South African Main Dishes

South African cooking has its roots in the many cultures that have visited the country over time. Therefore you will find the main dishes include a mixture of Eastern flavours, Western tastes and a healthy dose of bushveld ingredients.

Bobotie recipe

Introduction

The origins of Bobotie can be traced back to the eastern influence on South African culture. The Cape Malay society is famous for cooking this dish and it is usually served with yellow rice.

Ingredients

1 kg minced lamb
125ml milk
1 thick slice of white bread, crust removed and soaked in milk
2 roughly chopped onions butter
Salt
1 tablespoon of curry powder (mix the hot and the Cape Malay versions for a good flavour)
1 chilli, finely chopped (optional and only if you like your food quite hot)
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 teaspoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of chutney
8 -10 crushed almonds (optional)
3 eggs
1 clove of garlic, crushed and finely chopped
6 bay leaves
1 orange, sliced in wheels
1 lemon, sliced in wheels
Oil for cooking

Instructions on how to make it

Heat the oil in frying pan and add the garlic, onion and curry power. Cook over medium heat for three minutes, then add the mince meat. Fry until the meat is almost done, then using your hands, squeeze the milk from the bread. Discard the milk and add the bread, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and chutney to the mince. Fry for a minute or so and then remove from heat.
Take a pie dish and place three bay leaves, two wheels of orange and two wheels of lemon at the bottom. Now scoop the mince mixture into the dish. Decorate the sides of the dish with the rest of the lemon and orange wheels, wedging them between the mince and the sides of the dish so that only a third protrudes. If you are using almonds, push them into the mince. Beat the eggs and 125ml milk, and pour over the meat. Put three bay leaves on top of dish. Place the dish uncovered in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes at 160 deg Celsius.

Serve with a plain green salad or chopped tomato and onion, sprinkled with a little vinegar. Make sure you have some chutney near at hand. Serve piping hot with the yellow rice.

Boerewors recipe

Introduction

Boerewors or Farmers Sausage is a traditional BBQ sausage. There are many secret recipes on how to make boerewors but here we provide you with the traditional recipe.

Ingredients

2 kg of chuck beef (fat and gristle removed)
750 de-boned thick rib of pork
200 g of pork fat (spek)
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons salt
a good pinch of nutmeg
½ cup vinegar
About 90g of pork casings (ask your butcher for some or ask him where you can buy it)

Instructions on how to make it

Cut the meat and spek into small cubes. Sprinkle the seasoning over the meat (not the vinegar Penny), mix well and then mince together. Add the vinegar and mix lightly, but thoroughly. Stuff into casing and refrigerate for 24 hours in a covered, non-metal container.

(Optional: You can experiment by adding additional ingredients. For a lovely curry flavour add a tablespoon of curry powder to the above recipe. For a great garlic flavour add finely crushed and chopped garlic and for a sharper taste add more vinegar).

Do not overcook sausage. About 12-15 minutes over slow coals should do well. Serve with other BBQ dishes like Mealie Bread.

Chicken Curry Potjie recipe

Introduction

Chicken Curry Potjie (pot) is a great way to be able to entertain and still enjoy a great meal by simply adding all the ingredients into a huge pot over the fire place and leaving to simmer.

Ingredients

2kg skinless chicken thighs or breasts
3 large grated onions
5 skinless tomatoes
1 large tin tomato paste
4 heaped teaspoons masala
3 bay leaves
2 dessert spoons crushed garlic
1 table spoon coriander
1 teaspoon fennel
2 large sticks cinnamon
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 litre red wine
6 Large potatoes cut in half

Instructions on how to make it

Sauté your onions and garlic until soft, then add the spices and let simmer for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes and tomato paste together with some red wine – simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add chicken pieces and potatoes with a little more wine. Place the lid on your potjie, simmer on a low heat for about 45 minutes, checking the liquid level regularly, adding more red wine when needed. About 15 minutes before you are ready to eat add sugar to taste.

Serve on a bed of rice, cooked together with mustard seeds, turmeric and onion flakes for added flavor.

