South Africa’s ‘melting pot’ of food from its united nations

As South Africans, we have so many things to be grateful for in our country – things that outweigh the negatives – and one of those is our range of proudly South African food. With all the diverse people in our country, there is definitely a lot to offer on the table.

South Africa is known as a ‘melting pot’ which is a way of describing how diverse people sort of merge and become united. As do the people, so does the food. With the variety of food introduced by nations to nations, we’ve learned to indulge in other’s traditional foods and adapt them to our own liking too.

So without further ado, here’s our list of some of the most popular and well-known South African dishes:

• Bunny Chow – a hollowed out half or quarter loaf of bread filled with curry and served with sambals or salad on the side. This dish was apparently invented by people of  Indian descent living in Durban and has become popular with all South Africans ever since.

• Kota (Quarter) – adapted from a bunny chow, a kota is very similar was created by black South Africans. They are stuffed with various fillings ranging from viennas, russians and cheese to polony, atcha and more.

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN: Is food triggering your migraine?

• Koeksisters – These are traditional Afrikaner pastries that are made of fried dough dunked in a sweet syrup and sometimes covered in coconut. They are easily identified by the plaited shape of the dough.

• Melktert (Milk Tart) – Another Afrikaner favourite, this is a dessert consisting of a sweet crust topped with creamy filling usually made from just milk, eggs, flour and sugar.

• Braaivleis (braaied meat) – Much like your typical barbecue, here in South Africa we have a braai and of course the grilled meat is referred to as ‘braaivleis’ (vleis meaning meat in Afrikaans).

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN: Learn a ‘new’ language: South African slang for beginners

• Biltong – This is a typical South African snack. Biltong is dried meat and originated here in SA as well as in Zimbabwe and Namibia.  The word ‘biltong’ is Dutch with ‘bil’ meaning rump and ‘tong’ meaning strip.

• Vetkoek – Traditional Afrikaner fried dough that can be eaten as is or filled with mince or with syrup or jam. The word translates to ‘oil cake’ from Afrikaans. It is also referred to as an amagwinya which is popular in the townships and sold in various places.

• Babotie – A dish of Cape Malay origin, containing spicy minced meat baked with a custard like egg-based topping.

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN: Do you know what our national anthem means?

(Source: Wikipedia)

HAVE YOUR SAY

Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram

For news straight to your phone, add us on BBM 58F3D7A7 or WhatsApp 082 421 6033