South African Foods

The cuisine of South Africa is sometimes called "rainbow cuisine", as it has had a variety of multicultural sources and stages.The cuisine can be generalized as:

Cookery practiced by indigenous people of Africa such as the Sotho and Nguni-speaking people.
Cookery that emerged from several waves of colonialisation and immigration introduced during the colonial period by people of Dutch, German, French and Indonesian descent (since 1652) Afrikaner, British descent (since 1805 and 1820 Settlers) and their slaves or servants - this includes the cuisine of the so-called Cape Malay people, which has many characteristics of Indonesia and cooking styles from neighbouring colonial cultures such as Portuguese Mozambique.

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In the precolonial period, indigenous cuisine was characterized by the use of a very wide range of foods including fruits, nuts, bulbs, leaves and other products gathered from wild plants and by the hunting of wild game. The introduction of domestic cattle and grain crops by Bantu speakers who arrived in the southern regions from central Africa since 10,000 BC and the spread of cattle keeping to Khoi and San groups enabled products and the availability of fresh meat on demand. The pre-colonial diet consisted primarily of cooked grains, especially sorghum, fermented milk (somewhat like yogurt) and roasted or stewed meat.
At some point, maize replaced sorghum as the primary grain, and there is some dispute as to whether maize, a Central American crop, arrived with European settlers or spread through Africa before white settlement via Africans returning from the Americas during the era of the slave trade. Men also kept sheep and goats, and communities often organized vast hunts for the abundant game; but beef was considered the absolutely most important and high status meat. The ribs of any cattle that were slaughtered in many communities were so prized that they were offered to the chief of the village.

In many ways, the daily food of Black South African families can be traced to the indigenous foods that their ancestors ate. A typical meal in a Black South African family household that is Bantu-speaking is a stiff, fluffy porridge of maize meal ,called "pap," and very similar to American grits with a flavorful stewed meat gravy. Traditional rural families and many urban ones, often ferment their pap for a few days especially if it is sorghum instead of maize which gives it a tangy flavor. The Sotho-Tswana call this fermented pap, "ting."

The vegetable is often some sort of pumpkin, varieties of which are indigenous to South Africa, although now many people eat pumpkins that originated in other countries. Rice and beans are also very popular even though they are not indigenous. Another common vegetable dish, which arrived in South Africa with its many Irish immigrants, but which has been adopted by black South Africans, is shredded cabbage and white potatoes cooked with butter.

For many Black South Africans, the center of any meal is the meat. The Khoisan ate roasted meat, and they also dried meat for later use. The influence of their diet is reflected in the universal (black and white) Southern African love of barbecue (generally called in South Africa by its Afrikaans name, a "braai") and biltong (dried preserved meat). As in the past, when men kept cattle as their prized possession in the rural areas, Black South Africans have a preference for beef. Today, Black South Africans enjoy not only beef, but mutton, goat, chicken and other meats as a centerpiece of a meal. On weekends, many Black South African families, like white South Africans, have a "braai," and the meal usually consists of "pap and vleis," which is maize porridge and grilled meat. Eating meat even has a ritual significance in both traditional and modern Black South African culture.

For weddings, initiations, the arrival of family members after a long trip and other special occasions, families will buy a live animal and slaughter it at home, and then prepare a large meal for the community or neighborhood. Participants often say that spilling the blood of the animal on the ground pleases deceased ancestors who invisibly gather around the carcass. On holiday weekends, entrepreneurs will set up pens of live animals along the main roads of Black townships—mostly sheep and goats for families to purchase, slaughter, cook and eat. Beef being the most prized meat, for weddings, affluent Black families often purchase a live steer for slaughter at home. Vegetarianism is generally met with puzzlement among Black South Africans, although most meals are served with vegetables such as pumpkin, beans and cabbage. Foreign visitors to South Africa should be aware that South Africans are so carnivorous that inviting South Africans to dinner and serving a vegetarian meal may be interpreted as an insult even by sophisticated urban people.

Urbanization from the nineteenth century onward, coupled with close control over agricultural production, led Black South Africans to rely more and more on comparatively expensive, industrially-processed foodstuffs like wheat flour, white rice, mealie-meal (maize) and sugar. Before the arrival of crops from the Americas, pap was mostly made from sorghum, but maize is much more prevalent today. Often these foods were imported or processed by white wholesalers, mills and factories. The consequence was to drastically restrict the range of ingredients and cooking styles used by indigenous cooks.

