Koeksisters

Tags

dessert, doughnut, fiesta friday, koeksister, rainbow nation, South Africa, South African Recipes, syrup

In South Africa we have a sweet pastry known as a “koeksister” (literally translated as “cake sizzler”).  The name comes form the Dutch koek (cake) and sissen  (sizzle) – presumably a reference to the sizzling sound they make when being deep fried. You’d be hard-pressed to find a dessert more distinct to the nation’s Western Cape. There are two versions.The Afrikaner version is much more syrupy and crisp, while the Cape Malay version is an oval, fried dumpling with a texture more akin to a cake. Today, I am sharing the Afrikaaner version with you.

A monument of a koeksister in the Afrikaner enclave of Orania recalls a folk tradition of baking them to raise funds for building of churches and schools.

So what exactly is a koeksister you may ask? Well, the best analogy I can find is that they are similar to doughnuts but they are not really that either. With koeksisters, the dough is rolled out flat and then plaited in small lengths, deep-fried and then soaked in syrup and chilled overnight. All I can say is that they are highly addictive and absolutely delicious. It is hard to stop at just one.

Ingredients:

For the syrup:

750 ml / 3 cups water

1,5 kg / 3 lb sugar

Grated rind and juice of ½ a lemon

Piece of fresh ginger, grated

for frying, sunflower oil

For the pastry:

4 x 250ml (500g) / 4 cups cake flour

25ml / 5 teaspoons baking powder

20ml  / 4 teaspoons butter

1/2 large beaten egg

245ml / 1 cup water

 

preparation:

For the syrup:

Place the water and sugar  in a saucepan and bring to the boil
Once the syrup starts to boil, add the lemon juice, rind and ginger and continue to simmer for 10 minutes
Cool the syrup to room temperature
Place the syrup in the fridge in (2 containers) to cool as you need your syrup to be chilled!

For the dough:

Sift the flour and baking powder together in a bowl and then rub in the butter with your fingertips
Add the beaten ½ egg to the water and whisk to incorporate
Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture
Pour in the water mixture and then start to mix until a smooth dough has formed
Knead thoroughly
Cover with clingfilm and leave to rest for at least 1 hour

Heat the oil to 160 °C
Using an oiled rolling pin, roll out the dough on an oiled surface to a thickness of 5 mm. Cut the dough into rectangles of 6 x 15 cm
Cut each rectangle lengthways into 3 strips, leaving one side uncut. Plait the 3 strips and press the cut ends together firmly
Fry in batches in the hot oil for 6–7 minutes, or until dark golden brown
Drain them for a few seconds on paper towels
Remove with a slotted spoon and dip the whole cooked koeksister immediately into your chilled syrup – leave 1 container in the fridge
Remember – the koeksister has to be hot and the syrup cold in order for the syrup to be absorbed by the dough!
Remove from the syrup with a slotted spoon and place on a wire rack
The syrup will gradually become hot with use, so when you have done about half of the koeksisters take the remaining syrup from the fridge and use this for the balance
Enjoy!

Note: The colder the syrup the better! Make it the day before and place in the fridge to ensure it is ice cold.

 

 

.

 

Advertisement

Green-Bean Bredie

Tags

cape malay, green beans, Lamb, rainbow nation, South Africa, South African Recipes, stew, traditional cooking

Another great South African stew. As I have mentioned before bredie is a type of stew, slowly simmered – the type of vegetable used gives it its name. Bredies are favoured as everyday meals, with a variety of ingredients used and always deliciously spiced.

Try and buy fine french beans if possible as these do not have strings in them.

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 kg / 2 lbs lamb shoulder or neck, cut into portions
250 ml / 1 cup water
500 g / 1 lbs green beans, topped and tailed
6 medium potatoes
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 red chilli, finely diced or 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon cumin

Preparation

Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed pot (I use a 28cm le creuset)
Sauté the onion until soft and lightly browned
Add the meat and brown it
Add the water, cover and simmer for about 30 to 40 minutes
Cut the green beans into thirds or halves
Peel and quarter the potatoes
Add the potatoes and the beans
Season with salt and pepper
Add the chilli or chilli powder and the cumin
Add more water if needed, you do not want the liquid to cook dry
Cover and cook for another 30 minutes on a low simmer
Serve with rice
Enjoy!

 

Delicious Bobotie and yellow rice -South Africa on a plate

Tags

Beef, bobotie, cape malay, fiesta friday, ground beef, South Africa, South African Recipes, yellow rice

Recipe 2 from MY RAINBOW NATION COLLECTION OF RECIPES .

You cannot get much more typically South African than Bobotie and rice, maybe milktart or koeksisters but those are posts to come in the next few weeks. Of Malay origin, this traditional Cape dish is prepared with minced/ground meat and curried spices, topped with an egg sauce and baked. It is often served with yellow rice with raisins (recipe below). This is a truly delicious South African recipe. Everybody who tries it begs for the recipe. For any vegetarians out there, you can simply replace the beef with lentils and you have a superb vegetarian bobotie.

BOBOTIE

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 slices white bread, crusts removed, cut into small pieces
60 ml / 1/4 cup whole milk
60 g / 4 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed (optional)
500 g / 1 pound lean minced beef
1/3 cup seedless raisins
1/4 cup flaked almonds
4 to 6 soaked dried apricots, diced
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon curry powder (depends on your spice level preference)
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons fruit chutney
1/2 teaspoon salt & freshly ground black pepper
TOPPING:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
125 ml / 1/2 cup whole milk or cream or a fixture of the two

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 160 C / 325 F
Soak bread in the milk
Melt the butter in a medium-sized, heavy frying pan
Add the onions and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until soft
Add garlic, if using
Squeeze the excess milk from the bread and discard
Add the bread, beef, raisins, almonds, apricots, lemon juice, curry powder, chutney, turmeric, salt and pepper
Cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly
Transfer to a buttered, shallow casserole dish (pyrex works great)
In a small bowl, beat the eggs and milk
Pour over the meat mixture
Bake, uncovered for about 30  minutes until topping sets
Enjoy!

YELLOW RICE WITH RAISINS

Ingredients:

500 ml / 2 cups white rice
2 cinnamon pods
3 cardamon pods
5ml / 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 litre water
salt
250 ml / 1 cup seedless raisins
30 g / 2 tablespoons butter
pinch of sugar

Preparation:

Place the rice, cinnamon, cardamon pods, turmeric and water in a saucepan
Add the salt and bring to the boil
Turn down the heat and cook the rice until tender
Pour into a colander
Return to the saucepan
Add raisins, butter and sugar and steam over low heat until warmed through
Enjoy!