15 delicious Heritage Day recipe ideas that will impress

Salads, sides, marinades and desserts, here's 15 delicious ideas to try this Heritage Day.


Gather your loved ones this Heritage Day and prepare these easy, proudly South African recipes for your braai day lunch come 24 September 2021.

These recipes include different types of meat, side dishes, salads, and desserts.

Salads and sides

potato salad
Potato salad. Picture: iStock

Potato salad

Ingredients

  • 2kg of potatoes, chopped
  • kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup of chopped pickles
  • 1/2 teaspoon of paprika
  • 4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
  • 1/4 cup of finely chopped chives
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Butterhead lettuce, for serving

Instructions

  1. In a large pot, cover potatoes with water and season generously with salt. Bring water to a boil and cook until potatoes are easily pierced with a knife, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly.
  2. In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, red onion, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, pickles and paprika. Stir until well combined. Fold in cooked potatoes, eggs, and chives, then season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
  3. Serve over butterhead lettuce.

This recipe was found on delish.com

3 bean salad

braai day 3 bean salad
Three bean salad. Picture: iStock

Ingredients

  • 1 can of green beans
  • 1 pound of wax beans
  • 1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 onion, sliced into thin rings
  • ¾ cup of white sugar
  • ⅔ cup of distilled white vinegar
  • ⅓ cup of vegetable oil
  • ½ teaspoon of salt
  • ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon of celery seed

Instructions

  1. Mix together green beans, wax beans, kidney beans, onion, sugar, vinegar, vegetable oil, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Let set in refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

This recipe was found on allrecipes.com

Chakalaka

chakalaka
Chakalaka. Picture: Pinterest

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons of oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 green bird’s-eye chiles (Thai chiles), seeded and chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 50 grams of ginger, finely grated
  • 2 tablespoons of mild curry powder
  • 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 5 large carrots, scrubbed, topped, tailed and grated
  • 400 grams of canned chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons of tomato paste
  • 400 grams of canned baked beans
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions until soft and translucent. Add the chiles, garlic and half of the ginger (reserve the other half to add right at the end). Add the curry powder and stir to combine. Add the bell peppers and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the carrots and stir to make sure they are well combined with the other ingredients and coated in the curry powder. Add in the tomatoes and tomato paste and stir. Cook until the mixture is well combined and slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.
  2. Remove from the heat and add the baked beans, thyme and remaining ginger and stir to combine; season with salt and pepper. Serve hot or cold.

This recipe was found on cookingchanneltv.com

Green salad

green salad
Greek green salad. Picture: iStock

Ingredients

  • 6 cups of mixed greens
  • 1 small cucumber, chopped
  • 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ¼ small red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
  • feta cheese, as much as you’d like
  • 6 tablespoons homemade vinaigrette or dressing of choice

Instructions

  1. Put the greens in a large bowl. Add the cucumber, cherry tomatoes and red onion.
  2. Drizzle on vinaigrette or dressing of choice, a little at a time, tossing to mix, until salad is dressed to your liking.
  3. Add the avocado and goat cheese and toss gently to mix in. Serve immediately.

This recipe was found on kristenskitchenblog.com

Braai mielies with chilli and herb butter

braai day
Braai corn with chilli and herb butter perfect for Braai Day. Picture: iStock

Ingredients

  • 8 corn on the cob
  • Olive oil
  • 125 ml of butter, softened
  • 2 red chillies, chopped
  • A handful of fresh parsley, chopped
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • Salt and black pepper

Instructions

  1. Drizzle the corn with some olive oil and braai over medium coals for about 10-12 minutes, turning regularly.
  2. Combine the butter, chillies, parsley and lemon zest and juice.
  3. Season to taste and mix well.
  4. Place the flavoured butter on a piece of cling wrap and roll into a cylinder shape and place in the fridge to set.
  5. Slice into ½ cm slices and place on warm mielies right before serving.

This recipe was found on foodloversmarket.co.za

Braai pap

pap
Braai pap. Picture: Pinterest

Ingredients

  • Pinch aromat
  • Pinch parsley
  • 1 diced green pepper
  • 1 diced yellow pepper
  • 1 diced red pepper
  • 1/4 rama margarine

Instructions

  1. Boil water and pour on your pot.
  2. Add your aromat, parsley and all your diced peppers and margarine.
  3. Leave in pot for water to be hot and margarine to melt.
  4. Once that’s is done start adding your mealie meal. I added 4 and 1/2 cups and stirred.
  5. Close pot and leave for 15 minutes and stir again.
  6. Your can serve after another 15 minutes.