On the other hand, some imported food plants (maize, tomatoes) have expanded the dietary range of indigenous cooks. Of these maize is the most significant - it has been integrated to such an extent into the traditional diet that it is often assumed to be an indigenous plant.Popular foods in modern South Africa are chicken, limes, garlic, ginger, chili, tomatoes, onions and many spices.

South Africa was settled from the seventeenth century onwards by colonists from Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. These colonists brought European cookery styles with them. The Afrikaners have their succulent potjiekos, tamatiebredie ,tomato bredie, or stews of lamb and mutton with tomato and onion sauce, with or without rice. There are many European contributions like Dutch fried crueler or koeksister, Malva Pudding and melktert (milk tart). French Hugenots brought wines as well as their traditional recipes.During the pioneering days of the 17th century, new foods such as biltong, droëwors (dried sausage) and rusks evolved locally out of necessity.

A very distinctive regional style of South African cooking is often referred to as "Cape Dutch". This cuisine is characterized by the use of spices such as nutmeg, allspice and hot peppers. The Cape Dutch cookery style owes at least as much to the cookery of the slaves brought by the Dutch East India Company to the Cape from Bengal, Java and Malaysia as it does to the European styles of cookery imported by settlers, and this is reflected in the use of eastern spices and the names given to many of these dishes. The Cape Malay influence has brought spicy curries, sambals, pickled fish, and variety of fish stews.

Bobotie is a South African dish that has Cape Malay origins. It consists of spiced minced meat baked with an egg-based topping. Of the many dishes common to South Africa, bobotie is perhaps closest to being the national dish, because it isn't made in any other country. The recipe originates from the Dutch East India Company colonies in Batavia, with the name derived from the Indonesian bobotok. It is also made with curry powder leaving it with a slight "tang". It is often served with sambal, a hint of its origins from the Malay Archipelago.

Curried dishes are popular with lemon juice in South Africa among people of all ethnic origins; many dishes came to the country with the thousands of Indian labourers brought to South Africa in the nineteenth century. The Indians have introduced a different line of culinary practices, including a variety of sweets, chutneys, fried snacks such as samosa, and other savory foods. Bunny chow is a dish from Durban, where there is a large Indian community, that has been adapted into mainstream South African cuisine and has become quite popular.

When South Africa's mines were developed and Black South Africans began to urbanize, women moved to the city also, and began to brew beer for the predominantly male labor force a labor force that was mostly either single or who had left their wives back in the rural areas under the migrant labor system. That tradition of urban women making beer for the labor force persists in South Africa to the extent that informal bars and taverns ,shebeens are typically owned by women shebeen queens. Today, most urban dwellers buy beer manufactured by industrial breweries that make beer that is like beer one would buy in Europe and America, but rural people and recent immigrants to the city still enjoy the cloudy, unfiltered traditional beer.

Compared to an American or southern or Korea or western European diet, milk and milk products are very prominent in the traditional Black South African diet. As cows were considered extremely desirable domestic animals in precolonial times, milk was abundant.In the absence of refrigeration, various kinds of soured milk, somewhat like yogurt, were a dietary mainstay. A visitor to any African village in the 1800s would have been offered a large calabash of cool fermented milk as a greeting. Because milk cows allowed women to wean their children early and become fertile more quickly, indigenous cultures had a number of sayings connecting cattle, milk and population growth, such as the Sotho-Tswana saying, "cattle beget children.

" Today, in the dairy section of South Africa's supermarkets, one will find a variety of kinds of milk, sour milk, sour cream, and other modern versions of traditional milk products.

South Africa can be said to have a significant "eating out" culture. While there are some restaurants that specialize in traditional South African dishes or modern interpretations there of, restaurants featuring other cuisines such as Moroccan, Chinese, West African, Congolese and Japanese can be found in all of the major cities and many of the larger towns. In addition, there are also a large number of home-grown chain restaurants, such as Spur and Dulce Cafe.

There is also a proliferation of fast food restaurants in South Africa. While some international players such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and Wimpy are active in the country, they face stiff competition from local chains such as Nando's, Steers, Chicken Licken and Barcelos. Many of the restaurant chains originating from South-Africa have also expanded successfully outside the borders of the country.

