A South African Meal

Bobotie

Prepared by: Jillian Koetsier

Making bobotie was a unique culinary and sensory experience. The spices the recipe calls for are the ones in the very back of my cabinets and have probably never been used before but they added the intense flavor of the vegetables, fruit and meat. The recipe was very easy to find on food.com. When I told my family I was making a “South African meatloaf” for dinner, they didn’t really know what to expect. My mother and I ate it but my brothers and father did not really care for it. I can understand why, considering there was fruit in something that we wouldn’t normally put fruit in. I thought the dish was savory and interesting. This isn’t something I would necessarily make again but it was a good experience!

Here's how I made bobatie:

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (750 g minced meat) or 1 1/2 lbs lamb (750 g minced meat) 

oil (for frying) 2 slices white bread, normal thickness 

1/2 cup milk (125 ml)

1 large onions or 2 smaller onions 

4 teaspoons curry powder, very mild (Cape Malay is the best) 

1 tablespoon breyani spices, generous, crushed* (see note below) 

1/2 teaspoon turmeric 

1 tomato, ripe, peeled and chopped 

1/2 teaspoon sugar 

1 apple, peeled and coarsely grated 

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind 

1/4-1/2 cup seedless raisin (this is for you to decide) 

2 teaspoons salt 

2 tablespoons apricot jam 

1 egg 

3/4 cup milk (200 ml) 

12 -16 almonds, whole, blanched (or use split almonds) 

Extra: 1 egg, plus 1/2 cup milk, and 1/3 teaspoon turmeric

 Directions: 

1) *It might not be easy to find the breyani mix of spices we can get here. But it is only a mix of some or all of the following spices, which you could mix yourself and crush or process coarsely: fennel seeds, coriander seeds, cumin, pimento berries, cardamom, black pepper, star anise, bay leaves and cassia or cinnamon sticks. 

2) Set oven at 350 deg F/180 deg Celsius For fan/convection ovens the heat can be 10 deg. lower. 

3) In a small bowl, tear up the slices of bread roughly, and pour over the 1⁄2 cup milk. Set aside. 

4) Peel and chop the onion. Heat about 3 tablespoons oil in a large pot. Fry the onion over medium heat until translucent. 

5) Add the curry powder, coarsely crushed breyani spices and turmeric. Stir, and let the spices fry for a few minutes. Add more oil if they stick: usually quite a bit of oil is needed. 

6) Add the chopped, peeled tomato, sugar, grated apple and lemon rind and stir through. Fry for a minute, then add the meat. 

7) Break up the meat so that the ground meat is loose. Add the salt. Stir often, and mix through with the spice mixture. 

8) Add the apricot jam, and stir so it melts into the meat mixture. 

9) When the meat is sort of medium done, remove the pot from the heat. Stir through and let cool a little. 

10) Take the bread which has been soaking in the milk, and break it up into wet crumbs. The bread will have absorbed all the milk. Add the milky crumbs to the meat mixture, and mix through. 

11) Break the egg in a bowl, whisk, and add the milk. 

12) Add this milk-egg mixture to the meat as well. 

13) Turn into a greased oven dish, and stud with almonds on top. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven. 

14) Whisk the last egg with the milk and enough turmeric to turn the mixture a nice yellow colour. Take the meat out of the oven, pour over the custard, and bake about 15 minutes longer, or until the egg custard has set.

Mielie pap

Prepared by: Maria Camozzi

For my meal I decided to make the mielie pap, which is an important, traditional staple of the South African diet that is practically found in almost every meal! Mielie pap is a maize porridge that is made out of ground corn meal and is cooked to a thick consistency. It is usually accompanied by a meat dish or a tomato and onion stew, or vegetables. In the northern parts of the country and in the Cape-provinces, it is enjoyed as a breakfast food. It is usually served hot, or can be fried after it has cooled. 

  The recipe I found online called for: 
(serving 2 people)

• 1 cup mielie-meal (white-cornmeal or grits) –I used white cornmeal
• 2 ¾ - 3 cups water
• ½ tsp. salt or to taste 
• butter or margarine (optional)

Directions: In a pot bring the water and salt to a boil. When boiling, gradually pour in the mielie meal, making sure to stir continuously to get rid of any lumps. Cook the mix for 3-4 minutes while still stirring constantly; it should form a thick, goopy, white mixture. Then turn the heat down to low, add a small amount of butter to the pap, close the lid on top of the pot and let cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes. Serve with stew, soup, vegetables, or a gravy.

Chakalaka Vegetable Stir-fry

Prepared by: Mary Skilling

I decided to venture towards the vegetable side of South African cuisine. Chakalaka is a spicy South African vegetable stir fry that can be made in a variety of different ways. Some recipes are served hot, some are served cold, some have beans and ginger root, others have noodles and bouillon cubes. It's a versatile recipe that is commonly served with miele pap, samp, and stews. Some consider chakalaka a side dish while others will argue that it's a sauce. Needless to say, this South African dish can be shaped to the individual's preference. I decided to make my dish without beans or noodles, and stick to the vegetable aspect of the stir fry. My mom wasn't fond of the ginger root, but I thought it was a delicious addition to the meal!

Here's how I decided to make chakalaka:

1 1/2 onions

1 green bell pepper

2 medium carrots

2 peppers

2 tomatoes

2 tablespoons grated ginger root

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 to taste pepper

1 to taste salt

1 to taste curry powder

.25 cup of water

 Directions: Slice the onion and pepper first and place in a large skillet with oil on medium heat until the onion turns white. Then grate the carrots in to the stir fry, followed by sliced tomatoes, sliced bell pepper and grated ginger root. Add spices and water then cook for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot.