UMNGQUSHO RECIPE- A Nelson Mandela's favorite foodie . FISH FRIKKADEL RECIPE- Cape malays

AFRICAN CUISINE

MNGGUSHO RECIPE- Nelson Mandela's favorite

FISH FRIKKADEL RECIPE- of the Cape Malays

African cuisine is a term generally referring to the cuisines of Africa. Being the second  largest land mass on Earth, the continent of Africa is home to hundreds of different cultural and ethnic groups. This is reflected in the diverse local culinary traditions in terms of choice of ingredients, style of preparation and cooking techniques.

The continent's many populations: Central Africa, East, North and South and the Horn of Africa each have their own distinctive dishes, eating and drinking habits.

BLUE CRANE- the national bird of South Africa

SOUTH AFRICA
THE ‘CRADLE OF HUMANKIND’ AND THE SAFARI

South Africa has two capital cities, Pretoria and Cape Town a mother city. 
I would love to visit this country especially Cape Town and Johannesburg – which I believe will be a tour that will exceed my expectations. 

Reading on, I would definitely want the unique experience  of a South African safari at the Kruger national park

The safari waterhole

South Africa has several sites where ancient fossils are found to have  existed way back 3 million years ago. Discoveries include human fossils and the homonini fossils, which are actually species and ancestor lineages of the chimpanzee. 
These fossil sites are known as “Cradle of Humankind”  and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

THIS POST IS PART III OF A FOUR PART SERIES ON AFRICAN CUISINE- ON 
SOUTH  AFRICAN COOKING:
Part 1 check here  on East African cuisine
Part 2 check here   on North African cuisine

Southern African cooking

The cooking of South Africa is sometimes called 'rainbow cuisine '

It is a name  given, since  the food in this region is a blend of many cultures – the indigenous African tribal societies, the European and  the Asian.

The indigenous people of Southern Africa were divided into two main groups and several sub groups.

The largest group are the Bantu-speakers, whose descendants are identified by various sub-group such as the Zulu, Xhosa, Swazi, Sotho, Tswana, Pedi, Shangaan and Tsonga.

Two thousand years ago, they came and introduce crop cultivation, animal husbandry etc. so the Bantu-speakers  became agriculturalists and herdsmen, rearing cattle, sheep and goats.

The primeval residents of the region is a smaller group, the Khoisan, who some archaeologists believe, had lived in the region for at least ten thousand years. Many descendants of the Khoisan people have now been incorporated into the colored population of South Africa. 

Potjiekos is a traditional Afrikaner stew made with meat and vegetables and   cooked over coals in cast iron pots.

The Bantu speakers ate dishes of grain, meat, milk and vegetables, as well as fermented grain and fermented milk products.

The Khoi-Khoi (khoisan) ate meat and milk, and the San hunted wild animals and gathered wild tubers and vegetables.

South African cuisine is heavily meat-based and the daily food of Black South African families can be traced to the indigenous foods of their ancestors. The Khoisan ate roasted meat, and they do dried meat for later use. The influence of their diet is reflected in the universal Southern African love of barbecue in their social gatherings (generally called in South Africa by its Afrikaans name, a "Braai") and Biltong (dried preserved meat).

Mageu, a traditional non-alcoholic drink made from fermented mealie pap is popular among many of the Nguni people.

Milk was historically one of the most important diet components. They enjoy drinking sour milk products, comparable to American buttermilk, yogurt and sour cream. On weekends they will have a "Braai" and the meal would usually consist of "Pap and Vleis," which is maize porridge and grilled meat.

The basic ingredients include seafood, meat products (including wild game like venison, ostrich and impala), poultry, as well as grains, fresh fruits and vegetables.

Like any other countries, South Africa too has its own unique recipes. To my personal opinion, here are a few:

-Walkie Talkies-  Grilled or deep-fried chicken heads and feet
-Vetkoek- fat cake.  A deep-fried dough balls typically stuffed with meat or   served with snoek fish or jam.
-Mashonza, made from the mopane worm.- the caterpillar of a moth species found locally and is an important source of protein for millions of indigenous South Africans.
-Rusks, a rectangular, hard, dry  biscuit eaten after being dunked in tea or coffee.

-Water blommetjie (water flower stew), meat  stewed with the flower of the Cape Pondweed.

Umngqusho , is a favorite traditional dish of the Xhosa people in South Africa made of samp and cowpeas. Samp  is a de-hulled dried corn been crushed or broken into pieces which are then easier to cook and eat.  Cowpeas are a variety of the black-eyed pea.
UMNGQUSHO RECIPE

• What you need
• four cups dry samp (broken maize/ corn kernels)
• two cups dry cow peas (black-eyed peas/ field peas) or any similar beans
• salt
• What you do
• Combine samp and cow peas in a large enamel pot or glass bowl. Add cold water sufficient to cover. Cover, and let stand overnight. Drain and rinse before cooking.

• In a large pot. Cover the soaked samp and cowpeas mixture with cold water. Bring to a boil. Let boil for ten minutes. Reduce heat. Simmer on low heat for one to two hours, until all is tender and the water is mostly absorbed. Add additional water during cooking if needed.
• Season with salt. Serve hot.b
• This ancient have been improvised by adding butter, potatoes, onions and chili.... with some lemon juice.

Many websites report that umngqusho is said to be  the anti apartheid activist and former President Nelson Mandela’s  favorite dish (he is a Xhosa clan). It is usually described as "stamp mealies. His autobiography describes the more traditional umngqusho.  .

 Something for all of us to reflect upon 

South African former President, Nelson Mandela describes the umngqusho of his youth in "Long Walk to Freedom".

FISH FRIKKADEL RECIPE

I do have one  South African  cape malay recipe, Fish frikkadel , which is a guest post by my South African blogger friend., Miss Rawiyah, a cape malay. (ancestors of the Malays from Malaysia, who migrated to South Africa). I received almost daily visits on this recipe, Since June 01 – check here 

Society and culture.

For the love of culture and art, here.. i still want to put the Zulu dancers image in this post- ha ha. Like i can vividly hear the sounds of the drums and their husky guttural humming, being part of the musical instrument and also   the rapid stamping of their feet.. wish i am there :)

  Sources check here,  here   and here  and other sources.