A virtual visit to South Africa calls for more South African snacks. Because we can’t possibly head on safari or visit all out favourite haunts without bringing our tastebuds along for the ride. And with a 2pm AEST start for today’s sofa safari, coinciding with afternoon tea, we thought it was time to whip up a big batch of  Hertzoggies, the kids’ new favourite sweet treat.

These old-school tartlets date back to the 1920’s when supporters of the then South African Prime Minister and Boer War General J. B. M. Hertzog, better known as Barry to his mates, invented the Hertzoggie cookie (Hertzogkoekie in Afrikaans), which is actually more of a tartlet, but that’s just semantics.

We had our first taste of South African Hertzoggies completely by accident in a café near the colourful Bo Kaap district in Cape Town, where we were picking up a few treats for a road trip and spotted the inviting delights. On first bite, the regret that we didn’t buy more was real.

With their fluffy pastry bases, pop of apricot jam and the chewy crunch of coconutty meringue, the Hertzoggies recipe to follow is as much about texture as taste.

Usually devoured with a cup of tea or served up as a dessert during Eid in the Cape-Malay community, Hertzoggie cookies are still popular across South Africa today. Because they’re freaking amazing.

Want to try them? Here’s our South African Hertzoggies recipe! Easy to make. Even easier to eat!

South African Hertzoggies

May 15, 2020

by Aleney de Winter

Cuisine South African

Category Africa African Food Recipes

Ingredients

• *For the pastry:*
• 2 cups of self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 150gm castor sugar
• A pinch of salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• ½ cup of cubed butter
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• *For the filling:*
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 cup of castor sugar
• ½  tsp of vanilla essence
• 2 cups of desiccated coconut
• ½ cup apricot jam

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 °C.
2. Grease a mini muffin baking tray.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt into a large mixing bowl
4. Add the castor sugar and cubed butter, massaging the butter in to the flour mix until it forms fine crumbs.
5. Add eggs and mix, adding a touch of water if needed, to bring the dough together.
6. Knead the dough on a clean floured surface until smooth, then roll in a ball and cover in a bowl to rest for about 20 minutes.
7. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peak stage, then incorporating the vanilla essence and sugar in stages until it reaches glossy firm peaks.
8. Carefully fold in the coconut and set aside.
9. Press pastry mix directly into each of the muffin trays so that each tray is filled with a 5mm thick base
10. Add two teaspoons of jam onto the pastry, then top each with the meringue mixture.
11. Pop the tarts into the oven and bake for 25 minutes until the tops are crisp and golden.
12. Allow to cool slightly, then carefully lift them out the tray and onto a cooling rack.

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You say samosa, I say samoosa. At least I do after our latest visit to Cape Town, where we shovelled the little golden triangles of savoury spiced goodness down our throats at every conceivable opportunity.

The samosa, originally introduced to India between the 13th and 14th centuries by Arab traders as the sambosa, made its way to South Africa when Dutch settlers shipped Indian, Malaysian and Indonesian peoples from what was then known as the East Indies, to work as slaves in the new Cape Colony.

From these dark beginnings, these diverse cultures integrated to form a new identity as Cape Malay. This cultural union saw traditional South African and Dutch cuisine infused with Indian and Malay flavours to create a cuisine that’s as unique to Cape Town, as it delicious. For visitors, charismatic and colourful Bo Kaap, nestled at the foot of Signal Hill on the fringe of the Cape Town city centre, is one of the best places for a taste of Cape Malay cuisine.

Here you’ll find stores selling and sweet treats like melktert (milk tart),  jam-filled hertzoggies and koeksisters (sweet fried pastries), as well as restaurants serving up fragrant favourites including curry, breyani, bredie (stew), sosaties (meat kebabs) and bobotie, a mixture of curried beef mince and fruit with a creamy golden topping that is the national dish of South Africa.

And then there are the samoosas. More petit than their Indian cousins, South African samoosas are frequently filled with bobotie, as well as more familiar vegetarian fillings. Fortunate to be staying for several nights metres from Bo Kaap’s colourful main street, we stocked up on bags of traditional South African samoosa daily, at the Rose Corner Café.  And when we returned to town for a few days stay at The Silo, the Gourmet Samooserie at the V&A Foodmarket became our go to samoosa station.

As our minds wander back to beautiful Cape Town, the kids’ tastebuds are crying out for more. So after a smashing out a platter of delicious bobotie samoosas with apricot chilli sauce, along with a dozen vegetarian potato samoosas with mint coriander raita (my personal faves), for afternoon tea, we’re sharing our recipes with you.

