Food! Glorious Food! Why South Africa might have some of the worlds luckiest stomachs!

@edgeland  asked me a couple of questions about life in South Africa. Since it is late Saturday afternoon here, I'll save the meatier (yes, haha, it's bad) questions for another day. I spent the morning, as I often do on Saturdays, at an auction. If the auction falls flat, there is always the food!

An extremely brief history is needed to explain just where ALL that food comes from, I'll try my best not to make it dry. (!)

A defining aspect of South African culture is that is is a true melting pot of many different cultures and races. South Africa was widely colonised, beginning in 1652. The Dutch East India Company established a base at the Cape of Good Hope. Farmers were then needed to create farms so that they could supply the passing ships, as well as the inhabitants of the base. Most of the farmers were Dutch, but there were also those of German, French Hugenot and Scandinavian descent. (The Afrikaans people are descendants of an amalgamation of these peoples, creating the Afrikaans language.) Slaves were imported from Dutch colonies in the Far East. Nature took it's course and soon the Cape Coloureds and Cape Malays were created. (An aside for the racists out there - if you come from a long South African lineage, chances are you are not as lily white as you think!) Later the British also established a port at the Cape. Over the years indentured Indian (mostly) and chinese labourers were brought to the country to work on farms and the mines. Then, obviously, there is the large population of indigenous peoples, divided into many different tribes, who have called South Africa home for many centuries.

                                                                                                                   

(original photo: my bff who is Indian, but hardly ever makes curries although she is awesome at it, as she hates stereotypes as much as me, made me curry and brought it to work to spoil me. Roti and a sauce so hot that it took my staff and I two weeks to finish it, on the side!)

Today I ate chicken curry and rice, and samosas

Curry and rice is a South African staple. I attended my auction in the small town of Dundee, KZN, at a school hall. There were goats grazing along the fence of the school. The Catholic Church ladies, all classified coloured, cater for the auction to raise funds for their church. I often take home enough to feed my family.

(original photo: Coffee, and a chicken curry roti roll. The breakfast of champions!)

The types of curry and rice in South Africa are as varied as our people. They range from traditional spicy Indian curry to a sweet mild mince (ground beef) curry popular with Afrikaans people. We also have bunny chow, a hollowed out half loaf of white bread, filled with curry, and the removed bread placed on top. I forbid you to come to South Africa and not eat one of those! I am particularly fond of curry roti rolls (beans, chicken, beef, or mutton.) The curry is wrapped in a flat pancake like bread and you can eat it with your hands. Curry with roti on the side is another firm favourite of mine. Most unfairly, the takeaway place that supplies me with my fix is a few shops up the road from mine so I can smell the food cooking!!!

(image: pixabay samosas, not a south african photo, but ours look the same) 

Samosa's, Indian in origin, are triangle shaped, and have a crispy pastry shell. They can contain any filling but the most common one is spicy mince. They can be extremely hot, or quite mild. Other common fillings include potatoe, cheese, and mealies (corn). I like them with an even hotter chilli dip, which also contains tomatoe and a little mint.

That takeaway place up the road - Vetkoek Den

I own shares there (joking!, but may as well). Vetkoek Den serves a marvelous fusion of popular South African foods. Their speciality, as in their name, is vetkoek. Vetkoek is a traditional fried doughnut like bread of Afrikaans origin. They are cut in half and most commonly filled with mince. On a cold winters' morning I like mine with apricot jam. Vetkoek is a popular takeaway with the shop workers as it its fairly cheap. I have seen my staff buy them with polony (bologna), or even a fried egg. They make a massive vetkoek burger, with indian inspired sauce, chips on the vetkoek, a beef patty, and lettuce. It can feed both my sons and their two friends!

On the subject of my staff...putu pap (alias mealie meal, stywe pap, krummelpap)

                                                     

                         (putu, mealie meal, stywe pap)

Putu pap is a staple food of the traditional black person's diet, though it is popular among all race groups, and can be made in many different ways to suit different needs. Pap is a porridge made from ground maize meal (or mealie meal as we call it). It can be served as a porridge, I like it with hot milk, sugar and butter. My domestic worker always eats hers with sour milk. It can also be made into a crumbly version (stywe pap/krummelpap) that is served with....everything! In any shop that caters for the lunch time needs of the working class, you will find stywe (means stiff) pap with just about any topping, boerewors and russians are particularly popular, but I have seen....everything!

Mentioning Boerewors leads me to braaing - no fear I will explain.

                                                                                             

                                                (image: wikipedia - raw boerewors)

Braaing, aka barbecuing, is a South African way of life. Most white South Africans will braai at least a few times a month. I once had neighbours who braaied two or three times a week. Our stunning weather allows this, and it usually takes place under a lapa (A semi-open structure with a thatched roof supported by wooden poles. "Lapa" means "here" in Zulu, a language spoken by the majority of the black population in KZN, where I live.) and next to the pool. But anywhere outdoors is common, particularly when camping. We generally cook our meat over a open charcoal fire, and don't tend to use gas. One of the braai staples, apart from chops and steak is boerewors. This is a traditional South African sausage consisting on beef mince, commonly spiced with coriander seed, nutmeg, cloves and allspice, though the variations are endless.

(original photo: family and friends in our lapa at a braai we held for Christmas. South Africans often braai for Christmas, as it is summer at that time of the year here.)

At braais men will often cook and the women will make salads, breads AND putu in the kitchen. (Which is why we hardly braai, I'm afraid. The stereotypes are a bit much for us!) Later everybody gets together. Mostly braais are accompanied by a significant consumption of alcohol.

If I continue with the subject of traditional South African foods, this blog might turn into a book! I have just mentioned the first foods commonly consumed in our country that have popped into my mind. I will delve further into this subject in future blogs. I mean seriously, where is the dessert?!!! Thanks for reading, I going to have my supper!

Please follow me, @onetree for South African stories, and the general life experiences of a somewhat eccentric, plump, green-haired middle aged lady!