Cape Malay Cuisine, Food from South Africa

Fri, Aug 1st 2008, 00:00

The home of Cape Malay cooking is Cape Town.


The Malay influence in Cape Cuisine comes from the use of spices, particularly ginger, turmeric and cinnamon. Curry is a firm favourite on the Cape Town menu, milder and sweeter than typical Indian curry. The other distinct Cape Malay cooking characteristic is the use of fruit in savoury dishes, giving them a seductive sweet and sour edge.

Typical Cape Malay Dishes:

Bobotie

A meat or fish pie delicately flavoured with a mix of spices, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and turmeric and added raisins or sultanas. The mix is topped with an egg custard and baked. Bobotie is usually served with spiced yellow rice and fruit chutney is a favourite accompaniment.

Denningvleis

A hearty meat stew cooked with bay leaves and  flavoured with lemon juice. Originally this stew would have been made with water buffalo, but in South Africa mutton is used.

Waterblommetjie Bredie

Another hearty mutton stew. The flavour is enhanced by the addition of water lilies (waterblommetjie) which adds a tart taste to the full bodied mutton flavours.

Pumpkin

Meals are usually accompanied by sweet pumpkin cooked with cinnamon, honey, butter and brown sugar that caramelises to form a sticky glaze. Another favourite is pumpkin fritters dusted with cinnamon.

Frikkadels

Spicy meatballs flavoured with nutmeg, masala, mint and parsley and baked in the oven.

Koeksisters

Deliciously sweet balls of yeasty dough flavoured with cinnamon, ginger and cardamom, cooked in syrup and sprinkled with coconut.

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