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There are probably thousands of South African Recipes I am yet to try. However, as the seasons are changing I’m eager to try a couple of new ones. This leads me to this blog post; 10 Mouthwatering South African Recipes to try this spring. Some of these are not new to you or me, but a reminder of the wonderful recipes we have in our collections to share with each other. I encourage you to reach out to me if you have a recipe that you would like for me to share on my blog for others to try.
“Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any purchase made through such links will award me a small commission (at absolutely no extra cost for you). These funds help me keep this blog up and running. Learn more about it here.”
As I was looking for South African Recipes to make it to this blog post, I was encouraged by the vast amount of Traditional South African Recipes we have to choose from. There are thousand’s of South African Recipes to try. In fact, when you google the term “South African recipes” there are around 76,800,000 results. In fact, I had previously chosen 12 Traditional South African Recipes you should try. You can see this as an elaboration, or simply another excuse to try even more South African Dishes.
12 Traditional South African Recipes you should try
Where are these Traditional South African Recipes Found?
Many of the recipes I will mention below can be found in a recipe book that was given to me by my late gran as a kitchen tea gift. I have made many a recipe from this book and so grateful to have it around whenever I feel like cooking a Traditional South African meal. The book called Huisgenoot, Top 500 Wenresepte will be known to many of you. It’s currently available online at the following retailers including Exclusive Books, Loot and Amazon.
Without further delay, which are the recipes you should be trying this spring?
10 Mouthwatering South African Recipes to try this spring
1. Roosterkoek
What is Roosterkoek?
Roosterkoek or Roosterbrood is a Traditional South African bread that usually accompanies a braai. It’s simply balls of dough that are flattened and then cooked on a grid over warm coals. It’s best served right away with a good lash of butter, cheese, or jam.
More recently we even experimented by using these Roosterkoeke as hamburger buns. It was delicious!
How to make Roosterkoek
INGREDIENTS
- 4 Cups of flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Creme of tartar
- Pinch of salt
- 50 ml Butter
- 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk*
METHOD
- Sift the dry ingredients and rub in the butter using your fingertips. Do this until the dry ingredients and butter are grainy.
- Add the buttermilk until you have a stiff dough.
- Place on a floured surface and shape into balls. Flatten the balls and let rise until double in size.
- Cook over medium heat on coals – careful not to burn them.
- If the coals are too hot you may find your roosterkoek burning before they are cooked. Wait for the temperature to drop before attempting again.
How to make buttermilk
Combine 1 TBSP of lemon juice to one cup of milk. So in this case 1 1/2 TBSP of lemon juice to 1 1/2 cups of milk. Let it sit and curdle for a bit.
2. Pancakes
It’s funny how rainy weather and pancakes go hand in hand. Well in our family anyway. If you had to ask my dad, he would disagree. He would argue that pancakes should be eaten all-day-everyday…
Checkout this post on how to make Traditional South African Pancakes.
3. Onion-and-Banana Salad
This onion and banana salad is a firm favourite amongst many South Africans. I personally do not enjoy the taste of banana, so it’s not here because I love it. But because I recognise this iconic dish. It’s a recipe that seems to have made the rounds at many braai’s and bbq’s and seems like a perfect recipe to add to the list of 10 Mouthwatering South African Recipes to try this spring.
How to make Onion and Banana Curry Salad
INGREDIENTS
- 40 ml (4t) Butter
- 3 Onions cut into rings
- 750 ml (3 cups) Boiling Water
- 30 ml (2 TBSP) Flour
- 30 ml (2 TBSP) Curry Powder
- 5ml (1 tsp) Mustard Powder
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) Water
- 125 ml (1/2 cup) White Wine Vinegar
- Pinch of salt and pepper
- 45 ml (3 TBSP) Brown Sugar
- 8 Bananas
METHOD
- Heat the butter in a medium saucepan and fry the onions until translucent. Add the boiling water.
- Combine the rest of the ingredients except for the bananas, and add to the onions. Stir frequently until it starts to boil and thickens. Let it cool down.
- Cut the banana’s and add to the sauce.
- Serve immediately.
4. Traditional Cape Malay Pickled Fish
This wonderful recipe from Rezena at Tantalise my Tastebuds has so much information and is so beautifully written that I decided to rather post a link to it on my blog. Head on over to the site to view the full recipe.
5. Chutney Mayo Chicken Bake
I recently posted this recipe to my site. It’s a family favourite, and I serve it with either roasted oven-baked veggies or a fresh salad.
How to make Chutney Mayo Chicken Bake
If you’re keen to try this delicious chicken recipe, then head on over to the link below for the full recipe.