Frikkadels recipe

Introduction

Frikkadels are like South African meat balls. This recipe is based on a tomato frikkadel.

Ingredients

4 medium tomatoes
2 large onions
30 ml sunflower oil (2 T)
1 kg minced beef
50 g oats (½ c)
125 ml milk (½ c)
30 ml brown vinegar (2 T)
15 ml Worcestershire sauce (1 T)
10 ml salt (2 t)
1 ml pepper (¼ t)
125 ml water (½ c)
30 ml cream of tomato soup powder (2 T)

Instructions on how to make it

Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Peel the tomatoes and onions and chop roughly. Braise in the sunflower oil until soft. Mix half of the tomato and onion mixture lightly with the minced beef and the oats. Add the milk, brown vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and mix together well.

Shape large frikkadels (can be shaped into round balls or flattened with a fork) from the mixture and place them quite close together in a shallow, ovenproof dish with a volume of about 2, 5 litres. Mix the water and soup powder and pour it over the frikkadels. Cover the dish. Bake for an hour. Spoon the remaining tomato and onion mixture over the frikkadels.

Makes 14 large frikkadels

Mild lamb curry potjie recipe

Introduction

Lamb curry potjie is a real favourite of mine; particularly easy to do in the winter time and when you want to entertain large crowds without having to spend hours in the kitchen. The recipe serves six. Thank you from the Rainbow Nation team for posting this recipe on the forum for all to share.

Ingredients

750g x 2 cubed lamb (you can use half beef and half lamb, but it is nicer if you use only lamb)
4-5 sweet potatoes peeled and cut in large chunks
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander seed
1 teaspoon chilli jam
2 teaspoons garam masala
1cm ginger peeled and grated
6 garlic cloves crushed
2 bay leaves
1/4 ground turmeric
1 tablespoon oil
2 onions chopped
800g tin peeled tomatoes

Instructions on how to make it

Liquidize the tin peeled tomatoes in the food processor. Fry the onions in the oil remove the onions. Use the same pot to dry fry the herbs and spices for a moment. Add the onions and the liquidized tomatoes. Add the meat bring to boil. Cook for 1 hour on the stove top with the lid on the pot. If to dry you can add half a cup of water. Add sweet potatoes cook for another hour or till sweet potatoes are tender. The sweet potato thickens the sauce. Eat and enjoy. The mild curry freezes well.

Oxtail Potjie recipe

Introduction

A Potjie Kos is a meal cooked in an iron pot over the fire. The way to cook a potjie is usually very slow. Many types of meat can be used for a potjie but here we have chosen one of the favourites - oxtail.

Ingredients

2 large oxtails, cut into joints
1/3 cup cooking oil
2 large onions, sliced into fairly thick rounds
6 bay leaves
4 chopped cloves of garlic
4 large carrots, scraped and cut into chunky wheels
the juice of one lemon
6 cloves
a good grind of black pepper
a dash of Worcester sauce
salt
6 potatoes, peeled and halved
1/3 cup of brandy
water to cover

Instructions on how to make it

Heat the oil in the potjie, then brown the meat quickly over high heat with the onion. Add bay leaves, garlic, cloves, lemon juice, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and carrots. Add enough water barely to cover.

Let it simmer away very slowly for four hours, then add the potatoes and the brandy and let it simmer until the potatoes are done and the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender.

Serve with rice, crispy fresh bread and green salad.

Skaap Wors recipe

Introduction

Do you happen to have a couple of sheep handy and want to make the most of all the meat? Try making good ol' traditional skaap wors. A great and easy recipe kindly posted on our forum.

Ingredients

5kg mutton cubed
3 ml dried thyme
3ml dried sage
5ml grated nutmeg
5ml grated nutmeg
5ml ground allspice
15ml salt
10ml freshly ground black pepper
250ml sweet Muscadel wine

Instructions on how to make it

Mix all the ingredients together and mince. Grill a little of the mixture in a small frying pan; then taste and, if too few herbs have been used, add more. Fill the mutton casings with meat and link sausages every 150 mm. Hang in a cool draughty place to enable it to be wind-dried. Grill in a pan or over coals.

