Recipes - South African Social Group in Qatar

	Biltong \| Koeksisters \| Bobotie \| Melktert \| Links

•	Biltong
	Biltong is South African dried meat. The word comes from Dutch with BIL meaning buttock and TONG meaning strip. Biltong has been around for centuries; for instance, a more primitive form, the Dutch tassal, was also prepared in certain areas of France during the late Middle Ages. Tassal was also made in Batavia, and made its way to South Africa with the Dutch settlers where it was adapted to the less pungent biltong. Ingredients: 12.5 kg beef (top round or sirloin or London broil or eye of round) 560 g fine salt 125 ml brown sugar 25 ml bicarbonate of soda 10 ml saltpeter (optional) 12.5 ml ground black pepper 125 ml coarsely ground coriander 250 ml red wine vinegar 2.5 liters warm water Cut the meat along the natural dividing lines of the muscles of the particular piece of meat you have chosen. Cut the meat into strips of about 2" thick and as long as you like, always cutting the meat with the grain. Mix the salt, sugar, bicarbonate of soda (this makes the biltong tender), saltpeter, pepper and coriander together and rub the mixture into the strips of meat. Layer the meat - with the more bulky pieces at the bottom - in a non-reactive container and sprinkle a little vinegar over each layer. Leave the meat in a cool place for 12 hours or more, depending on how salty you want the meat to be (you may need to experiment a little until you find the right time to let the meat 'marinade'. Mix the water and vinegar and dip the biltong into it (this makes it shiny and dark). Once this is complete, the meat is ready to dry. Pat the pieces of meat dry and hang them up on S-shaped hooks - or use pieces of string - about 2 " apart (so that the air can circulate freely among the strips of meat). There are many theories on how to dry biltong. Probably the most popular is to hang it in a cool, dry place with an oscillating fan blowing on it. It is very important that the air is dry. If there is too much moisture in the air, the meat will spoil. The biltong is ready when the outside is hard, and the center part of the biltong strip is still a little moist. How dry or moist you allow the center to become is a matter of personal taste. Makes about 10 Kg

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•	Koeksisters
	The secret of the crisp syrupy outside of koeksisters is that they are taken straight from hot oil and dipped into ice-cold syrup. This seals the syrup outside and leaves the inside dryish in contrast. To make the syrup, mix a liter of sugar, 5 ml cream of tartar, 2.5 ml tartaric acid and 5 ml vanilla essence or grated orange rind or cinnamon, or 1.5 ml ginger with 500 ml of water. Bring mixture to the boil and allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes or until syrupy. Set syrup aside to cool. It is advisable to make the syrup first and leave it overnight in the fridge. To make the batter, sift 500 ml flour, 10 ml baking powder and 5 ml salt into a mixing bowl. Cut or rub 70 ml of margarine or butter into the dry ingredients. Beat an egg thoroughly and add it to 80 ml of milk. Add the egg and milk to the flour mixture, handling as little as possible. Put the dough in the fridge for at least one hour. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 4 mm. Cut into strips about 8 cm long and 2.5 cm wide. Cut each strip into three lengthwise, leaving one side uncut. Now plait the three pieces and press ends together firmly. Pre-heat a deep pan and remove syrup from the fridge. The hot fried koeksisters must be dropped into the cold syrup. The syrup will warm up about halfway through, so divide the syrup into two bowls. Deep-fry koeksisters until golden brown, drain for a few seconds on absorbent paper and dip into cold syrup.

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•	Bobotie
	1kg minced beef or mutton 1 thick slice of white bread 250ml milk 1 onion, chopped ½ cup seedless raisons ½ cup blanched almonds 3 tsp apricot jam 3tsp fruit chutney 3 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp ground mix spice 2 tsp curry powder 1 tsp ground turmeric 2 tsp salt 2 tsp oil 3 eggs 4 bay leaves (or lemon leaves) Place bread in half the milk (125ml) till soaks up most of the milk and is soft. Then slowly squeeze milk out of bread. Mix the bread well with minced meat. Mix with union, raisons, almonds, jam, chutney, lemon juice, spices and salt. Heat oil in a large frying pan and fry the meat mixture, breaking up any lumps with a spoon. Cook until slightly browned and place in a casserole. Beat eggs with the remaining 125ml of milk and pour over the meat. Garnish the casserole with the bay or lemon leaves and bake at 180°C for about 50 minutes or until topping is set. Serve with rice.

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•	Melktert (Milk Tart)
	2 cups milk 2 Tablespoons sugar 2 eggs Half cup flour 1 Tablespoon butter Half teaspoon cinnamon Short or Flaky pastry Boil together milk, sugar, butter and cinnamon. Blend flour with a little cold water and add boiling milk to it, stirring briskly. Return to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool slightly, add well beaten eggs and cook again for a few minutes. Line a pie dish with pastry, pour in the milk mixture, sprinkle on top with cinnamon and bake in oven at 205^oC for about 20 minutes.

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•	Recipe Web Links
	For more typically South African recipes you can also visit the following websites: www.3men.com/south.htm www.africhef.com/South-African-Recipes.html www.knead-2-know.com/koeksisters.html www.yuppiechef.com

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•	Question: What are food prices like?
	Answer: Average, even a bit similar to South Africa, mostly cheaper actually. You also quickly get used to the different tastes and brands.

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