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Exploring food links between South Africa and African-Americans
The Florida
Times-Union, May 5, 2011
By Judy Wells
CAPE
TOWN, South Africa — Penguin is no longer on South Africans' menus, but you still find the seafood, wild game, greens,
sweet potatoes, beans, sorghum and especially corn of the country's indigenous people.
You find it here, too,
which is not surprising. The Dutch East India Co., in need of provisioning for its spice ships, and Portuguese slave traders
made the Cape of Africa a way station in the slave trade. As farmers were brought in, so were Malay and African slaves; the
San and Khoikhoi who lived there did just fine on their diets and weren't interested in farming.
When French
Huguenots arrived with vine stock, more Malay slaves were brought in to help with the viticulture. They brought their spicy
and sweet cuisine along, tempering the peppers and curries with fruity yellow rice.
You find that here, too, but
the rice is usually white.
Sugar farmers added indentured workers from India, the British came in search of gold,
as did the Germans. Black communities stuck to game, root vegetables and wild greens, berries, millet, sorghum, maize and
protein-rich insects, but all used the braai, barbecue and adapted stywe mieliepap, a stiff maize porridge.
"Barbecue is huge in this country, almost a religion," said Rod Wyndham, group operations director for Sabi
Sabi Game Preserve, sounding just like a First Coaster.
And there are many more parallels between today's cuisines
of Africa and those of Jacksonville's African-American cooks
Okra isn't among the vegetables I found in
South Africa, but last December, when historian and food writer Marsha Dean Phelts ("The American Beach Cook Book")
visited Dakar, Senegal, on Africa's northwest coast, she found it was a staple. In fact, her favorite version of it, Bhindi
Masala, was encountered on the South African Airways flight over.
"It [had] a tender, smashing flavor,"
Phelts said. "It wasn't watery or slimy and was served on a bed of rice. It was so good you wanted to ask for more."
She also noted influences such as couscous and dining from the communal bowl from adjacent countries such as Morocco.
South African sweet potatoes — amadumbe — are smaller, have white flesh and are much sweeter
than the sweet potatoes found in America. It's tempting to speculate that Southern slaves, encountering the difference
and already accustomed to adding sweetness to dishes with sorghum, added sweeteners and spices to these new tubers, creating
the pones and souffles that have become holiday staples.
According to South Africa Online (southafrica.co.za),
up to half the country's arable land is planted in maize, or corn, which was grown by tribes long before Europeans made
it to the southern end of the continent. Each tribe — Xhosa, Zulu, Tswana, Swazi or Sotho — has its version of
mielies or paps, corn-based dishes not unlike hominy or grits. Corn also was used to brew beer and other fermented drinks.
Shades of corn whiskey.
Favorite non- or mildly alcoholic drinks are versions of shandies, traditionally ginger
ale mixed with beer or lemonade plus a dash of Angostura bitters and served icy cold. At Sabi Sabi's Earth Lodge near
Kruger National Preserve, guests are greeted with a unique version: Flutes are rubbed inside with a mixture of honey and a
bit of black pepper before being filled with ginger ale and the bitters.
We have beef jerky; South Africans have
biltong: salted, air-dried meat. Africans had long cut and dried meat in strips, and the Dutch added seasonings —
salt, pepper, coriander — and covered it with vinegar to preserve it. Later they added saltpeter, sprinkled the meat
with vinegar and hung the meat to dry. The result is as delicious as it is addictive.
Curries, Malay and Indian,
are a staple of humble or upscale South African cuisine. Even the Zulus of Natal adopted curries, but they leave out the ginger.
Cape Town and nearby Constantia are the epicenter for this delicious concoction. Many are derived from family recipes. Chef
Garth Almazan at the venerable Steenberg Hotel and Winery honed his spicing watching his Malay grandmother cook.
Wild game — impala, kudu, warthog, springbok — frequently appears on African tables, just as it does on Southern
ones. Barbecued warthog ribs at the new and trendy Bistro 82 in the Steenberg Winery weren't that different from our barbecued
pork ribs. Guess a pig is a pig is a pig?
However, the impala carpaccio created by Ryan Weakley, executive chef
at Sabi Sabi's Earth Lodge, moved game into the gourmet category. Beef, he says, can be substituted.