Amasi, sour milk
Biltong, a salty dried meat (similar to jerky), although the meat used is often from different types of Antelope or other venison.
Biryani
Bobotie, a dish of Malay descent, is like meatloaf with raisins and with baked egg on top, and is often served with yellow rice, sambals, coconut, banana slices, and chutney.
Boerewors, a sausage that is traditionally braaied (barbecued).
Bunny chow, curry stuffed into a hollowed-out loaf of bread. A bunny chow is called Kota by the locals.
Chakalaka, a spicy South African vegetable relish.
Chutney, or Blatjang, a sweet sauce made from fruit that is usually poured on meat.
Frikkadelle - meatballs
Gatsby food mainly popular in Cape Town, comes in the form of a long roll with fillings of anything ranging from polony to chicken or steak and hot chips.
Gesmoorde vis, salted cod with potatoes and tomatoes and sometimes served with apricot jam.
Hoenderpastei, chicken pie, traditional Afrikaans fare.
Isidudu, pumpkin pap
Koeksisters come in two forms and are a sweet delicacy. Afrikaans koeksisters are twisted pastries, deep fried and heavily sweetened. Koeksisters found on the Cape Flats are sweet and spicy, shaped like large eggs, and deep-fried.
Mageu, a drink made from fermented mealie pap.
Mala Mogodu, a local dish equivalent of tripe. The locals usually enjoy mala mogodu with hot pap and spinach
Malva Pudding, a sweet spongy Apricot pudding of Dutch origin.
Mashonzha, made from the mopane worm.
Melktert (milk tart), a milk-based tart or dessert.
Melkkos (milk food), another milk-based dessert.
Mealie-bread, a sweet bread baked with sweetcorn.
Mielie-meal, one of the staple foods, often used in baking but predominantly cooked into pap or phutu.
Ostrich is an increasingly popular protein source as it has a low cholesterol content; it is either used in a stew or filleted and grilled.
Pampoenkoekies (pumpkin fritters), flour has been supplemented with or replaced by pumpkin or sweet potato.
Potbrood (pot bread or boerbrood), savoury bread baked over coals in cast-iron pots.
Potjiekos, a traditional Afrikaans stew made with meat and vegetables and cooked over coals in cast-iron pots.
Rusks, a rectangular, hard, dry biscuit eaten after being dunked in tea or coffee; they are either home-baked or shop-bought (with the most popular brand being Ouma Rusks).
Samosa or samoosa, a savoury stuffed Indian pastry that is fried.
Skilpadjies, lamb's liver wrapped in netvet and braaied over hot coals.
Smagwinya, fat cakes
Smoked or braai'ed snoek, a regional gamefish.
Sosaties, kebab, grilled marinated meat on a skewer.
Tomato bredie, a lamb and tomato stew.
Trotters and Beans, from the Cape, made from boiled pig's or sheep's trotters and onions and beans.
Umngqusho, a dish made from white maize and sugar beans, a staple food for the Xhosa people.
Umphokoqo, an African salad made of maize meal.
Umqombothi, a type of beer made from fermented maize and sorghum.
Umvubo, sour milk mixed with dry pap, commonly eaten by the Xhosa.
Vetkoek (fat cake, magwenya), deep-fried dough balls, typically stuffed with meat or served with snoek fish or jam.
Walkie Talkies, Grilled or deep-fried chicken heads and feet, most popular in townships and sold by street vendors, sometimes in industrial areas with high concentrations of workers.
Waterblommetjie bredie (water flower stew), meat stewed with the flower of the Cape Pondweed.

South African Recipes

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 ingredient

Bobotie recipe

The origins of Bobotie can be traced back to the eastern influence on South African culture. The Cape Malay society are 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 chili, 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

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 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.

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 flavorIngredients

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

Oxtail Potjie recipe 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 favorites - 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.

Sosaties recipe 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 tumeric
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 saute the chopped onion, garlic and curry powder for a few minutes.

Add the tumeric, 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.

Vetkoek recipe
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.

Koeksisters recipe

The sweet taste of these plaited dough cakes makes them a great favorite in South Africa. The secret of their success, is in preparing the syrup a day ahead and chilling it before dipping the koeksisters.

