The Afrikaners also loved their 3-paw pots and until
today lovingly call them “little pots” (potjies). It just lends itself ideally
for any type of outdoors kitchen situations. In modern days there are still
regular “potjiekos” competitions among young and old South Africans. The pot,
however, comes a clear second to the “BRAAI” (meat, fish, vegetables grilled on
a roast over an open fire. Every male South African is a self -appointed braai
master., while the womenfolk cluster together in the kitchen and prepare salads
and puddings.
It was the mass migrations of Afrikaners to escape
British rule that was known as the Great
Trek (image of
women cooking at a rest stop during the Groot Trek) – not that they
all moved in the same direction – the Afrikaners seldom agreed with one another
on anything and a united front is something they still haven’t managed to
achieve. Many new independent states were formed in various parts of the
country as far away from the British and their rule as they could manage.
These migrations were instrumental in creating a unique regional cuisine that,
to this day, is the backbone of the Afrikaans culinary tradition. It stands to
reason that the food in the various republics of the Orange Free State, the
Transvaal and Natal as well as the Karoo, the Small Karoo and the Cape Colony
(some Afrikaners refused to move and some lived on the outskirts of the Cape
Colony, so far out of reach of the hated British that they remained where they
were) would be different, given that the country is huge and the climates and
vegetation differ completely from region to region. Life was hard and during
the migrations, food was often very scarce which is why they had to learn to
find edible shrubs, hunt and (when they did slaughter livestock on the rare
occasion), use every part of the animal, preserving more than 75% of the meat.
The trek did come to an end and the Afrikaners
did find land and they built their farms with town springing up around them –
in time traders arrived from the Cape and spices, salt, seeds and flour became
accessible so that their predominantly meat and shrub diet could be
supplemented. What is curious is that the various cultures that made up the
Afrikaners simply blended into one another and cuisine that was created was
merely a fusion of all of them. In some regions one would find strong German
influenced food and in others it would have a stronger French flavour – but all
had become Afrikaners and all had the same basics to work with. The culinary
traditions sprung from the land and it’s orchards, it’s gardens and it’s fields
were planted with what would grow in a particular region.
MELKTERT – MILKTART
Ingredients (pastry can be replaced with shop
bought)
250 g cake flour
250 g butter, chilled and grated
1 egg yolk*
15 ml lard (yes, lard!)
125 ml ICE cold water
Method
Sift the flour and the salt twice and then rub in
the lard with the tips of your fingers to get the consistency of bread crumbs.
Combine the egg yolk with the water and mix well (I
whisk the egg yolk first and then add it to the water).
Add the water and egg yolk into the flour mixture
with a knife and “cut” it in.
When combined knead lightly on a floured surface
until the dough is smooth and elastic and it looks as if there are little
bubbles that are coming to the surface.
If you have very hot hands, dip them in ice water
and dry occasionally so that the dough remains cool – and work lightly.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is
about 5 mm thick and then sprinkle about a third of the grated butter over the
dough.
Fold the dough across from the corners, like an
envelope and roll out again.
Repeat this process twice, using up all the butter.
Wrap the dough in wax paper and refrigerate until
you are ready for use.
*You could substitute brandy for the egg yolk.
The filling
Ingredients
750 ml boiling milk
125 ml white sugar
4 jumbo eggs
7 ml butter
1 ml salt
1 piece of fresh cinnamon
15 ml cake flour
10 ml custard powder
15 ml cornflour, known locally as Maizena
25 ml cold milk
2 ml pure almond exctract
Cinnamon sugar (optional)
Method
Line two standard tart dishes with the dough and
finish them with a double edging, crimping the sides.
Boil the milk with the cinnamon stick and remove
from the heat, adding the butter and the salt and stirring well.
Mix the custard powder, the corn flour and the cake
flour in the cold milk to form a smooth paste.
Add a little of the hot milk mixture to this and
make sure that you have a smooth, liquid mixture.
Take this mixture and add it to the hot milk
mixture, whisking constantly and add about 50 ml of the sugar whilst reheating
it to boiling point.
Stir constantly – don’t stop for anything.
As soon as the mixture becomes thick, remove from
the heat and discard the cinnamon stick.
Whisk the egg whites until they are stiff but not
dry and whisk in the rest of the sugar gradually.
Whisk the egg yolks until they are smooth, add a
little of the milk mixture first so that the eggs don’t set and then stir this
into the rest of the milk mixture.
Now add the almond extract.
Finally fold in the egg whites and pour into the
prepared tart dishes.
Bake for 10 minutes at 200 C, reduce the heat to
180 C and bake for a further 10 – 15 minutes until the filling has set.
Set aside to cool.
Optional: Sprinkle on cinnamon sugar.
COCONUT LAMB CURRY WITH ONIONS
Ingredients
750 g leg of lamb, deboned and with fat trimmed
off, cut into bite sized cubes
2 small red onions, coarsely chopped
1 large red onion, finely chopped
6 large cloves garlic
3 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp grape seed or flavourless oil of your choice
2 fresh green Thai chillies (or Serrano), stems
removed and cut in half lengthways – and don’t remove the seeds.
1 medium unripe mango, peeled and cut into 2cm
cubes
1 tbsp Kolhapuri masala*
Salt to taste
250 ml fresh coconut grated or 125 ml dried
coconut, grated
125 ml coriander leaves, chopped
Method
Put the onion, the garlic and the coriander seeds
in a food process and process constantly (don’t pulse) to create a pulpy,
slightly watery marinade – put this in a bowl and add the lamb to this, stir
the meat around to make sure it’s covered with the marinade and then cover and
refrigerate overnight (I usually put everything in a huge Ziploc bag, remove
all the air and seal; in this way the meat is in constant contact with the
marinade).
Heat the oil in a large heavy based saucepan and
add the finely chopped onion and the chillies and cook, covered, stirring every
now and then, until the onion is a caramel colour – it shouldn’t take more than
10 minutes.
Add the lamb with the marinade and stir once or
twice; raise the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally
until the marinade is absorbed and the meat begins to brown.
Stir in one cup of water and then add the mango,
the masala and the salt; cover the saucepan and simmer, stirring occasionally
until the mango pieces have softened but still look firm and the lamb is tender
(around half an hour); stir in the coconut and the corianders leaves and serve
immediately.
Tip: if you’re using dried coconut, cover with 125
ml of boiling water & soak for 15 minutes to reconstitute it, then drain
and use.
CHICKEN AND
PEANUT STEW
2 fresh chillies
Salt to taste
1 tsp. ground black pepper
Vegetable oil
6oz crunchy
peanut butter
150ml water
1 large onion
peeled and chopped
2 tsp. tomato
paste
1 kg skinned
chopped chicken
Blend the tomato
paste, black pepper, chilli and half the onion in a blender. Marinate the
chicken and stand for 30 minutes. Heat oil in a large pot and fry the remaining
onion until golden brown. Remove onion from pot and add the chicken and fry until
golden brown. Add the marinade and cook for 10 minutes. Thin the peanut butter
with some water add to the chicken. If the sauce is too thick add a little more
water to your liking. Serve with Maize porridge or boiled rice.
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