Sosaties recipe

Introduction

Sosaties on the BBQ have never tasted better especially when there is Boerewors on offer too. These kebabs can contain many types of meat (or vegetables) but lamb sosaties seem to always taste the best.

Ingredients

500g boned shoulder or leg of lamb, cut into 25mm cubes
2 large onions, one sliced into rings, the other chopped finely
50ml olive or cooking oil
4 cloves of peeled and crushed garlic
one tablespoon of curry powder
a teaspoon of turmeric
a tablespoon of brown sugar
4 crushed bay leaves
One tablespoon of lemon juice, plus two lemon cut into small wedges
120ml of meat stock
125g packet of dried apricots
One green pepper cut into blocks the same size as the meat cubes
A good blob of butter
Wooden skewer sticks (you can buy them from most supermarkets)

Instructions on how to make it

Place the meat in a non-metal bowl with the bay leaves at the bottom. Heat the butter in a saucepan and sauté the chopped onion, garlic and curry powder for a few minutes.

Add the turmeric, lemon and meat stock, bring to the boil.
As soon as the marinade comes to the boil, pour it over the meat.

Allow to cool and place in fridge overnight.

When ready to cook skewer the meat, apricots, green pepper and onion rings onto the sticks.

Pour the marinade into a saucepan, add a blob of butter and salt and pepper to taste, bring to the boil and serve warm with the sosaties and lemon wedges.

To prepare the sosaties you can either grill them under a very hot grill for about 10 minutes, or braai them over very hot coals, turning them as you go along.
Serve with the lemon wedges and for side dishes you can make a bowl of fluffy white rice, potato salad, baked potato or small jacket potatoes and crispy bread to soak up the sauce.

NOTE: If you like hot food, add more garlic, a few crushed chillies, crushed curry leaves and a sprinkling of peri-peri powder to the marinade.

Tomato Bredie recipe

Introduction

Remember to cook a bredie slowly. The flavour will improve if made a day in advance. A great recipe from Ina Parman’s cookbook.

Ingredients

1 kg beef or shoulder of mutton
2 T (30ml) oil
1 T (15ml) butter
2 t (10ml) sea salt
½ t (2,5ml) freshly ground black pepper
2 onions, chopped
6 ripe red tomatoes (or 1 x 400g tin whole tomatoes)
1 x 70 g tin tomato paste
1 t (5ml) sugar
¼ t (1ml) chilli powder
½ t (2,5ml) paprika
3 gloves garlic, crushed
1 t (2,5 ml) paprika
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 t (5 ml) mixed herbs
1 ½ cups (375 ml) chicken stock
3 potatoes, diced
1 T (15 ml) potato flour or maizena

Instructions on how to make it

Cube the meat. Heat the oil/butter mixture in a big, heavy-bottomed saucepan until the butter discolours.

Add the meat in batches and stir-fry until brown. Remove each batch with a slotted spoon and keep aside. Season the browned meat with salt and pepper.

Brown the onions in the remaining oil. When golden, soft and glazed, add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, chilli, paprika, garlic, herbs, water and stock cube. Bring to a slow simmering boil.

Add the prepared meat. Simmer the bredie very slowly for 2 hours. Add the cubed potatoes and continue simmering fore another half an hour.

Thicken the gravy with a little potato flour mixed with water. The bredie improves with keeping. Prepare a day in advance and leave to mature in the refrigerator.

Reheat and serve with fluffy steamed rice to which a handful of chopped parsley has been added.

Vetkoek recipe

Introduction

The English have Yorkshire pudding and the South Africans have Vetkoek! Fill it with mincemeat, cheese or any thing else that comes to hand.

Ingredients

250ml (1cup) cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
125 milk
125 ml oil for frying

Instructions on how to make it

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Beat egg separately and add to flour. Add milk and mix until smooth heat oil in frying pan and drop a tablespoon of the mixture into oil.

Don't make more than four at a time.

Fry for two to three minutes on one side, then turn and fry for one minute on other side. Serve hot.