Phelts
found desserts in Senegal varied and much like those in America, except that here, sweet potatoes can be vegetables or the
basis for dessert, like her family's favorite holiday meal ender, sweet potato pone. In South Africa, the rich and delicious
Malva pudding is a longstanding tradition.
Whatever the location, ethnic cuisines are being merged with one another
thanks to the current fusion fad. At times you could be dining anywhere in the world. Dig and pare, though, and you will discover
the bones that would make our ancestors lick their lips.
Spicy Malay chicken curry
Source
Chef Garth Almazan, Catharina's Restaurant, Steenberg Hotel & Winery
Ingredients
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 large onion sliced
1 tablespoon fresh grated
ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 to 2¼ pounds chicken breast, boned and chopped
1 tablespoon ground
cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
2 tablespoons fresh chopped lemongrass
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
4 small fresh red chili peppers, seeded, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 cup water
1 cup coconut cream
Directions
Heat oil in large pan, cook onion, ginger and garlic, stirring until onion is soft. Add chicken, cook, stirring until lightly
browned. Stir in spices, lemongrass, lime leaves and chili pepper, cook, stirring until fragrant. Add remaining ingredients,
simmer, uncovered, about 30 minutes or till thickened slightly. Serve with basmati rice.
Aunt Liza's
curried chicken
Servings
10
Source
Eliza Rosier Glass' recipe from "The American Beach Cookbook" by Marsha Dean Phelts
Ingredients
1 stick butter or margarine
4 tart apples, minced
4 medium onions, minced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pint chicken broth
2 teaspoons curry
powder
Salt and pepper
Worcestershire sauce
Bottled hot pepper sauce
Juice of 1 lemon
1 cup pineapple
juice
6 pounds seasoned, cooked, cut-up chicken
Hot cooked white rice
For garnish: freshly grated coconut,
chutney, crisp crumbled bacon, grated hard-boiled eggs, minced scallions, toasted peanuts, minced green bell peppers, seedless
raisins or currants
Directions
Heat oven to 325
degrees. Melt the butter in an ovenproof casserole. Brown the apples, onions and garlic. Stir in the flour and chicken broth
until smooth. Stirring constantly. Add the curry powder, salt and pepper to taste, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce,
lemon juice and pineapple juice.
Add the chicken and bake for 30 minutes.
Serve over hot white rice
with bowls of fresh grated toasted coconut, chutney, eggs, bacon pieces, toasted peanuts, minced scallions, bell peppers and
raisins.
Sweet potato pone
Servings
8
Source
Big Mama Agnes Cobb's recipe from
"The American Beach Cookbook" by Marsha Dean Phelts
Ingredients
4 cups grated sweet potatoes
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
4 eggs, well beaten
2 cups milk or cream
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Into sweet potatoes, stir in the sugar and syrup, eggs,
milk or cream, melted butter and spices and pour into a well-greased deep iron frying pan or Dutch oven.
Bake for
1 hour. If a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, the sweet potato pone is done.
Bhindi masala
Source
South African Airways
Ingredients
¼ cup (scant) vegetable oil, for seasoning
1 tablespoon cumin seed
2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1
tablespoon chopped green chilies
½ cup (generous) chopped onions cup or less
vegetable oil for frying okra
About ½ pound small okra pods, sliced in 1-inch sections
1 tablespoon red chili
powder
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
½ cup chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions
Heat ¼ cup oil in a wok. When hot, toss in the cumin and mustard seeds. Allow
to splutter. Once it stops spluttering, add green chilies and onions. Stir-fry on medium heat until browned. Remove from heat
and save.
Pour the ⅓ cup frying oil into the same wok, add the chopped okra and stir-fry for a few minutes
until cooked and aromatic. This way the okra will not split while cooking and the dish turns out very tasty.
Once
fried and lightly browned, remove okra from the wok. Add sauteed onion mixture back into the wok and toss in the fried okra.
Mix well to combine and allow to cook for a minute on medium heat.
Now toss in the chili powder and turmeric and
mix well. Allow to cook for 5 minutes. Adding oil if necessary, mix in the chopped tomatoes and cover the wok. Allow the flavors
to blend well and the tomato to cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Uncover, add salt and mix well. Cook for 2 minutes on
medium heat.
Serve over rice.
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