The Karoo Cookbook

by .

Joined Oct 2017
Published Books 3

introduction

I am Tannie (auntie) Maria. A woman who likes to cook a lot and write a little. I swam at the river of love and death, investigating a murder, cooking and loving. I live in Ladysmith- a small town in the Klein Karoo, a . The Karoo lives inside me, in every breath that I take. My mother cooked a lot, and I remember myself, so young, eating, smelling, watching the food – all of my senses working together. From my childhood to my second marriage, the food was always there, and it was my best friend. When I started writing the advices column in the Klein Karoo Gazette, and had the chance to give advices with attached recipes, I discovered the magical connection between food and love. I collected my favourite Karoo recipes, healthy and heerlike (delicious), and I am proud to present them in this book.

hê pret! (have fun!)

2

3

Banana Party

This easy to make dessert fills your body with sweetness. The crunchy, chocolaty bite that transforms into a creamy banana makes you forget all your problems and enjoy the party in your mouth. Even though this recipe is perfect to eat with friends and have fun, the story behind it is terrifying.

It was the first letter I got at my new job in the Klein Karoo Gazette. I got it from a 13 years old girl, that thinks she is pregnant. She said that she didn’t kill herself because she was afraid to go to hell.

I wanted to give her something sweet and healthy. Something to hug her, to make her smile.

The dish turned out lekker!

Ingridients

6 bananas

2 cup crushed hazelnuts

2 dark chocolate bars

as many whipped cream as you want (optional)

Cooking Instructions

-Peel the bananas and put them in a Tupperware in the freezer.

-Lightly toast the hazelnuts in a pan, and sprinkle them on a plate.

-After about 2 hours, breake up the chocolate and melt it in a double boiler.

-Take the bananas out of the freezer, deep them in the melted chocolate and roll them in the hazelnuts plate.

-Put the bananas on a plate and spray some whipped cream on it. (optional)

4

The Perfect Buttermilk Chocolate Cake

This cake is magical. It has the power to make people trust each other. This cake helped me when I investigated the murder – a bite for a clue. One by one, all of the suspects were charmed by this cake – the best moments are always covered by a thick layer of Chocolate. This sweet heaven – a chocolate hill with the creamy rum icing- connects people. Give a piece to someone and make him your friend forever.

Ingredients For The Cake

¼ cup water

220g butter

½ cup cocoa powder (60g)

1¾ cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1¾ cups buttermilk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

a pinch of salt

Cooking Instructions

-Preheat the oven to 180°C.

-Line the bottom of a 28cm cake tin with baking paper and grease the paper and the sides of the tin with butter.

-First, put the water into a saucepan, and then add the butter and cocoa powder. Heat until hot but not boiling.

-Beat the sugar and eggs together, and mix in the buttermilk and vanilla extract. Then add the hot cocoa mixture and mix well.

-Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt together, and add to the cocoa mixture. Mix well again.

-Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 50–55 minutes. Let it cool in the tin.

Ingredients For The Icing

1½ cups sifted icing sugar

½ cup butter

¼ cup sifted cocoa powder

¼ cup buttermilk

¼ tablespoon salt

½ tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon rum

Cooking Instructions

-Heat all the icing ingredients, except the rum, in a saucepan over a medium heat, stirring all the time and whisking out any lumps. Bring to the boil and remove from the heat.

-Add the rum.

-Let the cake and the icing cool completely before spreading or pouring the icing.

6

The Karoo Curry

I gave this recipe to Martine Van Schalkwyk, god seën haar siel. The dish mixes the Far East traditions- the classic curry, happily eaten since the 13th century, with the local Karoo flavour and creates the perfect comfort food (for hot spices lovers). if you serve the lekker curry on a family dinner – there won’t be any leftovers, and each guest will have a short journey in the Karoo in his belly.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon ground turmeric

1½ tablespoon paprika

2 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon salt

¼ cup chopped fresh garlic (about 6 cloves)

3 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger (15g)

2–4 chillies, chopped

1kg mutton or lamb neck

2 medium aubergines (500g), cut into 2cm chunks

5 tablespoon sunflower oil

1½ tablespoon cumin seeds

2 tablespoon fenugreek seeds

1 tablespoon mustard seeds

6 cardamom pods, cracked open

½ cinnamon stick

2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced

800g large ripe tomatoes (about 8), peeled and chopped

4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2cm chunks

1 tablespoon garam masala

1 cup chopped fresh coriander

Cooking Instructions

-Prepare 24 hours before serving – this is very important. The meat needs the long slow-cooking to become tender, and the spices need time to give the best flavour.

-Begin by mixing all the ground spices (except the garam masala) and the salt with the garlic, ginger and chillies. Rub the spice-mix into the meat very well and set it aside.

-Salt the aubergines with about 1 tablespoon salt and set aside. Heat the oil in a big, heavy ovenproof pot until very hot.