Ingredients

For the syrup:
1kg sugar
500ml (2 cups) water
2 pieces fresh green ginger (each 5cm), peeled and crushed
2ml (½ teaspoon) cream of tartar
Pinch of salt
Grated rind and juice of ½ lemon

For the dough:
500g flour
2ml (½ teaspoon) salt
30ml (2 tablespoons) baking powder
55g butter, grated
1 egg
250-375ml (1-1½ cups) milk or water

Instructions on how to make it To make the syrup, put all the ingredients in a saucepan. Heat (stirring) until the sugar has completely dissolved. Cover the mixture and boil for 1 minute. Remove the saucepan lid and boil the syrup for a further 5 minutes, but do not stir it. Remove the syrup from the stove and allow it to cool for at least 2 hours in a refrigerator, or overnight.

To make the dough, sieve together the dry ingredients and rub in the grated butter with your fingertips, or cut it in with a pastry cutter. Beat the egg, add 250ml (1 cup) of the milk or water and mix lightly with the dry ingredients to a soft dough. Add more milk or water if the dough is too stiff. Knead well until small bubbles form under the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to stand for 30 minutes –1 hour.

Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1 cm, then form koeksisters in either of the following ways:
Cut strips 1 cm wide and twist 2 strips together, or plait 3 strips together, cutting the twisted, or plaited lengths at 8cm intervals and pinching the ends together.

Alternatively, cut the dough into 8cm x 4cm pieces. Cut 2 vertical slits in each piece, reaching to 1cm from the end. Plait the 3 strips that have been formed and pinch together the loose ends.

Heat 7-8cm deep oil to 180-190°C – a cube of bread should turn golden-brown in a minute. Fry the koeksisters for 1-2 minutes, or until golden-brown, then turn them over with a fork and fry until golden-brown on the other side.

Remove the koeksisters with a lifter or slotted spoon, drain them for a moment on paper towel and then plunge them into the cold syrup for 1-2 minutes. Stand the container of syrup in a bowel of ice so that the syrup will stay cold. Remove the koeksisters from the syrup with a lifter or slotted spoon, allowing the excess syrup to flow back into the basin, then drain them slightly on a wire rack.

Yellow Rice recipe

Yellow rice is eaten with the Cape Malay dish called Bobotie.

Ingredients

2 cups of rice
¾ cup raisins, soaked in water for 20 minutes, then drained
1 teaspoon of turmeric
a dash of salt
2 sticks of cinnamon

Instructions on how to make it

Place all the ingredients, including the raisins in about 750ml of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. If there is still excess water in the pot when the rice is tender, pour it out carefully.
Dot the rice with a few blobs of butter and give it a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar (come on Penny, a little sugar and a little cinnamon powder, mixed together).

Cover and keep warm.

Traditional Melktert recipe
This is the traditional Duch way and it worth making it the "old fashioned" way if you have the time.

Ingredients

Pastry
62.5ml margarine (1/4 cup)
62.5mll sugar (1/4/ cup)
250ml Self raising Flour (1 cup)
Pinch salt
25ml iced water (2 T)

Filling
500ml milk (2 cups)
1 stick cinnamon
25ml butter (2 T)
50ml sugar (4T)
2 Eggs
50 ml Cake Flour (4T)

Instructions on how to make it

Pastry:
1. Cream the margarine and the sugar together.
2. Work in the flour and salt.
3. Add the water and work to a soft dough.
4. Wrap up and chill until required.

Filling:
1. Scald the milk in a double boiler with the cinnamon stick.
2. Combine the sugar and flour and stir in the hot milk slowly.
3. Return to the heat and cook for 15 minutes with the lid of.
4. Remove from heat and stir in the butter.
5. When cool, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Line a 22cm tart plate with the pastry and pour the filling mixture in.
7. Bake at 200 deg C (400 deg F) for 20 minutes.
8. Before serving sprinkle the top with powdered cinnamon and castor sugar.

Buttermilk Rusks recipe

This is a traditional yeast-baked rusk - great for dunking in your tea or coffee early in the morning when you watch the sun rise as the boer trekkers did every morning when they traveled from the Cape to the Transavaal. If the rusks are to be kept for a long time, do not substitute margarine for the butter.

Ingredients

375g butter
500g sugar
2 extra large eggs
1,5kg self-raising flour
30ml (2 tablespoons) baking powder
500ml (2 cups) buttermilk or plain drinking yogurt

Instructions on how to make it

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Cream the butter and sugar together very well. Add the eggs, one at a time. Sift the flour and baking powder together, and add this to the creamed mixture, using a fork to mix. Add the buttermilk or yogurt, using a little milk to rinse out the carton. Mix well with a fork and then knead lightly. Pack lightly rolled, golf ball sized buns of the dough into the greased bread pans close together, and bake for 45-55 minutes. Place the pans in the middle of the oven, with a sheet of brown paper on the top shelf to protect the buns from becoming browned too quickly.

