I´m pretty happy that I managed to cook a South African dish during my cooking challenge year! It´s possible because I met a vegan German girl on a South African website. Yes German – but in the moment Klara is living in Cape Town.
Two years ago she made an internship in South Africa to improve her job skills. And how life goes sometimes – Klara fell in love with the country and never came back. Good for us – because in the last two years she had enough time to learn some delicious South African dishes – like Chakalaka.
Chakalaka (I just love that name) is a African relish that’s served ubiquitously with just about any meal. Originally it´s a recipe of the townships; miners and laborers just throw everything they had in a pot and let it cook. That way they could make a quick, cheap and easy dish. The original chakalaka was probably a simple dish of onions, tomatoes and curry powder. These days, every South African has his or her own favorite recipe, and many are quite elaborate. Chakalaka is served as a sauce, a relish or as a cold salad.
Chakalaka
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 500 g carrots, chopped
- 400g white cabbage, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 chili, chopped
- 1 can baked beans in chili sauce or tomato sauce
- 150ml olive oil
- 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon paprika powder
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- salt & pepper to taste
Heat oil in a big pot and sauté onions, garlic and bell peppers with the chillies and curry powder for about five minutes.
Add carrots, cabbage, tomato paste and spices. Cook for about 15-20 minutes ( until vegetables are soft). Don´t forget to stir every five minutes or so.
Add baked beans. Cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt & pepper.
Bon eetlus!
