In April, our Food Chain workshop is took us all the way to South Africa, with new Aberdeenshire resident Nicola Hellyer and her son Bodhi, who showed us how to make two Cape Malay dishes, Bobotie and Koeksisters. They'd chosen these two dishes as a nod to their own family's cultural heritage of English, Scottish, Italian and Afrikaans and to bring up the question of ‘what is South African culture and cuisine?’ in a country with a complex and difficult history of apartheid and colonialism. With 11 official languages and a veritable melting pot of cultures including Zulu, Xhosa, Pedi, Venda, Swazi, Sotho, Tswana, Tsonga, Afrikaner, Cape Malay, Cape Coloured, Indian and English South Africans, there are many distinct cuisines, and sub-cultures within each are common. Nicola and Bodhi explored this as they showed us how to cook their dishes.

Shopping List for you to cook along at home

Bobotie met Geelrys (Bobotie with yellow rice) (serves 6-8)2 medium onionsbutter1 kg lean beef mince, lamb or QuornNeep & Okra Cape Malay Curry Powder              (Order this specially made spice mix from neepyorders@gmail.com or buy direct from 8 Castle St, Mon-Sat)ground white pepperturmericbrown vinegarMrs Balls’ chutney (or similar fruit chutney)sultanas 2 slices sturdy white breadmilk3 eggspinch of turmeric, salt and pepper to season custard4 fresh bay leaves1 cup basmati rice

Koeksisters (syrupy plaited doughnuts)plain flourbaking powder 50g unsalted buttermilk3 cups caster sugarfresh ginger1 cinnamon stick 1 vanilla bean1 lemon For Nicola and Bodhi's recipes and some insight into the history behind each of these dishes, have a look here.  We acknowledge the colonialist history of these dishes and the displacement of particularly South Asian people that has contributed to our enjoyment of Bobotie and Koeksisters. For more context on the origins of Cape Malay and South African cooking, take a look at The Bittersweet (and Spicy) History of South African Cuisine by Tony Karon, Allyson Ang's research essay Exploring Cape Malay Identity Through the Lens of Food or (for some longer reading) Rainbow Cuisine: A Culinary Journey Through South Africa by Lannice Snyman.

About Food Chain
Which rich culinary backgrounds do we have resident in our own community? Come along to our monthly group cookalong to learn someone else's recipes of home. Together we'll learn about each other's cultural backgrounds as we cook.