SOUTH AFRICAN CULINARY HERITAGE
The book South African Culinary Heritage by Eunice Rakhale, is about local food history and traditions interlaced with family conversations. It illustrates the culinary diversity of Southern African cuisine and some neighbouring countries, comparing the similarities and unique palatable heritages thereof. Written in a conversational style, the book is a handy culinary compilation which will bestow the reader with explorations regarding local African lifestyles history, art, clothing, music and perhaps even some song and dance. For tourists visiting these African countries – possessing a diversity of ethnic cultures, it is a worthy read regarding heritage and of-course African cuisine. A guide which should be included in any tourist’s travel pack and families. It is about a genuine story told with an extraordinary ability that draws parallel between the author’s struggle in the restaurant industry and in her personal life. Ultimately, her passion for food is where she finds solace to learn, heal and grow. Mother Daughter relationships can be extremely complex and Eunice is no exception. In the book, besides a plethora of authentic recipes and history, she shares candidly about her strained relationship with her daughter Mothei Makhetha. Being estranged for seven years, Mothei writes her mother a letter, in a desperate cry for help, which she hopes will begin the healing process. After receiving the letter, circumstances of her life took Eunice back home to her mother in Moletsane, Soweto. This happens while she is researching her culinary book authenticating the recipes through the help of her mother. This handing down of recipes from her mother gets them connected on a very deep level, thus, creating compassion and trust they never had. In desperation Eunice seeks counselling from her own mother to try and mend the relationship with her daughter. Their journey is one of true and sincere conversations handed down from one generation to another, around family meals and prayerful family meetings.
The book South African Culinary Heritage by Eunice Rakhale, is about local food history and traditions interlaced with family conversations. It illustrates the culinary diversity of Southern African cuisine and some neighbouring countries, comparing the similarities and unique palatable heritages thereof. Written in a conversational style, the book is a handy culinary compilation which will bestow the reader with explorations regarding local African lifestyles history, art, clothing, music and perhaps even some song and dance. For tourists visiting these African countries – possessing a diversity of ethnic cultures, it is a worthy read regarding heritage and of-course African cuisine. A guide which should be included in any tourist’s travel pack and families.
It is about a genuine story told with an extraordinary ability that draws parallel between the author’s struggle in the restaurant industry and in her personal life. Ultimately, her passion for food is where she finds solace to learn, heal and grow.
Mother Daughter relationships can be extremely complex and Eunice is no exception. In the book, besides a plethora of authentic recipes and history, she shares candidly about her strained relationship with her daughter Mothei Makhetha. Being estranged for seven years, Mothei writes her mother a letter, in a desperate cry for help, which she hopes will begin the healing process. After receiving the letter, circumstances of her life took Eunice back home to her mother in Moletsane, Soweto. This happens while she is researching her culinary book authenticating the recipes through the help of her mother. This handing down of recipes from her mother gets them connected on a very deep level, thus, creating compassion and trust they never had. In desperation Eunice seeks counselling from her own mother to try and mend the relationship with her daughter.
Their journey is one of true and sincere conversations handed down from one generation to another, around family meals and prayerful family meetings.
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Eunice Rakhale-Molefe
THE KASI (TOWNSHIP) KITCHEN
The kitchen is the heart of any home or food
establishment. Therefore, the Kasi Kitchen, like any other
kitchen reflects our inner self. Before we go any further,
the word “Kasi” means a predominantly black residential
area, or township. As we cook and exchange recipes, we
get to know more about one another’s backgrounds, skills,
passions and interests. As we do so, we also break bread.
Throughout history, food has always been a commodity
that brings people together, transcending all imaginable
and unimaginable barriers; be it cultural or educational. It
is for this reason that the traditional township kitchens –
by way of stokvels, lifestyle, fellowships and neighborhood
street committee groups – will always have a strong
tendency of impact on each and one another’s lives.
The essentials of a township or Kasi kitchen are similar to
those found in any other kitchen, in any part of the world,
except for a few utensils, including the Potjie, enamel dish,
calabash, Lesokwana (wooden spoon), the clay pot,
aluminum pots, lefetlho (whisk).
Potjie, the three-legged round-bellied cast iron pots which
are good for outdoor open fire cooking or the modern
version with a flat surface type for indoor stove top
cooking. The township kitchen is typically graced by a full
display of big pots in different sizes and shapes. The bigger
the pot, the more popular you are in the neighborhood, to
lend these for catering purposes, or hire them out for some
much needed income. The pots come in different sizes,
from the smallest one to the extra-large ones. These can
range from a pot that can cook a sheep to feed fifty people,
to a pot that can cook beef to feed five hundred people.
The smaller pots are used as serving pots on the table for
mogodu, tripe which is our “national dish” in the
townships; and for signature dishes like Lamb Shank and
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