Add remaining 4 – 5 tablespoons of milk until the batter resembles a scoopable batter – somewhat soft but never runny. Drop the batter into the oil and fry for 5-7 minutes. The Gool Goolas should become round, then pop to the surface. Turn every minute or until it is evenly browned. Gool Goolas should have a soft bread like texture. After frying, place on paper towels to drain excess oil. Serve warm or cold or store in airtight containers.