Bobotie samoosa with apricot chilli sauce

May 7, 2020

by Aleney de Winter

Cuisine South African

Category Africa African Food Recipes

Ingredients

• For the samoosa
• 12 sheets filo or spring roll pastry cut into 25cm x 7cm strips
• Egg white lightly beaten
• 500g beef mince
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp garlic paste
• 2 tsp ginger paste
• 2-3 red chillies finely chopped
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 bunch of coriander, stems and leave, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• For the apricot chilli sauce
• 3 tbsp apricot jam
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons tamarind paste
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Place all apricot chilli sauce ingredients into a saucepan and heat on medium/low temperature until combined, set aside to cool.
2. Heat oil and sauté onion in a pan until translucent.
3. Add garlic, ginger, chilli and ground spices and cook 60 seconds or until fragrant (around 60 seconds).
4. Add the beef and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently to break down the mince.
5. Set aside to cool before adding coriander, 1 tbsp of apricot chilli sauce and lemon Seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Take one strip of filo or spring roll pastry and brush one long edge with egg wash
7. Add a tbsp of bobotie mix to pastry and fold into a triangle, repeating until you reach the end of the strip.
8. Deep fry in medium oil until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes.
9. Serve with remaining apricot chilli sauce.

Tags

African food,

Recipes,

South Africa,

South Africa with Kids,

South African Cuisine

© 2021 copyright www.boyeatsworld.com.au

Potato samoosa with mint coriander raita

Cuisine South African

Ingredients

• for the potato samoosa
• 12 sheets filo or spring roll pastry cut into 25cm x 7cm strips
• Egg white lightly beaten
• 3 large potatoes, peeled, cubed and boiled
• 1 brown onion finely chopped.
• 2 red chillies finely chopped
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp coriander
• ½ cup of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Egg white for sealing
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• For the mint coriander raita
• ½ cup Greek yoghurt
• ½ cup mint leaves
• ½ cup coriander
• Pinch cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Place all raita ingredients in a blender and blitz until combined, set aside in refrigerator until ready to serve.
2. Heat oil and sauté onion in a pan until translucent.
3. Add mustard seeds, garlic, ginger, chilli and ground spices and cook 60 seconds or until fragrant (around 60 seconds).
4. Add the cooked potato and lemon juice.
5. Set aside to cool before adding coriander and season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Take one strip of filo or spring roll pastry and brush one long edge with egg wash
7. Add a tbsp of potato mix to pastry and fold into a triangle, repeating until you reach the end of the strip.
8. Deep fry in medium oil until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes.
9. Serve with mint coriander raita.

© 2021 copyright www.boyeatsworld.com.au

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Busy piling a tower of cake on her plate, Sugarpuff nearly loses the lot at a sudden unexpected trumpeting that emanates from beyond our afternoon tea buffet. A parade of noisy elephants is lumbering at speed toward Sabi Sabi Bush Lodge’s inviting waterhole, with a couple of tiny (by elephant standards) tots in tow.

While the littlest leap clumsily into the water, the adults gleefully spray themselves with trunkful after trunkful of water. My daughter is torn. Does she watch the adorable scene or eat cake? The correct answer is, of course, both.

While it is wildlife experiences like these that brought us to Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, located on the southwestern corner of the Kruger National Park in South Africa’s Sabi Sands Game Reserve, there’s so much more to the Sabi Sabi experience, and the incredible non-stop food action is integral to it.

Our days start with steaming hot tea and early morning snacks on a pre-dawn safari. We return amped up from adrenalin filled Big 5 encounters to a hot cooked breakfast and brilliant buffet of local delights. Lunch is an a la carte al fresco affair overlooking the waterhole.

Not even remotely hungry by afternoon tea, it’s still impossible to resist the siren call of the towers of freshly baked cakes and biscuits. It’s the perfect fuel to keep us energised for an afternoon of wildlife spotting with our ranger until sundowners and snacks appear as if from nowhere. On our return we spy a cackle of hyenas shredding the kill of a sulky leopard, who watches the opportunistic diners from the heights of a tree.

Back at Bush Lodge, we’re almost as ravenous as the forlorn feline so swiftly change for dinner. We’re entertained by the hypnotic rhythms of local singers and dancers as we dine on smoky braai (barbecue) around a roaring fire in the softly lit boma. The following night’s meal is served under magnificent night skies at a starlight bush dinner, where we recount the day’s exciting encounters with our ranger, Dan, who proves to be a witty dining companion with a Pied Piper flair for enchanting kids.

But it is the food that is the real star of each meal, with memorable menus created by a clever culinary team to celebrate the freshest local organic produce and the very best of contemporary African cuisine.

Since our return, the kids remind me daily of the baked aubergine scented with rose water,  addictive boboti-stuffed samoosa, smoky coal roasted vegetables, a heavenly deconstructed crocodile pie, and a traditional warthog potjie (casserole).

And then there are those cakes…

One of Sugarpuff’s most oft repeated requests since our return from Sabi Sabi has been for a slice of South African Melktert, a delicate but decadent cinnamon-dusted milk tart that made an appearance during afternoon tea at Bush Lodge. Lucky for her, they’ve shared their recipe for the popular desert in ‘Bringing the Bush Home‘ – a gorgeous collection of tried, tested and timeless recipes from Sabi Sabi’s talented Chefs.