-Add the seeds and whole spices and stir until their smell fills the kitchen and the mustard seeds begin to pop. -Add the onions and turn down the heat to medium–high.

-When the onions are soft, rinse the aubergines, add them to the pot and cook until they have a little colour.

-Now add the lamb with all its spices and keep stirring to stop the spices from catching on the bottom of the pot. When the lamb is just brown, add 1 cup water and cover the meat with the chopped tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook on the stove for about 15 minutes.

-Cook in the oven, covered, at 150°C for 2 hours. Then switch off the oven and leave to cool. Keep in the fridge overnight.

-The next day, about an hour before you are ready to eat, boil the chopped potatoes in very salty water until they are well cooked (15–20 minutes).

-Drain and add to the curry, together with the garam masala. Put the pot in the oven without the lid and cook at 190°C for about 50 minutes or until the liquid has thickened.

-Taste, and maybe add a pinch of salt or pepper. Garnish with the fresh coriander and serve with basmati rice and poppadoms.

8

Vetkoek Mince

Good things come in small packages. The Vetkoek Mince has so much flavour, that it is hard to believe that this is only a little sandwich! The vetkoek is a “one bite delight”. This recipe is the perfect meal for busy people that don’t want to forget where they come from. For lonely children, the Vetkoek can be the best friend during the break. South Africa lives inside this sandwich, and this heerlike little magic presents the best parts of it.

Ingredients For The Vetkoek

600g cake flour

3 tablespoon instant dried yeast

2 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoon salt

2 tablespoon sunflower oil

200ml warm water

200ml milk

2 litres sunflower oil for deep-frying

Cooking Instructions

-Sift the flour and mix in the yeast, sugar and salt.

-Mix the oil, warm water and milk, and slowly add to the flour mixture. It should form a workable dough. Knead the dough for 8–10 minutes on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic. Oil a big bowl, put the dough into it, cover with a cloth and let it rise for about 2 hours or until twice its size.

-Gently knead the dough to knock out the air and divide into 10 portions (about 100g each). Work into balls and then flatten them using the palms of your hands. Rub these with oil and let them rise for 20–30 minutes.

– In the meantime, heat the deep-frying oil in a large heavy pot. Fry the vetkoek three at a time in the hot oil, turning them over when golden brown on one side (4–6 minutes) to brown the other side.

-Drain on paper towel or empty egg boxes.

-Serve with Vetkoek Mince (recipe below)

Ingredients For The Mince

3 tablespoon butter

500g minced beef steak

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

½ tablespoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground white pepper

4 whole cloves

1 bay leaf

2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped

1½ t salt

2 cups water

¼ cup green tomato chutney or any other tart fruit chutney

Cooking Instructions

-Melt the butter in a heavy pan over medium–high heat. Add the minced meat and stir to separate any lumps. Cook the mince, stirring the whole time to stop it from sticking.

-When the mince is a lovely deep-brown colour, add the onion and cook until soft.

-Turn down the heat to medium and add the spices. Cook for a few minutes and then add the rest of the ingredients.

-Simmer the mince for about half an hour or until thick and delicious.

-Taste it to see if it needs a little more salt or maybe a squeeze of lemon juice

10

Muesli Buttermilk Rusks

After so many years of living alone (except my chickens) I started talking to food. Rusk is the best food to talk to. Take it in your hand and tell it everything. Everyone needs rusks at least once in their life, so having some, inside a lekker tin can, is probably going to save your life. Rusks were by my side during the whole investigation, and they never let me down. These healthy, delicious biscuits are a great snack, breakfast or just a delight served with your coffee.

Ingridients

1kg cake flour

¼ cup baking powder (40g)

4 tablespoon salt

1½ cups toasted muesli (200g)

1 not-quite-full cup of sultanas or raisins (100g)

1 cup chopped dried apples (75g)

1¼ cups sunflower seeds (170g)

½ cup desiccated coconut (40g)

¼ cup linseeds (35g)

¼ cup sesame seeds (35g)

¼ cup pumpkin seeds (30g)

2 cups brown sugar (400g)

3 large eggs

2 cups buttermilk

500g butter, melted

some of your favourite seeds, nuts, or dried fruits.

Cooking Instructions

-Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease four ordinary loaf tins or one 30 × 40cm tin.

-Mix together all the dry ingredients.

-Beat the eggs and mix in the buttermilk and melted butter. Add to the dry ingredients and mix well.

-Spoon the mixture (about 3cm thick) into the tin(s) and bake for about 45 minutes.

-Leave to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack, then allow to cool completely.

-Cut into rusks, about 2cm thick if they are in loaf tins or 3 × 4cm if they are in the larger tin, depending on how big you like them.

-Dry overnight in a warming drawer, or in a 80–100°C oven for 4–6 hours until hard and dry.

12