Remove the paper after the buns are well risen and cooked through, to brown the tops. Reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting. Turn out the buns on to cake racks, cool them and separate them, using 2 forks. Pack them on wire racks or on cooled oven racks – air must circulate. Place them in the cool oven, leaving the door ajar, for 4-5 hours, or overnight, to dry out.

If no buttermilk or yogurt is available, use fresh milk curdled with lemon juice or white vinegar.

Buttermilk Rusks recipe

Ingredients

375g butter
500g sugar
2 extra large eggs
1,5kg self-raising flour
30ml (2 tablespoons) baking powder
500ml (2 cups) buttermilk or plain drinking yogurt

Instructions on how to make it

25 lb beef (top round/sirloin/London broil/ eye of round)
4 pints warm water
1 ¼ lb fine salt
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup coriander, coarsely ground
2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp black pepper, ground
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 tsp saltpeter (optional)

To make the biltong Cut the meat along the natural dividing lines of the muscles of the meat of choice.

Cut into strips of approximately 2-inch thick and any desired length, always cutting with the grain.

Mix the salt, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, saltpeter, pepper and coriander together.

Rub the seasoning mixture thoroughly into the strips of meat.

Layer the meat, with the more bulky pieces at the bottom, in a glass or stainless steel container. Sprinkle a little vinegar over each layer, as you add them.

South African Biltong. A great taste.

Leave the meat in a cool place for 12 hours or more, depending on how salty you want the meat to be.(Some experimentation may be required to ascertain the correct length of time to let the biltong 'marinade' for, according to your taste.)

Remove the meat from the marinade Mix the water and vinegar and dip the meat into this mixture. This makes the biltong shiny and dark.Once this is complete, the biltong is ready to dry.Pat the pieces of meat dry and then hang them up on S-shaped hooks, or use pieces of string, about 2 inches apart.Hang the biltong in a cool to warm, dry place with an oscillating fan blowing on it.Ensure that the air is dry, as too much moisture will cause the meat to spoil.

The biltong is ready when the outside is hard and the center part of the biltong strip is still a little moist.Let the center dry according to personal taste.

Makes about 21 lb

BILTONG is South African dried meat and has been around for centuries.

Any South African will do almost anything to get a share if he/she knows that BILTONG is available.

Biltong is cut from the "stick" in thin pieces using a very sharp knife. Some people shave off a number of pieces at a time so they don't have to let cutting interfere with eating.A professional trick is to place the biltong in a vice and, using a wood plane shave off as many pieces of the desired thickness as required. Eaten on its own as an appetizer or all day munch. Especially at sporting events, but anywhere is OK.Try it, you'll find it much more addictive than peanuts or potato crisps.

The recipe given above is for beef biltong, but like jerky, biltong may be made using game animals such as Buck and Deer.Ostrich produces a great tasting but somewhat dry biltong.PS. Biltong is not really recommended for unfortunate souls wearing dentures, unless its shaved very thin.

South African Jokes

SOUTH AFRICAN JOKES

The devil goes to South Africa.
There he meets Gatiep and asks:
Do you know who I am?"
Gatiep: "Nay, djy's nie van die PLEK nie, give me a hint."
Devil: "I'm the prince of darkness."
Gatiep: "Oh, djy's 'n bigshot by Eskom"

A Priest was seated next to Van Der Merwe on a flight to Brakpan.
After the plane was airborne, drink orders were taken.
Van Der Merwe asked for a Rum and Coke, which was brought and placed
before him.
The flight attendant then asked the priest if he would like a drink.
He replied in disgust "I'd rather be savagely raped by a dozen whores
than let liquor touch my lips."
Van Der Merwe then handed his drink back to the attendant and said "Me
too, I didn't know we had a choice."

Submitted by Ella Rabe, Charlotte NC

Three jokes uit die Kaap……

The fruit seller walks up to the car and says:

“Peske, Peske. Lekke peskes. Net vyf rand virrie laanie."

The guy in the car says: "Is hulle soet?"

The fruit seller says: "Dja menee, kyk hoe stil sit hulle!!"