This recipe was found on cookpad.com

Meat

Braai pork chops

pork chops
Braai pork chops. Picture: iStock

Ingredients

  • 4 thick cut bone-in pork chops
  • ¼ cup of olive oil
  • ¼ cup of lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
  • 1 garlic clove thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoon of dried herbs of your choice
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • ½ teaspoon of pepper

Instructions

  1. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, spices and herbs.
  2. Place the pork chops in a suitable marinating dish or a large Ziploc bag. Pour over the marinade and make sure the pork chops are all covered in the the marinade. Cover and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes but up to 24 hours in the fridge.
  3. Preheat an outdoor grill for at least 5 minutes on the highest setting. Add the pork chops then cook for 2-3 minutes per side, rotating, and turning to make sure the chops are evenly browned. If the fat cap is very big, stand the chops on the fat side and allow to cook and the fat to render for a few minutes.
  4. Take the chops off the heat when their internal temperature reaches 145ºF / 62ºC, cover with foil and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes.
  5. Serve with lemon wedges.

This recipe was found on simply-delicious-food.com

Braai dry rubbed T-bone steak

braai day
Braai dry rubbed T-bone steak. Picture; iStock

Ingredients

  • 1 T-bone steak
  • 2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
  • ½ tablespoon of salt
  • ½ tablespoon of ground black pepper
  • 2 teaspoon of Paprika
  • 2 teaspoon of garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoon of ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cloves
  • 1 teaspoon of nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon of allspice

Instructions

  1. Prepare dry rub by combining all ingredients into a large bowl and stirring until fully incorporated
  2. Coat steak with dry rub until all surfaces are covered
  3. Heat a skillet on high heat with oil. Place steak in skillet and cook for about 4 minutes per a side or until desired doneness. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

This recipe was found on coldweathercomfort.com

Braai garlic and peri peri chicken

braai day
Braai garlic and peri peri chicken. Picture: iStock

Ingredients

  • 12 chicken
  • 6 peeled cloves of garlic
  • peri peri spice rub

Instructions

  1. Use a sharp knife and make one cut along the bone of each drumstick.
  2. Place a halved garlic clove in each of the drumsticks, pressing it into the meat through the slit.
  3. Rub peri peri spice into the exposed parts of meat, and sprinkle some onto the skin if you have extra. Cover the chicken and leave it to marinade for 20 minutes to 2 hours.
  4. Braai the drumsticks over medium coals for about 10 to 15 minutes, turning regularly.

This recipe was found on eatout.co.za

Rooibos infused smoked trout

trout
Rooibos infused smoked trout a nice Heritage Day idea. Picture: iStock

Ingredients

  • 1 large fresh trout, filleted
  • 1 deep baking tray, lined with tinfoil
  • 1 orange, sliced in half and used as trivets for the cooling rack to rest on top
  • 1 lemon, zest placed on top of the trout
  • fresh dill – chopped up finely
  • ¼ cup of uncooked rice (to smoke the fish)
  • ¼ cup of Rooibos tea leaves (about 5-6 teabags)
  • ¼ cup of brown sugar
  • 1 x small cooling rack, lightly greased
  • heavy duty tinfoil, to seal

ALSO READ: Five proudly South African recipes to try ahead of Heritage Day

Instructions

  1. Add rice, Rooibos tea leaves and brown sugar to the bottom of your lined baking dish.
  2. Place the cooling rack over the rice, lay the fish on top, season with salt and pepper and place the baking dish over low heat. Leave on the heat until the rice mixture starts to smoke and sugar begins to melt.
  3. Seal the dish tightly with tinfoil (try have the tinfoil not touch the fish), leave over the heat for another 1-2 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave the fish to smoke for 8-10 minutes or until tender.
  4. Remove the fish, season with lemon zest, salt and pepper, and dill on top.

This recipe was found supplied by SA Braai Masters

If you are vegetarian/vegan

Vegan braai kebabs

vegetarian kebabs
Vegetarian braai kebabs. Picture: iStock

Ingredients

  • 1 onion
  • mushrooms
  • Frys sausages
  • sweet peppers
  • oil
  • chutney
  • smokey bbq marinade

Instructions

  1. Cut all your ingredients into bite-size chunks and arrange them in any order on a kebab stick.
  2. place these in a container and mix chutney with oil and smokey bbq and let them marinade.

This recipe was found on vegan.co.za

Homemade veggie burgers

braai day
Vegan and veggie burgers. Picture: iStock

Ingredients

225g of mushrooms
1 medium carrot
1 1/2 cups of broccoli florets
1/4 medium onion
2 medium garlic cloves
2 tablespoons of oil such as olive oil, avocado oil or grape seed, plus more for cooking
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of chili powder
3/4 teaspoon of fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup of walnut halves
2 cups of packed spinach leaves
handful tender fresh herbs like chives, parsley or cilantro (optional)
1/2 cup of panko breadcrumbs or use homemade breadcrumbs
2 large eggs or flax eggs
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
3/4 cup of cooked brown rice
bread rolls, lettuce, tomato, cheese and favorite burger sauces

