South Africa’s cooking reflects a brilliant mix of influences. On the foundation of African ingredients, there are recipes dating back to Dutch colonial rule with spicy touches added by Southeast Asian and Indian labourers. South Africa’s diverse culture has led to the creation of a rich and vibrant cooking style that reflects their cultural melting pot.
Whether you plan to visit South Africa, or just want to try something new, here are some recipes from Cheryl Fisher, owner of The Springbok Bazaar, a South African grocery store at Bukit Timah Plaza in Singapore. Thank you Cheryl Fisher for these recipes!
The recipes below are dips that can be made with Mrs Ball’s Chutneys- South Africa’s version of sambal. They are addictively sweet and zesty.
Source: Taste of Africa
Avocado Dip Cream 1 ripe avocado, Mrs Ball’s Chutney and fresh chopped chillies together- hot, hotter, hottest. Delicious with nachos!
Source: Lavendar and Lovage
Chilli Cheese Paté Mix a cup of grated cheese & a cup of cream cheese. Add half a cup of Mrs Ball’s Chutney, spoon into a paté dish, cover & chill until firm. Spread chutney on top of cheese and garnish with chopped spring onions. Place in fridge until ready to use and eat within one day. Serve with savoury biscuits.
Mozzarella Mouthfuls Crumb and deep-fry bite-size cubes of Mozzarella cheese. Serve piled high with Mrs Ball’s Chutney dribbled over. Perfect as an appetizing snack or starter served with your favourite bottle of Stellenbosch wine.
Peppermint crisp Melktart 
Source: Vegetarian
This is a well-known dessert in South Africa. The main ingredients are caramelised condensed milk, Bakers tennis biscuits and Peppermint crisp chocolate bars!
Ingredients
- 1 200g packet tennis biscuits
- 1 can caramel treat
- 250ml fresh cream
- 150 to 250 grams peppermint crisp chocolate, grated (3 to 5 bars)
Method
Mix caramel until smooth. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the cream until stiff peaks form, but don’t over-whip! Add the whipped cream and 100g to 150g of the grated peppermint crisp to the caramel and combine well.
Place the tennis biscuits (whole) in rows at the bottom of your desired dish, ensuring that the bottom of the dish is covered. Spread a generous amount of the caramel/cream mixture over the tennis biscuits and spread evenly. Add another layer of tennis biscuits – then another layer of the caramel mixture and continue this process once or twice more (depending on the depth of your dish). Sprinkle remaining peppermint crisp over the top and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour to set. Serve with a dollop of cream or as is.
Traditional Bobotie (pronounced boo-boo-ti) 
Source: Moty’s Food
This traditional South African dish is similar to meatloaf, but sooo much better!
It is ground beef or lamb with a slightly sweet & spicy curry flavour – with a milk and egg custard on top….delicious! This is easy to adapt & is delicious hot, cold or on toasted sandwiches.
Ingredients
- 500 g beef or lamb mince
- 1 large peeled & grated carrot
- 2 medium chopped onions
- 10 ml chopped garlic
- 5 ml each of ground coriander, ground ginger, curry powder, cinnamon & turmeric
- 5 to 10 ml apricot jam or Mrs Balls chutney
- 15 ml fresh lemon juice or white vinegar
- 1 thick slice of white bread soaked in milk
- 125g almond slivers or flaked almonds
- 3 – 4 bay leaves
- 250 ml milk
- 2 eggs
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 to 190 degrees Celcius. Grease a medium size oven dish. Then fry onion and garlic in the oil until golden. Add the mince & cook until crumbly. Add all the spices, the carrot, the apricot jam or Mrs Balls chutney and the lemon juice and mix together. Add the soaked white bread, making sure to mix it in properly so there are no big chunks of bread in the mix. Spoon mixture into a medium sized oven dish & level the mixture with the back of a spoon.
Lightly whisk together the milk or buttermilk and the eggs. Pour this egg/milk mix over the mince mixture and push bay leaves (standing up) at intervals into the mince to decorate.
Bake at 180 – 190 for about 40 minutes. The egg custard should be firm and set and a golden brown colour. Serve the bobotie with yellow turmeric rice and raisins, sliced banana & Mrs Balls chutney. Enjoy!
So, if you need some chutney, especially Mrs Ball’s special chutney, check out our story on The Springbok Bazaar with details on where it is in Singapore!