Three guys selling snoek on the corner shouts:

"Hiers djou snoek"

The guy in the car says:

"Wat vra julle vir daai snoek?"

One guy replies:

"Ons vra hulle niks. Wil djy hulle iets vra?"

Gatiep & Maraai steel 'n snoek, en sien toe 'n Polisie man

Gatiep sê: „Sit die snoek onder djou rok!“

Maraai sê: " Dit gaan stink Gatiep!"

Gatiep sê vir Maraai: " Drukkie snoek se nies toe, man!"

There was a German, an Italian and Van der Merwe on death row.The warden gave them a choice of three ways to die:
1. to be shot
2. to be hung
3. to be injected with the AIDS virus for a slow death.
So the German said, "Shoot me right in the head." Boom, he was dead instantly.
Then the Italian said, "Just hang me." Snap! He was dead.
Then it was Van der Merwe turn , and he said, "Give me some of that AIDS stuff."
They gave him the shot, and Van der Merwe fell down laughing. The guards looked at each other and wondered what was wrong with this guy
Then Van der Merwe said, "Give me another one of those shots,"so the guards did. Now he was laughing so hard, tears rolled from his eyes and he doubled over.
Finally the warden said, "What's wrong with you?"
Van der Merwe replied, "You guys are so stupid..... I'm wearing a condom."

A boer went to the appliance store sale and found a bargain. "I would like to buy this TV," he
told the salesman. "Sorry, we don't sell to boere," the salesman replied. He hurried home, took a shower, changed his clothes and combed his hair, then came back and again told the
salesman "I would like to buy this TV." "Sorry, we don't sell to boere," the salesman replied.
"Bliksem, he recognized me," he thought. So he went for a complete disguise this time,
haircut and new color, shaved off the baard, suit and tie, fake glasses, then waited a few days
before he again approached the salesman. "I would like to buy this TV." Sorry, we don't sell
to boere," the salesman replied. Frustrated, he exclaimed "Jislaaik, man! How do you know
I'm a boer?" "Because that's a microwave," the salesman replied.

Van's two 18-year-old twin daughters
Hettie and Betty are helping Ma van der Merwe redecorate. They're about to paint a bedroom when Ma sticks her head round the door and tells them not to get any paint on their dresses. So the girls decide to paint the room in the nude. Some time later there's a knock on the door. "Who's there?", asks Hettie. "Blind man",comes the answer. The girls look at each other and decide it can do no harm to let him in. Betty opens the door and in walks a bloke with a bundle under his arm. "Nice boobs," says the guy. "Where do you want the blinds?"

Many Names are changing in South Africa.......

Cities have new names, provinces changed their names and maybe even the country may change its name soon! From 01 January 2007, the following changes will be made to all Fairy Tales in South Africa as follows:
1. Snow White - Coal Black
2. Goldilocks - Dreadlocks
3. Hansel & Gretel - Sipho & Thandi
4. Jack & the Beanstalk - Zuma & The Dagga Plant
5. Liewe Heksie - Lovely Felicia
6. Red Riding Hood - Riding in the Hood
7. The Big Bad Wolf - e Tokeloshi
8. The Three Little Pigs - Goodness, Gift & Precious
9. Barbie - Modjadji
10. The Little Mermaid - The Little Maid
11. The Smurfs - The Freedom Fighters
12. Alice in Wonderland - Busi in Gauteng
13. Cinderella - Cinderfikile
14. The Emperor’s New Clothes – Mbeki goes Gucci
15. The Princess and the Pea – Manto and the African Potato

A woman goes to the doctor, beaten black and blue. . . . .

Doctor: "What happened?

"Woman:" Doctor, I don't know what to do. Every time my husband comes home drunk he beats me to a pulp...

"Doctor:"I have a real good medicine against that: When your husband comes home drunk, just take a glass of chamomile tea and start gargling with it. Just gargle and gargle"

2 weeks later she comes back to the doctor and looks reborn and fresh again.

Woman:" Doc, that was a brilliant idea! Every time my husband came home drunk I gargled repeatedly with chamomile tea and he never touched me.

Doctor:" you see how keeping your mouth shut helps!!!"

Why so many South Africans are moving to Australia

Van der Merwe had never been out of South Africa before and was visiting
Bondi Beach, Australia . He spotted a long line of black dots out in the
water and said to an Aussie who was sitting close by, "Meneer, what are
all those little black things out there?"