Instructions

  • Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with foil, parchment paper or silicon baking mats.
  • Using a damp paper towel, brush all dirt from mushrooms. Cut away and discard any hard stems. Roughly chop the mushrooms, carrot, broccoli and onion into 1/2-inch chunks. Toss vegetables into the bowl of a food processor. Add the garlic, olive oil, smoked paprika, chili powder, salt and pepper. Close the lid and pulse 10 to 20 times until coarsely ground.
  • Spread the ground vegetables onto one of the lined baking sheets. Pat them down with a spatula until a very thin layer of vegetables covers the majority of the baking sheet. Roast the vegetables for 15 minutes. (If the veggies around the outer edges start to turn dark brown, stir and press them back down into a thin layer).
  • Meanwhile, spread the drained black beans onto the second baking sheet in one layer. When the vegetables have roasted for 15 minutes, stir them and press into a thin layer once more. Transfer both baking sheets (vegetables and the black beans) to the oven. Roast until the beans begin to split and look dry and the vegetables look drier and toasted, about 15 minutes. Let everything cool.
  • While the beans and vegetables roast, rinse the food processor bowl and pat dry.
  • Place the walnuts, spinach and fresh herbs in it. Pulse until they are about the size of breadcrumbs.
  • Add cooled beans and pulse 5 to 10 times until the beans look crumbly with large crumbs.
  • Add the roasted vegetables, panko breadcrumbs, eggs and the tomato paste. Pulse until everything is just combined. You want to keep some texture, don’t pulse until a smooth mixture.
  • Scrape the mixture into a bowl and fold in the rice.
  • Refrigerate the veggie burger mix up to 24 hours. Or make patties, cook them and freeze wrapped in foil up to 3 months.
  • When you are ready to make the burgers, divide into 8 equal portions (about 3 1/4 ounces or 90 grams each). Form each portion into a 1/2-inch thick patty.
  • Heat a skillet over medium-low heat, add oil, and then place patties in one layer. (We use about 1 tablespoon of oil to cook 4 burgers). Cook until heated through, firm and browned on both sides, about 4 to 6 minutes on each side. If any bits fall from the sides as you flip, press them back into the sides of the patty. Be careful when flipping so they stay together.
  • For an outdoor grill, we recommend placing a cast iron pan or griddle over a low fire to cook the burgers.

This recipe was found on inspiredtaste.net

Desserts

Milk tart

milk tart
Milk tart. Picture: iStock

Ingredients

  • 1½ cups of flour
  • 1/3 cup of icing/powdered sugar
  • ½ cup of cold butter cubed
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1-2 tablespoon of ice water
  • 2 cups of milk
  • ½ cup of heavy/whipping cream
  • 5 egg yolks
  • ¾ cup of sugar
  • 2½ tablespoon of cornstarch/cornflour
  • 2 tablespoon of flour
  • 2 tablespoon of salted butter
  • ½ teaspoon of almond extract
  • ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • pinch of nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Instructions

  1. Make the pastry according to recipe instructions then blind bake until golden brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
  2. To make the filling, heat the milk, cream, vanilla, almond extract and nutmeg in a saucepan over medium heat.
  3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, sugar, flours and salt.
  4. Once the milk is hot, whisk two ladles full of the milk into the egg mixture to temper the eggs.
  5. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook until thickened, whisking continuously. Cook the custard for 2-3 minutes until thick and smooth.
  6. Pass the custard through a fine-mesh sieve. Beat in the butter.
  7. Pour the custard into the prepared crust. Spray a piece of parchment paper with cooking spray then press onto the surface of the custard to avoid a skin from forming.
  8. Place the milk tart in the fridge and allow to set for at least 4 hours but ideally overnight.
  9. Before serving, dust the cinnamon over the milk tart. Slice and serve.

This recipe was found on simply-delicious-food.com

Jelly and custard

braai day
Strawberry jelly and homemade custard. Picture: Pinterest

Ingredients

  • 1 box strawberry jelly
  • 1/2 packet of Marie Biscuits, crushed
  • 500 ml of milk
  • 4 teaspoons of custard powder
  • As needed white sugar

Instructions

  1. Prepare jelly according to instructions on the packet. Pour jelly in serving glasses and let set in the fridge.
  2. Top jelly with crushed Marie biscuits.
  3. Dissolve custard powder in milk. Add to a pot and cook while continuously stirring until thickened. Sweetened with sugar. Let custard cool completely. Add custard on top of biscuits.
  4. Decorate with raspberries and chocolate. Enjoy!

This recipe was found on cookpad.com

Peppermint crisp tart

peppermint crisp tart
Peppermint crisp tart. Picture: Pinterest

Ingredients

  • 380g of caramel condensed milk
  • 500ml of cream
  • 35g of peppermint crisp chocolate or Aero bubbly mint
  • 1 packet of thin coconut biscuits

Instructions

  1. Whip cream till thick
  2. Add caramel and mix well till combined.
  3. In a suitable dish (preferably square or rectangular) place a layer of biscuits – don’t worry if there are small spaces in-between.
  4. Spoon a little bit of the caramel mixture over the biscuits to cover completely
  5. Grate a piece of the chocolate over caramel mixture.
  6. Repeat with layering biscuits, caramel and grated chocolate until finished, ending with a caramel & chocolate layer.
  7. Place in fridge to set for a few hours or overnight if you can.

This recipe was found on chelsea.co.nz

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