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Journalism of Courage
This is only the tip of the iceberg,8221; says Elize Weeks, a South African who moved to India when her husband was transferred to Pune two years ago. She is in the midst of describing South African cuisine. But she perseveres and leads us through potjiekos, pap and braai 8211; just a few dishes that make up South African food.
8220;South Africans normally eat two meals 8211; of which dinner is the main meal especially if both the husband and wife are working.8221; Breakfast for them is cornflakes and yoghurt but on Sundays, Elize says, 8220;Our Sunday breakfast is big 8211; eggs, bacon. This would be a typical continental breakfast8221;.
A South African barbeque or braai would normally consist of chops lamb or pork, chicken, boerewors or steak cooked over an open fire. This would be served with salads, a stewlike sauce or sous made of onions, tomatoes, mushrooms and garlic and jacket potatoes. All this is served with pap made of cornflour or maize meal cooked with water to the consistency of porridge. Elize describes pap as being similar to idli. The sous is normally poured over the pap.
The traditional South African Sunday lunch which Elize remembers having with her mother is roast meat one. Says Elize, 8220;The meat could be roast beef, leg of lamb or chicken. This would be served with roast potatoes, cauliflower with cheese, peas or beans and something sweet like sweet pumpkin. We cook the pumpkin and then fry it with sugar and butter so it adds a little sweetness to the meal8221;.
The dessert, she explains, after a meal like this is a baked one 8211; either bread, rice or sago which is served with custard or cream or ice-cream. One of the favourites is the malva pudding made like a cake and served with a caramel syrup. Another traditional meal is the potjiekos 8211; the potfood. Literally this is when all the food is cooked in a large black pot usually for large social gatherings 8211; such as when people gather for boating or swimming. 8220;The meat is first browned at the bottom of the pot in a little oil and then all the the seasonal vegetables are added in layers 8211; the ones that cook more slowly right at the bottom and the fastest cooking ones right on top,8221; says Elize.
A sauce which Elize explains could even be the contents of a soup packet mixed with a white or red wine depending on the meat used is then added. The pot is covered and left to simmer slowly for at least four hours over an open fire. 8220;The secret of getting this right,8221; says Elize, 8220;is not to stir the contents of the pot at all.8221; The whole lot is served with rice, each layer being served in turn to each of the diners.
Two other traditional foods are bobotie and biltong. Bobotie is a mince bake served with rice. The rice is cooked in a mixture of water and milk and a little sugar and then served with raisins. Biltong is what the hunters would eat when they went in search of game during the winter months. Strips of meat are seasoned in salt, pepper and other herbs and then dried in the dry air of the winter months.
From barbeques to roast meat and pot dishes, South African food has a varied fare, a little different from the usual!