"They're buoys," replied the Aussie.

"Boys?!" replied Van der Merwe. "What are they doing out there?"

"Holding up the shark net, mate," the Aussie told him.

"Fucking great country, this!" said Van der Merwe, deeply impressed.
"We'd never get away with that at home!"

Van der Merwe in London........Courtesy of Libby Murphy in Cape Town!
Van der Merwe goes to London to watch the Boks take on the Poms at Twickenham. Whilst in London, he walks around, gaping and staring at everything. So much so that he walks smack bang into a fire hydrant which hits him so hard on the family jewels that they burst.

He gets rushed to hospital where the doctors tell him they have to remove his testicles.

Van goes berserk: he bites and snarls at every one and he won't let anybody within 10 metres of him. Eventually they find a South African doctor in the hospital and get him to talk to Van.

He walks up to Van and tells him, "Hey Van, die ouens moet jou ballas uithaal."

Van replies "O, okay, ek dog die bliksems wil my test tickets vat."

Van in Paris
Van goes to the top house of ill repute in Paris.
He goes up to the Madam and asks,.. "I want your best girl !!".
The Madam then calls her top girl, and the two of them go upstairs.
Two minutes later the girl comes down the stairs screaming,
"Nevair ! nevair ! 'ow can you ask me zat ?"
The Madam is absolutely astounded, as that this has never
happened before, but never the less she sends up her second best girl.
Two minutes later the girl also comes down the stairs screaming,
"Nevair ! nevair ! 'ow can you ask me zat ?"
The Madam is now intensely curious, since she has experienced
everything and is totally unshockable, she then decides that SHE must go upstairs and service this client herself.
Two minutes later the Madam also comes down the stairs
screaming, "Nevair ! nevair ! 'ow can you ask me zat ?"
Some guys sitting at the bar and ask her what the hell was going on.

She replies, " 'e vants to pay me in Rands !!!"

Van der Merwe's pregnant sister and her husband live on a farm in Australia's outback. Soon she gives birth to twins and her husband phones Van in SA to ask him to register their births. He tells Van: "You must register the girl as Denise and the boy as........", but the phone cuts and Van doesn't hear the last name. Van goes off to register the twins and eventually his brother-inlaw phones back to ask him if he's done so.
"Yes, I've registered them. Their names are: 'De Niece and De Nephew".

Blonde Joke from Joburg - Courtesy of AmaBoston website!
A blonde walks into a bank in Johannesburg and asks for the loans dept. She says she's going to Europe on business for three weeks and needs to borrow R10,000...

The bank officer says the bank will need some kind of security for the loan, so the blonde hands over the keys to a new Rolls Royce. The car is parked on the street in front of the bank, she has the papers and everything checks out.

The bank agrees to accept the car as collateral for the loan. The bank manager and its staff all enjoy a good laugh at the blonde for using a R500,000 Rolls as collateral against a R10,000 loan. An employee of the bank then proceeds to drive the Rolls into the bank's underground garage and parks it there.

Two weeks later, the blonde returns, repays the R10,000 and the interest, which comes to R141.66.

The bank manager says, "Miss, we are very happy to have had your business, and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow R10,000?"

The blond replies ... "Where else in Johannesburg can I park my car for two weeks for only R141.66 and expect it to be there when I return?"

And everybody thinks blonds are dumb!

Van from the klein Karroo
goes to Joburg with his old school friend who had been living in Jozi for sometime. His friend, who has become accustomed to night clubs and wild Jozi parties, is a centre of attraction wherever they arrive. He complains to his friend that he felt an outsider and would like to be the THE man at their next stop. Then they come to the party birthday party of this English guy. During toasting everybody raised their glasses to said “cheers”. Van, who was almost sloshed and had problem to comprehend basic English, raised his, too, and raised his voice above everyone else and said “stoele!”

Questions about South Africa were posted on a South African Tourism Website and were answered by the webmaster.
Q: Does it ever get windy in South Africa? I have never seen it rain on

TV, so how do the plants grow? (UK)

A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them

die.

Q: Will I be able to see elephants in the street? (USA)

A: Depends how much you've been drinking or sniffing.

Q: I want to walk from Durban to Cape Town - can I follow the railroad

tracks? (Sweden)

A: Sure, it's only two thousand kilometers. Take lots of water.

Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in South Africa? (Sweden)

A: So it's true what they say about Swedes.

Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in South Africa? Can you send me a list of them in JHB, Cape Town, Knysna and Jeffrey's Bay? (UK)

A: What did your last slave die of?

Q: Can you give me some information about Koala Bear racing in South

Africa? (USA)

A: Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific. A-fri-ca

is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe which does not... oh

forget it. Sure, the Koala Bear racing is every Tuesday night in Hillbrow.

Come naked.

Q: Which direction is north in South Africa? (USA)

A: Face south and then turn 90 degrees. Contact us when you get there and we'll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into South Africa? (UK)

A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA)

A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is.

oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in

Hillbrow, straight after the Koala Bear races. Come naked.

Q: Do you have perfume in South Africa? (France)

A: No, WE don't stink.

Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you

tell me where I can sell it in South Africa? (USA)

A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

Q: Can you tell me the regions in South Africa where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)

A: Yes, gay nightclubs.

Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in South Africa? (France)

A: Only at Christmas.

Are there killer bees in South Africa? (Germany)

A: Not yet, but for you, we'll import them.

Q: Are there supermarkets in Cape Town and is milk available all year

round? (Germany)

A: No, we are a peaceful civilisation of vegan hunter-gatherers. Milk is

illegal

Q: Please send a list of all doctors in South Africa who can dispense

rattlesnake serum. (USA)

A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca, which is where YOU come from. All South African snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets. Good examples of snakes as pets are mambas (both green and black), rinkhals and municipal workers.

Q: I was in South Africa in 1969, and I want to contact the girl I dated

while I was staying in Hillbrow. Can you help? (USA)

A: Yes, and you will still have to pay her by the hour.

Q: Will I be able to speek English most places I go? (USA)

A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first.

MALEMA: Doctor, in my dreams, I play football every night.
DR: Take this tablet, you will be ok.
MALEMA : Can I take it tomorrow, tonight is final game.

MALEMA comes back 2 his car & finds a note saying 'Parking Fine'
He Writes a note and sticks it to a pole 'Thanks for compliment.'

How do you recognize MALEMA in School?
He is the one who erases the notes from the book when the teacher erases

the board.

Once MALEMA was walking he had a glove on one hand and not on other.
So the man asked him why he did so. He replied that the weather forecast

announced that on one hand it would be cold and on the other hand it
would
be hot.

MALEMA is in a bar and his cellular phone rings. He picks it up and
Says 'Hello, how did you know I was here?'

MALEMA : Why are all these people running?
Commentator: This is a race, the winner will get the cup
MALEMA: If only the winner will get the cup, why are others running?

Teacher: 'I killed a person' convert this sentence into future tense
MALEMA : The future tense is 'u will go to jail'

MALEMA says to his ser van t: 'Go and water the plants!'
Ser van t: 'It's already raining.'
MALEMA : 'So what? Take an umbrella and go.'

Van was on a lekker holiday in Durbs.
One day he heard from his friends that there was a fancy dress ball, and he could go. The dress theme was to symbolize a country.

Unsure what to do, he hid in a bush outside the hall and watched what was going on. A woman arrived scantily dressed in a few feathers. When the doorman asked what country she was she said "Turkey", so he said, "Feathers, Turkey, OK you can go in". Another beautiful and shapely woman arrived clad only in a "G" string, her body smeared with oil. She said she was Iran.
"Oil, Iran." OK go in. So then Van sauntered up to the door naked except for a brown paper packet placed over his manhood and said he was from Pakistan.
The doorman could not understand and asked Van to explain:

"Bring daardie twee meisies uit, dan sal jy sien hoe hierdie pakkie staan!!!"

South African Foods

South African Recipes

South African Recipes

Boerewors 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)

Chicken Curry Potjie recipe 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.

Instructions on how to make it

Ingredients

Ingredients

Instructions on how to make it

Vetkoek recipe 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

Instructions on how to make it

Koeksisters recipe

Ingredients

Yellow Rice recipe

Ingredients

Instructions on how to make it

Traditional Melktert recipe This is the traditional Duch way and it worth making it the "old fashioned" way if you have the time.

Ingredients

Instructions on how to make it

Buttermilk Rusks recipe

Ingredients

Instructions on how to make it

Buttermilk Rusks recipe

Ingredients

Instructions on how to make it

South African Jokes

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)

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

Traditional Melktert recipe
This is the traditional Duch way and it worth making it the "old fashioned" way if you have the time.