CHEF SIPHOKAZI MDLANKOMO TALKS ‘HEARTY HOME FOOD WITH SIPHO’

LUTHO PASIYA

She wants to make African food gourmet so that it can appeal to other people while retaining its authentic

SOUTH Africa fell in love with Siphokazi Mdlankomo in season three of MasterChef South Africa. A domestic worker at the time, she proved her capability in the kitchen and made it to the top two stages of the competition.

With a full range of cooking abilities and experience to make any home cook a little jealous, Mdlankomo is a fountain of knowledge and has a love for cooking that is an inspiration to all who watch or follow her.

Mdlankomo’s love for cooking started at an early age under the guidance of her mother and grandmother, her fondest memories being helping and watching her mother bake scones on a three-legged pot on an open flame.

Mdlankomo’s experience with MasterChef helped her skills, and she learnt about patience, creativity and respect for every ingredient.

After the successful release of her first cookbook, My Little Black Recipe Book, published in 2016, she has brought out her second, Hearty Home Food with Sipho, which retails for around R375, and is available at all good bookstores.

The new book offers easy, affordable recipes to suit all palates. Mdlankomo keeps things simple with flavouring – herbs, marinades, sauces, dressings; hearty and wholesome – soups, bread, pasta, traditional feasts; light but flavoursome –fish, calamari, sides, salads, vegetarian dishes; finger foods and snacks – easy and tasty; and sweet treats – cakes, bakes, puddings and sweets to spoil family and friends. She was approached by her publisher, Lindy Samery, in 2019 but because of the lockdown the release of the cookbook took longer than expected.

“My book is inspired by the everyday lives of simple people who love simple things in life. This book is totally different as it teaches people who are home cooks simple ways of cooking and how to make meals using just pantry ingredients,” said Mdlankomo.

With September being Heritage Month, we asked her to share some of her favourite cultural delights. In a recent interview on African cuisine, she bemoaned the fact that because African cuisine is interesting, people take it for granted.

“We should start learning how to make our African food gourmet so it can appeal to other people but still keep that African taste.

“We need to put African cuisine to an international standard so people can see it as one of the best cuisines the world has, and modernise it; people need to start believing in African food and the only way is to keep African food on trend,” said Mdlankomo.

Tripe Serves: 6

Ingredients:

500 g tripe, cleaned, fat removed, and cut into pieces

Water to cover the tripe

2 tbsp salt

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp vinegar

1 onion, roughly chopped

Method:

Place the tripe in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or pot, and add enough water to cover it. Add the salt, bay leaves, vinegar, and onion. Cook for 4 hours over moderate heat until the tripe is soft and tender. Serve with samp or any traditional or modern pap dish, for example, pap couscous.

UMNGQUSHO NAMATHABO

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 kg samp and

2 cups sugar beans, soaked overnight

1 kg meaty beef bones, rinsed

1 onion, peeled and chopped

3 cloves of garlic, sliced

3 tbsp oil Salt and pepper to taste

2 litres boiling water

Method:

Remember to soak the samp and beans the night before! Drain before using. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Place the bones, onion, and garlic into a roasting pan. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes. Place the samp and beans, as well as the roasted beef bones, onion, and garlic, into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the boiling water and cook, covered, over moderate heat for 1 hour until the samp and beans are cooked. Serve with Umleqwa.

HEARTY HOME FOOD WITH SIPHO Available at loot.co.za