And Sabi Sabi’s South African Melktert recipe is so good it wings us straight back to afternoon tea under that thatched roof overlooking the waterhole and its hooting and honking elephants. Only after I serve it up it home, the trumpets of joy are coming from a small Aussie girl.

South African Melktert

April 30, 2020

by Aleney de Winter

Cuisine South African

Category Africa African Food Recipes

Notes

Recipe from Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve’s ‘Bringing the Bush Home’ cook book
 

Ingredients

• Pastry
• 125g butter
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• Filling
• 4 1/2 cups milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 21⁄2 tbsp flour
• 21⁄2 tbsp cornflour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp butter
• Ground cinnamon for sprinkling

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C.
2. For the pastry, cream butter and sugar until fully combined.
3. Add the egg and beat well.
4. Sift dry ingredients and add to the butter, sugar and egg mix, folding in until a dough is formed.
5. Place dough in a greased and floured pie dish and press down gently until its filled.
6. Bake pastry for 20 minutes or until light golden brown.
7. Remove and set aside to cool.
8. For the filling, place milk in a saucepan and bring gently to a boil.
9. Beat the eggs, before adding the cornflour, sugar, salt and flour and mix well.
10. Pour the boiling milk into the mix and stir.
11. Return mixture to the saucepan on stove and stir continuously at low heat for 8–10 minutes over a medium heat, until it starts to thicken.
12. Add butter and vanilla essence and carefully pour the mix into the pastry base.
13. Place in fridge to set (should be firm but still a little wobbly).
14. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.

Tags

Recipes,

South Africa

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Bunny chow. No, it’s not snack food for rabbits. Nor are the cotton-tailed cuties an ingredient. In fact the popular South African street food has absolutely nothing to do with bunnies of the fluffy kind.

South African Bunny Chow is essentially a half a loaf of white bread with the inside scooped out, stuffed full of curry. It is a dish that first gained popularity in the Durban Indian community, before spreading right across the country, from Cape Town to The Kruger. 

In Johannesburg, you’ll find a smaller version of the bread basket meal that uses a smaller chunk of bread filled with all manner of ingredients from hot chips to paloney,  and referred to as a kota (“quarter”).

While its exact origins are debated, some say that Bunny Chow originated originated in the sugar fields of KwaZulu-Natal when Indian workers with no time to make traditional Indian beads, instead used European style bread with their curries. It is then said to have gained popularity during apartheid, when laws prevented both Indian and black South Africans from dining in Durban’s restaurants, and enterprising merchants started serving the budget-friendly, conveniently self-contained meal from their back windows.

The dish is more often than not just referred to as a ‘bunny’, an unusual appellation said to come from the word Bania, the name of the Indian merchant caste who sold them.

While the original ‘bunny’ was a vegetarian curry, these days the still popular dish is also served with chicken, lamb, or mutton and comes in quarter, half, or full loaves, with a leftover chunk of bread plonked on top.

Generally eaten without cutlery, Bunny Chow was designed to be eaten on the go, the bread forming an edible bowl. Diners simply break off chunks of the bread to sop up the spicy fragrant curry within.

Needless to say when I reported back from my adventures in South Africa to my cutlery avoiding, curry loving son, he became fixated with shoving his face into one of them as soon as possible. And so he proceeded to nag me ten times daily until I came up with a Bunny Chow recipe at home.

It proved such a big hit with everyone that we’ve been enjoying it on high rotation at Casa Eats World ever since…  something this cook isn’t complaining about. Washing up has never been so easy.

Here’s our South African Bunny Chow Recipe for you to enjoy at home.

Bunny Chow Recipe

November 14, 2016

by Aleney de Winter

Category Africa African Food Recipes

Ingredients

• 4 large chicken thigh fillets cut into pieces
• 2 unsliced loaves of white bread
• 1 large white onion, diced
• 1 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
• 2 tsp. garam masala
• 2 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 dried cardamom pods
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cups potatoes, cubed
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1 cup chicken stock
• ½ cup fresh coriander

Instructions

1. In a large pan, heat oil and fry onions on a medium heat until they soften.
2. Add garlic and ginger and fry for one minute
3. Add dry spices and fry for a further minute until fragrant.
4. Add the tomatoes, chicken and stock to the saucepan.
5. Stir and bring to a low simmer for about ten minutes
6. Add the potatoes, carrots and cook for a further 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through.
7. Cut loaves of bread in half and hollow out each half, reserving piece of bread form each
8. Fill with cooked curry, sprinkle with fresh coriander and top with the leftover bread.

Tags

Cape Town,

Cooking,

cooking with kids,

food for kids,

kids in the kitchen,

South Africa,

world food

© 2021 copyright www.boyeatsworld.com.au

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