6. South African Lamb and Apricot Sosaties
I’m super keen to make the below recipe from Carolines Cooking. It looks super delicious! I’ve only most recently started making my own sosaties, as we were truly spoiled for choice in South Africa with the variety we could get. I however love making my own as the options of what you can do are endless!
Now that spring is rearing its head, adding sosaties to my list of 10 Mouthwatering South African Recipes to try this spring seemed like an obvious choice. I cannot wait to enjoy the sun and a good braai again.
Caroline combines a variety of traditional Malay ingredients for her recipe.
View this original recipe from Caroline’s Cooking here:
7. Pampoenkoekies with Syrup
I adore both pumpkin and butternut and have made easy pampoenkoekies using either of the two. They can be tricky to make, so be sure to get the ratio of ingredients right. Also, the trick is to ensure the oil is just right. Too hot and it will burn before it is cooked, too cold, and it will seep too much oil.
How to make pampoenkoekies in stroop
INGREDIENTS
PUMPKIN
- 500 ml (2 cups) Cooked Pumpkin
- 250 ml (1 cup) Flour
- 10ml (2 tsp) Baking Powder
- 2 ml (1/2 t) Salt
- 1 Egg, Whisked
- Cooking Oil
SAUCE
- 15 ml butter/margarine
- 300 g sugar
- 200 ml milk
- 15 ml cornflour
- 175 ml cold water
METHOD
- Steam the pumpkin until soft, 40-50 minutes. Let it cool down.
- Add the cake flour to a bowl, followed by the baking powder, salt, and egg.
- Add the steamed pumpkin and mix to combine, but don’t overmix.
- Heat a non-stick pan and add a cube of butter and a splash of olive oil. Ladle a scoop of pumpkin batter into the pan and fry over medium heat until the batter starts to form little bubbles on top, then turn over and fry on the other side.
To make the sauce, heat the butter, sugar, and milk until it boils. Dissolve the cornflour in the cold water and stir into milk mixture. Bring to boil and pour over pampoenkoekies.
8. Microwave Fudge
Since discovering how easy it actually is to make microwave fudge – I feel obliged to share my easy microwave fudge recipe with you.
How to make 10 minute microwave fudge
It only has 4 ingredients and you only need 10 minutes to make these bite-sized treats. The blog post also contains a few additions you may want to add to the traditional fudge recipe once you have mastered it.
9. Easy Macaroni and Cheese
Macaroni and Cheese may not be traditionally South African. In fact, as you might expect, mac and cheese traces its roots to Italy, home of many culinary delights. However, it’s included in this list as it’s been a go-to recipe for many South African families.
To be very truthful, Macaroni and Cheese has never been a dish that I thoroughly enjoyed. It can easily become dry and often lacks depth of flavour. As a result, I made it my mission to recreate this famous dish using minimal ingredients but to still deliver on taste.
How to make Macaroni and Cheese
10. Peppermint Crisp Tart
Last, but most certainly not least is my husband’s favourite. Peppermint Crisp Fridge Tart. It’s a relatively simple recipe combining the main ingredients of caramel, cream, tennis biscuits, and peppermint chocolate to make the ultimate indulgent Peppermint Fridge Tart. Finally, it’s placed in the fridge to set and served with a fresh sprinkling of chocolate. I won’t forget to share my Peppermint Fridge Tart Recipe with you – my take on it. In the meantime, check out this recipe from Your Family.
Any recipes you feel we should have included that didn’t make the cut this time?
If the above South African Recipes haven’t gotten you in the mood to get out in the kitchen, then I’m sure this song by Blanco Brown will get you going. Super catchy and get’s me everytime.
Until next time!
I’m South African living in Cyprus. I want the sweet pumpkin recipe with brown sugar please. I have made it many times but it hasn’t turned out nice. I went to a restaurant in the UK that made Sa food and the pumpkin was delicious. Where can I find it please?
Kind Regards
Helen Socratous
Hi Helen! Welcome to our cooking blog. The easiest way to make delicious brown sugar and cinnamon roasted wedges is as follows:
* Cut the pumpkin into wedges, about 1.5 cm thick and place them on a foil lined baking sheet. You can leave the skin on.
* Mix together about 5 tablespoons of olive oil with a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of cinnamon and about one tablespoon of brown sugar.
* Rub the wedges with the oil mixture until coated all over and let them marinate until ready to roast them.
* Bake in the preheated oven at 200 degrees. Celsius for about 25-30 minutes or until the wedges are as soft as you like them.