The Cape Malay Cookbook, by Faldela Williams

The Cape Malay Cookbook, by Faldela Williams, Struik Publishers. Cape Town, South Africa 1998. ISBN 9781868255603 / ISBN 978-1-86825-560-3

Pictures from The Cape Malay Cookbook, by Faldela Williams. Struik Publishers

The Cape Malay Cookbook, written by Faldela Williams, is a practical guide made to enable anyone to cook and bake authentic Cape Malay food.

Faldela Williams  

For the first time we have a comprehensive selection of recipes superbly illustrated to show Malay fare at its very best. Easy to prepare recipes, with microwave hints and a guide to spices and seasonings. This extract gives an idea what kind of recipes can be awaited. Mainly the following types of food are introduced: Spices, Herbs and Seasonings, Snacks and Soups, Fish and Seafood, Chicken Meat, Bredies and Breyani, Curries, Puris, Rotis and Rice, Vegetables, Salads and Sambals, Blatjang, Atjars and Konfyt, Desserts and Beverages, Biscuits, Koesisters, Fritters and Breads, Cakes and Pastries.

Example: Spicy date and walnut triem

A rich, dark date loaf.

750 ml cake flour
5 ml baking powder
5 ml ground cinnamon
150 ml boiling water
150 g stoned dates, chopped
5 ml bicarbonate of soda
225 g butter or margarine
250 ml sugar
3 eggs, beaten
100 g walnuts, chopped

Grease and line a large loaf tin. Sift flour, baking powder and cinnamon into a bowl. Pour boiling water into a bowl, add dates and sprinkle with bicarbonate of soda. Set aside for 15 minutes, or until cool. Cream butter or margarine and sugar until light and fluffy, then add beaten eggs and mix well. Add flour mixture, dates and walnuts and mix to a soft dropping consistency. Pour into loaf tin and bake at 170 °C for 1 ¼ - 1 ½ hours, on middle shelf of oven. Allow to stand in tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Makes 1 large loaf.

Example: Oumens onder die Kombers

Frikkadels in cabbage leaves.

The mutton stew must be very soft and there must be a lot of gravy before the cabbage parcels are added.

30 ml sunflower oil
2 onions, sliced
500 g mutton, cubed
5 ml salt
5 whole cloves
2 ml freshly ground black pepper
250 ml water
1 small cabbage
5 ml ground nutmeg

Frikkadels:
450 g steak mince
2 ml salt
2 ml freshly ground black pepper
2 ml ground nutmeg
5 ml crushed garlic
1 egg
1 small onion, chopped
2 slices stale white bread, soaked in water
and squeezed dry

Heat oil in a fairly large saucepan. Braise onions until browned, about 15 minutes, then add meat and fry, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Add spices and water and cook until meat is tender, about 45 minutes. Separate cabbage into leaves and remove veins from each. Wash leaves well, then steam until soft on top of meat, remove and set aside. Meanwhile prepare frikkadels. Combine steak mince in a large basin with spices, egg, onion and bread. (The texture must be loose.) Place about 30 ml frikkadel mixture in centre of each cabbage leaf and roll up into parcels. Place parcels on top of stewed mutton and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with nutmeg, on white rice. Serves 6-8.

Example: Dhaltjies

These chilli bites are the perfect party snack.

You can vary this recipe by adding 250 ml sweetcorn kernels instead of spinach or by adding a grated potato.

250 ml pea or chana (yellow pea) flour
30 ml cake flour
1 onion, grated or very finely chopped
5 ml ground jeera (cumin)
5 ml ground koljander (coriander)
10 ml crushed dried chillis
5 ml salt
3 ml borrie (turmeric)
1/2 bunch chopped green dhunia (coriander) leaves
1 small green apple, grated
a few spinach leaves, shredded
5 ml baking powder
500 ml sunflower oil for deep-frying

Sift pea flour and cake flour into a fairly large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients, except baking powder and oil, and mix with sufficient water to make a thick batter. Stir in baking powder just before frying. Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Drop 15 ml mixture at a time into hot oil and fry until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Turn over and brown other side. Drain on absorbent paper or in a colander and serve hot. Makes about 24. Bhajias: Instead of shredding spinach leaves, break into 6 cm squares and dip in batter. Shallow-fry on both sides in hot oil until crisp, about 10 minutes in all. Drain well on absorbent paper and serve.

This is an extract from the book: The Cape Malay Cookbook, by Faldela Williams.

Title: The Cape Malay Cookbook
Author: Faldela Williams
Struik Publishers
Cape Town, South Africa 1998
ISBN 9781868255603 / ISBN 978-1-86825-560-3
Softcover, 21 x 28 cm, 96 pages, throughout colour photos