Imagine how hard it would be to live far from home. Forget that you'd miss family and friends. What about the food? No salt fish and ackee, Johnny cakes, jerk chicken or stew peas with spinners. We could certainly live without these for a time - Lord knows one can get tired of eating the same thing day in and day out. However, sign a contract to live abroad for five years and you'll be pining for oxtail and beans within the first!
Cindy and Steve are no strangers to the expat life, and coming to Jamaica has once again taken them away from their braais (barbecues) in South Africa. I have been pressing them since they arrived to re-enact this culinary tradition and invite me along as a guest. I wanted to see if a foreigner could access the correct ingredients (or close enough) and cook their most-loved local dishes. Not so easy to whip up one's hometown friends, but not so difficult to summons one's customary cuisine.
From the secretly made sausages, known as Boerewors, to the succulent Sosaties (kebabs), and a traditional meat dish called Bobotie, I certainly had my carnivorous fill that night.
As for the accompaniments ... Africans are similar to us. "Dem love starch!" Mealie Bread (like cornbread) is divinely moist. Putu, made from white cornmeal cooked with boiling water and a pinch of salt, and mixed into a stiff mashed potato-like consistency, is completely tasteless. It is typically served with meat and gravy, and is the staple diet of many indigenous Africans. It iscalled Sadza in Zimbabwe, Ncema in Malawi and Ugali in Tanzania, Kenya and Southern Uganda. The gravy consists of sautéed onions and skinned tomatoes, seasoned with garlic, a stock cube and a little red wine.
The desserts Cindy produced were outstanding. The pumpkin fritters were deliciously light and fluffy, which was terrible as it meant that one could easily eat five! And I so wanted to polish off an entire melktert. The filling of this pie is similar to crme patissiere.
No wonder South African expats get homesick. I intend to exploit this fact and will persuade them that having me over for another edible occasion will assuage their nostalgia!
Cindy's Menu
INGREDIENTS
Boerewors (sausages)
Sosaties (lamb kebabs)
Mild Tomato Curry Gravy
Mealie Bread (cornbread)
Putu (cornmeal)
White Rice
Green Peas
Boboti (mince meat dish)
Melktert (pie with crme patissiere-like filling)
Pumpkin Fritters
Sosaties:
1 leg lamb, boned & cut into 11/2 inch cubes
Marinade:
Little vegetable oil
4 large onions, sliced
2 cups vinegar
11/2 cups water
2 tbsps curry powder
2 tbsps sugar
1 cup smooth apricot jam
6 bay leaves
1 tsp salt & pinch of black pepper
METHOD
1. Heat a large pot with a little oil.
2. Add the lamb and brown lightly.
3. Remove and place in a large bowl.
4. Fry the onions in a little oil until golden and crisp. Add vinegar, water, curry powder, sugar, apricot jam, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
5. Allow to boil for 20 minutes. While the sauce is still hot pour over cubes of meat so it all gets covered.
6. Cover, cool and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.
7. Put on to skewers and barbecue. Heat sauce for serving.
Mealie Bread:
INGREDIENTS
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tin creamed-style sweet corn
1 cup white maize meal (use yellow if not available)
1 cup cake flour
3 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
METHOD
1. Beat eggs and milk together. Mix in sweet corn.
2. Sift dry ingredients into mixture and stir well.
3. Pour into a greased loaf tin and bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until skewer comes out clean.
Pumpkin Fritters:
INGREDIENTS
2 cups cooked pumpkin
1/2 cup cake flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsps white sugar mixed with a dash of cinnamon
Vegetable oil
METHOD
1. Cook the pumpkin and drain well so that it is quite dry.
2. Mash and mix with the flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Mix to a reasonably stiff dough (add more flour if needed) and add the egg.
4. Heat some oil in a frying pan and fry spoonfuls, turning over when light brown.
5. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
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