Hearty Food Stories Articles

It’s no secret that South Africa is a multi-ethnic country but how about a multi colored plate? A seven colors meal is famous in South Africa especially within the black community. I want you to imagine an American thanksgiving meal but minimal. A seven colors meal normally referred to as seven colors is a Sunday “special” lunch typically cooked after church on Sundays to celebrate the end of a week. Apart from this popular fact, this meal also serves to celebrate the diversity of South African cuisine each culture has to offer and to bring all of these unique cultures into one colorful plate hence why it’s called seven colors. South Africa absolutely has more than seven different cultures but the name is derived from the different variations of ingredients that make up the flavorful plate.

Seven colors is not tied to Sunday it can be made any day of the week or for any occasion but it’s just more special for us on Sundays and it has become more of a tradition across all nine South African provinces. This dish has gained popularity within South Africa so much so that it has its own reality TV show, this show seeks to showcase each family’s special way and history of doing seven colors with two celebrity judges. Two families go head to head each episode and whoever's’ 7 colors meal wows the judges win. “It is important to reignite people’s excitement to cook, food connects people, families and friends and there’s something special about preparing food and eating together” said Mam Lilian Dube, one of the celebrity judges.

At a very young age I remember the joy of going to the shops with my mother every Friday after school, rain or shine to go buy ingredients for our seven colors Sunday meal. Two big doors with golden door knobs with a crackling sound whenever they open. Coming in and being welcomed with a wide ear to ear smile by the shop owner Mr. Smith, “Oh is it that time again?” he would jokingly ask.  “Oh yes sir!” young me with a missing tooth would reply with my heart always almost jumping out of my chest. Water dripping fresh vegetables and fresh smelling curry leaves, my mother and I would run down every isle picking out our special ingredients. I can still smell the fresh aroma of the mixed spices as if they’re in front of me.

Hot sizzling sound of diced onions colliding with hot oil in the pot, lot of good smelling aromas encircling around in the kitchen and almost two hours later the meal and a sweet desert prepared a day before would be ready to be served. A colorful table awaiting us to start digging in. A home cooked hearty meal made with love, patience and a whole lot of Joy. Stories of old about our family would start going around the table and it would be laughter unmatched. Being 25 years of age now I hold the sweetest memories and recipes I definitely want to pass on to my future kids and hopefully future grandchildren. 

As far as I know a good seven colors Sunday meal has to have these basics: meat (specifically beef or chicken) or both you can stew the other and grill the other, rice, pumpkin or butternut, baked beans salad, beetroot, peas, carrots. The reason behind these colorful ingredients is we want to see a delicious plate full of color. The seven color dish has given me and most of South Africans beautiful and everlasting memories. How to make seven colors? I’m glad you asked, it’s pretty simple.

 

Rice (any normal rice will do)

Sunflower oil

Beef stew pieces

Onions (peeled and diced)

Garlic (finely diced)

Water

Potatoes (peeled and roughly chopped)

Carrots (peeled and chopped)

Beef stock or broth

Sunflower oil

Onions (peeled and diced)

Garlic (crushed)

Curry powder

Green peppers (deseeded and diced)

Carrots (peeled and grated)

Cabbage (shredded)

Seasoning

Tinned baked beans in tomato sauce

Red chillies (deseeded and finely chopped)

Onions (finely chopped)

Beetroot (cooked)

Chutney

Granny Smith apples (grated)

Streaky bacon (fried and cubed)250 g

Baby potatoes (boiled and cut in half)1 kg

Red onions (finely diced)100 g

Pickled jalapeños (thinly sliced)50 g

Fresh chives (chopped)15 g

Cheddar cheese (grated)100 g

Mayonnaise

Creamy salad dressing

Butter/Margarine60 g

Onions (finely chopped)120 g

Garlic (crushed)5 g

Spinach (blanched and roughly chopped)400 g

Fresh cream500 ml

· Butternut (peeled and cubed)1.50 kg

· Vegie seasoning

· Butter/Margarine

How to make

Put rice into a boil 30 to 45 minutes

oIn a pot, brown the beef pieces in hot oil.

o Add the onions and garlic until soft..

o Add 1.5 L cold water. Simmer for 2 hours or until meat is tender. Stir occasionally to prevent from burning. Add the potatoes and carrots.

o Mix 1 sachet any Sauce Gravy to the 500 ml of cold water. Add the mix to the stew and simmer for 5 minutes.

o Simmer gently with lid on, stirring occasionally until cooked.

o In a pot, heat the sunflower oil and fry the onions until soft and browned.

o Add the garlic, Curry Powder and cook for 2 minutes. Add the green pepper, carrot, cabbage, Veggie Seasoning and salt and pepper. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

o Add the baked beans and chopped chillies, and simmer for 2 minutes.

o Combine all ingredients.

o Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until well-combined.

o Heat the margarine/butter, add onions and sauté until soft.

o  Add garlic, Marinade and cook for 1 minute.

o Simmer for 5 minutes.

o Add blanched spinach to tomato sauce and cook for another minute.

o For a creamier taste, add cream to the peri-peri spinach and bring to the boil.

