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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South African Culinary Heritage
little oil; just enough to color the meatballs
into a satisfactory brown colour, and place
in an oven dish. Heat the oven, then soften
half a cup of finely-chopped onions in a pan
– with butter – over a medium heat. Add
half a cup of beef stock, 3 tablespoons of
butter and half a cup of finely-chopped
apricots, and mix well. Pour the sauce over
the meatballs and bake in the oven for 25
minutes.
Oxtail, Mohatla wa kgomo in Sesotho, is yet another
signature in Mzansi, as South Africa is known, colloquially,
among the country’s indigenous African citizens. Even
though oxtails are not from the inside of a livestock beast,
are categorised under offal, and – as such – the name is the
culinary description for the tail of cattle.
In the olden days, oxtail did come from steers, but today it
is simply derived from the tails of beef cattle of both
genders. This is the bony, gelatin-rich meat, which is usually
slow cooked. The consumption of oxtail as offal dates back
to the times when no part of an animal went to waste.
At the time, each part of an animal was utilised, and –
oftentimes – the tail made a wonderful hearty soup, that
used to help in stretching a small amount of meat, especially
when this was complemented with the addition of any
variety of vegetables. As with any stew, the key is to carefully
brown the meat in oil – ideally in batches – to ensure an
adequate infusion of flavour, throughout.
Oxtail Preparation: Add 2 chopped onions,
4 diced carrots, and fry, until this turns
brown in colour. Add half of a chef’s spoon
of Paprika, a quarter of a chef’s spoon of
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