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Food Trail: South Africa
series • cooking
PG
series • cooking
PG
If you've ever wondered about the vibrant and varied nature of South African food, where a Dutch-heritage milk tart might share a menu alongside biltong and bobotie, Warren Mendes, South Africa-born Australian cook and author, and host of , is the person to ask.
"South African cuisine is unexpectedly vibrant to visitors. The country as an incredibly diverse population and with this comes a beautifully varied cuisine. It is know as 'The Rainbow Nation, and is proudly a melting pot of flavour," Mendes says.
Warren Mendes cooking on the road during 'Food Trail: South Africa'. Credit: Food Trail: South Africa
"South Africa was colonised in the 17th century as a stopover point along the famed spice route, from Europe to Asia – and this history brought incredible flavour from the East. The country now has a massive influence from Indian and South East Asian cuisine which sometimes entwine with recipes from the West.
"Take for instance bobotie, a baked mince dish that has origins from a very British Cottage pie, but is now packed with a balance of Indian spices and a balance of sweet and sour found in a lot of Malaysian recipes. You eat it with a lightly pickled salad and the result is a festival of flavour for your palate."
Credit: Danielle Abou Karam
Often described as one of South Africa's national dishes, bobotie features a layer of spiced mince, cooked under a thin, custard-like layer. (Try Warren's recipe for here).
" is a relish you will find on most tables at a barbecue (or should I say "braai") – and the genesis is as a Zulu recipe mingled with Indian and Cape Malay flavours. It makes a simple steak a glorious affair in South Africa!
"So many of the different communities, whether their flavours originated from Indigenous beginnings or brought through generations of migrants – they are really celebrated across the country. For instance, you will always find a '' at any bakery, a dessert with British and Dutch origins, but you will equally find a 'Koesister' in the same shelf, a Cape Malay donut with spices from Malaysian cooking."
To help you bring a taste of this vibrant cuisine into your kitchen, here are some fantastic recipes from Warren Mendes as well as some of our other favourite South African chefs.
"No, this recipe does not contain any bunnies. ‘Bunny’ is derived from the word ‘bania’ which was a name given to the Indian merchants who sold the take-away curry originally in Durban, " Mendes explains, when sharing this recipe in his cookbook, .
"Essentially the dish is curry of your choice (usually mutton, chicken or bean) which is spooned into a hollowed-out section of a loaf of bread – basically an edible curry lunchbox. You eat your curry topped with a carrot sambal and there is no need for rice as it is replaced with the bread you tear away as you work your way down, where eventually you are left very, very full." The version he shares is made with chicken.
Warren Mendes' bunny chow. Credit: Toby Murphy
"My favourite recipes are indeed the simplest ones," says Mendes. "For example, this dessert has just a handful of ingredients and doesn't require any complex equipment – and the result is an addictive pudding with a very unique flavour." Rooibos, meaning ‘red bush’ in Afrikaans, is a native shrub often consumed as a herbal tea.
Rooibos crème brûlée. Credit: Toby Murphy
Hailing from the Western Cape of South Africa, Cape Malay food combines influences from Malaysia, Indonesia, and East Africa. Mendes shared this recipe, pairing the chicken, tomato and potato curry with homemade roti, on . (And if you are a seafood fan, try this recipe for ).
This combination is a South African staple, seen at many a barbecue. Pap is a cornflour paste, wors (boerewors) is a South African sausage and chakalaka a vegetable relish. In this recipe from Moses Pitso, the chakalaka is tomato-based, though there are many variations.
"Whenever I’m in the mood for really sincere South African comfort food, the pudding path of least resistance always leads me right here to malva pudding" says South African cookbook author and TV host Sarah Graham. "It’s a really sweet, sticky, spongy pudding. Kind of like the cousin of British sticky toffee pudding. It’s of Cape Dutch origin and it is very well loved in South Africa,"
Here, Graham takes the traditional pudding (which commonly features apricot jam in the pudding batter) and adds a twist, adding a creamy South African liqueur to the mixture, and baking the pudding in mugs. (If you'd prefer a more traditional 'baked in one pudding basin' style, try ).
Credit: Sarah Graham's Food Safari
Known as Asynpoeding in Afrikaans, this is another classic dessert South African classic. As Farah Celjo explains in , "Think of it as a caramelised, self-saucing pud that uses vinegar to balance all the sweetness in the syrup and hugs the spiced cakey batter sweetness of the other ingredients." Phoebe Wood tops (pictured) with cream and poached apricots, while Warren Mendes tops with hazelnuts and vanilla ice-cream.
Samoosas are a smaller South African version of the Indian samosas. This version is made with spiced minced beef.
South Africa's vetkoekies ('fat cakes' in Afrikaans) are a fried bread usually filled with savoury mince. Sarah Graham converts the idea to a sweet doughnut ready for dipping into a rich chocolate sauce.
Credit: Sarah Graham's Food Safari
Sosaties (meat, usually lamb or mutton, marinated in a curry marinade threaded onto skewers with apricots and onion) are a regular sight at a South African braai (barbecue).
"Mielies’ typically refer to white corn – a staple in South Africa. It is what is used to make maize meal, a polenta-like meal which nourishes the country," Mendes says of this recipe. "I love the white corn, it’s slightly chewy and has a more savoury flavour compared to more familiar yellow sweetcorn.
"Mielie bread uses both the white corn and yellow sweetcorn. The loaf makes for a great snack or side to a meal, but honestly I love the slices served with this simple tomato butter and topped with avocado and chilli – the ultimate breakfast toast?"
Cheesy mielie bread with tomato and chilli butter. Credit: Toby Murphy
Inspired by his South African travels, Warren Mendes share this simple coconut curry mussel dish, an easy one-pot recipe.
Credit: Warren Mendes
A dry variation of the , this sweet dumpling is a favourite dessert among South African Indians.
This recipe from Warren Mendes fits right in with the 'melting pot' nature of South African food. "Italians, look away – this is far from a classic recipe. There are, however, the traditional foundations to make an epic risotto here, but it’s packed with South African flavours. Caramelised pieces of boerewors stand in for pancetta and beer is used to deglaze instead of wine. The result is an incredibly savoury dish that does not shy away from big flavour," Mendes writes in .
Beer and ‘boerie’ risotto. Credit: Toby Murphy