 Pre-heat oven to 180 ˚C.

 Place the butternut in a roasting tray and sprinkle with Veggie Seasoning.

Add margarine/butter and rub until coated.

Roast in the oven for +-20 minutes.

Happy cooking!

article by Nomusa Brilliant Zikhali

“Local is lekker” a phrase used by South Africans to describe how great homegrown is.

South Africa is known for its beautiful multicultural and diverse societies hence why we are called the rainbow nation, this term emerged during the time when South Africa would transition from apartheid to democracy in the year 1994. In relation to food you would not be surprised to find out we are just as diverse. Which brings us to one of the most flavored dishes in the South African cuisine I’ll be talking about in this article. You already guessed it, THE BUNNY CHOW!

Well how do the words bunny chow make sense? Or how did the dish name come about? Well there are so many conspiracy theories surrounding the start of this dish and the most common one is: members of an Indian caste known as bianas served the dish in restaurants. “The bunny chow started as a way of selling food to black and Indian people who weren’t allowed in certain restaurants” said Ameers Patel a novelist from Johannesburg South Africa. What we know for sure is that this tasty dish originates from an Indian community in KwaZulu-Natal, Durban South Africa.

This dish is certainly famous and enjoyed across all cultures here in South Africa. Despite all the conspiracies, today the bunny chow is almost on every culinary restaurants’ menu across South Africa. The funny thing about this dish is though it began as an Indian dish it is hardly known in the country of India. Though the bunny chow started as white bread filled with a specific South African Indian curry recipe it has now evolved, to a point that you can absolutely fill up that white bread with your own favorite curry and add whatever your taste buds are screaming for. Whether you like it meaty or vegetarian here are some ideas. It’s pretty simple. Even though it might not be famous in India it certainly famous in South Africa.

 

1 can of sugar beans

1 chopped onion

Crushed garlic to taste

Finely chopped chillies

1 potato cubed and boiled

1 tomato, diced

Curry powder to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Half a loaf of bread

 

1. Fry the onions.

2. When the onions are soft add the garlic and the curry powder.

3. Once the garlic is soft add the potato and tomato.

4. Add your beans.

5. Allow your ingredients to come to a boil.

6. Cut your bread loaf in half to make 2 quarters, and hollow out most of the insides.

7. Pour your bean mix into the bread.

 

⅓ cup vegetable oil

500g stewing mutton, chopped

1 onion, peeled and chopped

3 cinnamon sticks

1 bay leaf

1 tsp fennel seeds

¼ tsp turmeric

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

3 tbsp masala spice

1 tbsp peeled and grated ginger

410g tin chopped tomatoes

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

Salt

1 loaf white bread, quartered, insides removed

 Coriander, to garnish

1. Heat the oil in a pot and brown the meat. Remove from the pot and set aside.

2. Add the onion, cinnamon, bay leaf, fennel seeds and turmeric to the pot and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

3. Add the garlic, masala and ginger and cook for a further 1 minute.

4. Add the meat, tomatoes, potatoes and 1 cup water. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes, until meat is tender and potatoes are soft. Season.

5. Fill the hollowed-out ¼ bread loaves with the curry and garnish with coriander.

 

 Steak and tomato Bunny Chow Recipe

This recipe has been updated to share it amongst a few people. But if you prefer to, replace the bread rolls with a large loaf of white bread.

 Ingredients:

4 large bread rolls

Salt and ground black pepper to season

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

30ml olive oil

1 lemon juice

500g rump or porterhouse steak, sliced

1 large onion, sliced

3 medium ripe tomatoes, sliced

chilli to serve

 

1.Chop the rosemary roughly and mix with the lemon juice and olive oil.

2.Preheat oven to 100 degrees C.

3.Season the steaks and cover with the olive oil mixture. Leave for about 10 minutes or longer if you can.

4.Place the rolls in the oven to warm. About 10 minutes.

5.Heat a large frying pan or griddle, add the steak, onions and tomato. Cook for 1 minute.

6.Cut the tops off the warm rolls, fill with steak and serve with a dollop of chilli.

 Eat it however you feel. My tip is, it’s best eaten with your ten fingers!

Article by Nomusa Brilliant Zikhali