South African Recipes
[19 recipes]

Indigenous African cooking, traditional Afrikaner cuisine, and the Portuguese among others have contributed to the deliciously diverse flavours of South Africa’s “rainbow cuisine.” Bredies, biltong, boerewors, mealiepap, umngqusho, mashonzha and peri-peri prawns feature strongly on the menu in South African homes.

Indigenous African Cooking

The authentic African kitchen is focused on maize meal porridge, meat and sauce. The sauce is made from a variety of savouries (shebu) and vegetables and flavoured with chilli. Maize meal porridge is the staple food of almost the whole of the African continent.

Traditional Afrikaner Cuisine

Afrikaners are mostly descendents from the original Dutch, French and German settlers, who founded the Cape colony in the 17th century. The cuisine that stands out as typical Afrikaner, is to a large extent based on the Dutch settlers cuisine, with contributions from the French and German settlers. Add to that a large portion of Malay cooking and temper it all by years of migrating on the Great Trek.

And so we inherited today’s fabulous legacy of potjiekos, braais, biltong and boerewors.

The Portuguese Kitchen

Because of the proximity of former Portuguese colonies Mozambique and Angola to South Africa, Portuguese cuisine made considerable impact in the South African kitchen, predominantly through the use of hot and spicy chilli-based peri-peri seasoning.

Grilled peri-peri chicken has become a national institution. Chouriço, prego rolls, chicken livers, giblets and seafood are prepared as only the Portuguese can. Portuguese South African cooking is particularly known for its mouth watering seafood dishes, such as prawns, calamari, bacalhou, crab amongst others, prepared in a multitude of ways.

Biltong Recipe

South Africa’s all time favourite snack - Biltong is strips of salted dried meat. Different meats such as beef, ostrich, and game (springbok, kudu) can be used to make biltong (beef is the popular standard). Spices ot... more about Biltong Recipe

3rd of October 2009 0

Boerewors Recipe

The secret in the making of good boerewors lies in the quality of the ingredients used. The better the quality of the meat the better tasting the boerewors. When making, do not overprocess; meat must be crumbly... more about Boerewors Recipe

3rd of October 2009 0

Butternut and Pear Bredie

Butternut and Pear Bredie, prepared with mutton OR lamb, butternut and dried pears is one of those dishes, which would feel insulted if one had to refer to it by the name of its European rival known as “stew”. The pr... more about Butternut and Pear Bredie

3rd of October 2009 0

Cabbage Bredie

Cabbage bredie, prepared with mutton OR lamb and cabbage is one of those dishes, which would feel insulted if one had to refer to it by the name of its European rival known as “stew”. The principle is the same, but b... more about Cabbage Bredie

3rd of October 2009 0

Chicken Biryani

This Indian chicken biryani based on rice, is normally prepared for special occasions, since it takes a long time to make. There are a multitude of recipes for biryani and each one has a uniqueness about it... more about Chicken Biryani

25th of October 2009 0