Monthly Archives: July 2015

Orange Biscuits (lemoen koekies)

Jul 23

Posted by Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights

Orange Biscuits (lemoen koekies)

Traditional Cape Malay biscuits flavoured with orange essence and dried citrus peels.

Orange Biscuits / Lemoen Koekies

Ingredients:

250g soft butter or good quality baking butter

1 cup sugar

1 extra large egg

¼ cup sunflower oil

3 tsp orange essence

4 x 250ml cake flour, sifted

1 tsp ground naartjie/orange/satsuma peel (dried and ground)

1 tsp baking powder

Cachous (sen-sen) sweets to complete

Sen-Sent Sweets / Pink Cachous

Method:

Using a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar

Add the oil, essence and egg, mix well

Add the flour, baking powder and citrus peels

Mix well to form a firm dough

Roll out the dough approximately 5mm thick on a lightly floured surface

Cover the dough with cling film or greaseproof paper to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin

Take a fork and lightly scrape the surface of the dough to make a line pattern

Cut out rounds with a cookie cutter and place the biscuits on a baking tray (no need to grease the baking tray)

Place a sen-sen sweet in the middle of each biscuit

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 12 – 15 minutes or until lightly browned

Makes approximately 70 biscuits.

Orange Biscuits

Lemoen Koekies

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Tags: cachous, Cape Malay, Cape Malay Biscuits, Cape Town, lemoen koekies, orange biscuit, pink sweets, salwaa smith, sen-sen sweets, TRADITIONAL

Saboera Biscuits

Jul 23

Posted by Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights

Saboera Biscuits

Traditional Cape Malay biscuits subtly flavoured with spices and rose water.

Saboera Biscuits

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

250g soft butter or good quality baking margarine

¼ cup sunflower oil

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 extra large egg

1 tsp rose water

4 x 250ml cups cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground cardamom

2 tsp ground dried naartjie (satsuma) peel

To complete:

½ cup sugar poured into a side plate

Black currants

Method:

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar together using a whisk until light and fluffy

Add the oil, egg, vanilla essence, rose water and mix well to combine

Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into the wet mixture and mix to form a firm dough

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until approximately 5mm thick

Cover the dough with greaseproof paper or cling film whilst rolling to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin

Cut oblong shapes with a cookie cutter

Press 3 currants on top of the biscuits, slightly spread out

Saboera Biscuits

Dip each biscuit (the top side only) in the sugar and place onto a baking tin, leave some space between each biscuit in case of spreading

Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 12 -15 minutes or until light brown

Makes 70 depending on the size of the cookie cutter.

Saboeras1

Saboeras2

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Tags: Biscuits, Cape Malay, cape malay bisuits, cape malay cooking, saboera biscuits, salwaa smith, traditional cape Malay biscuits

Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Jul 21

Posted by Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights

Chocolate Chiffon Cake

Light and fluffy chocolate cake made in a Bundt or ring tin.

5 extra-large eggs, separated

1 cup white sugar

1 cup self-raising flour

½ cup sunflower oil

2 tsp baking powder

¾ cup hot water (boiled water, slightly cooled)

1/3 cup cocoa powder

Preheat your oven to 170C.

Grease a Bundt (ring) tin.

Using a large mixing bowl, cream the egg yolks and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the oil and stir to combine.

Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together in a separate bowl.

Add the flour mixture and the hot water to the wet ingredients in stages mixing well after each addition.

Using an electric beater whip the egg whites stiff until they hold their peaks.

Fold the egg whites lightly into cake mixture until just combined. DO NOT OVER STIR as the cake will lose volume and won’t be as light and fluffy.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin.

Bake at 170C for 35 minutes. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning it out on a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating.

Ganache

200g Cadbury Diary milk chocolate

½ cup fresh cream

Melt together for 60 seconds in the microwave in a suitable container without stirring. Let it rest/stand for 2 minutes and stir to combine the chocolate and cream. Pour this over the cake. Decorate with fresh strawberries and/or chocolate curls.

Chiffon Cake © Cape Malay Cooking – Salwaa Smith

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Tags: Cape Malay, cape malay cooking, Cape Town, chiffon cake, Chocolate, CHOCOLATE CAKE, chocolate chiffon cake, Easy, salwaa smith

Crayfish Curry

Jul 20

Posted by Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights

Crayfish Curry

Use crayfish tails to make this lovely seafood curry or add whole crayfish (cleaned and cut). If you like a more filling seafood curry add chunks of stockfish fillets. You can of course use more or less chillies depending on your palate. Serve with boiled fragrant or basmati rice.

Alternatively follow the recipe to make a lovely crayfish curry potjie.

Crayfish Curry

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 kg crayfish tails, deveined and cut into 2 or 3 pieces depending on the size

3 tablespoons sunflower oil

1 teaspoon garam masala

4 tablespoons plain yoghurt

3 large onions (finely chopped)

2 medium tomatoes (chopped)

2 teaspoons coriander/koljana

2 teaspoons cumin/jeera

1 teaspoon turmeric/borrie

2 – 4 green chillies, deseeded and chopped

1 – 2 teaspoons red chilli powder

4 large cloves of garlic, grated finely

Dhanya leaves (finely chopped), optional

2 teaspoons salt or to taste

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup water or as needed

Method:

Heat the oil in a pot and sauté onions on low heat till the onions are light brown in colour.

Mix in the grated garlic and green chillies. Fry till it turns golden-brown stirring all the time.

Add the tomato pieces and cook till the onions and tomatoes are soft, about 5 – 10 minutes. Add drops of water to prevent the onion mixture sticking to the bottom.

Now add all the spice powders except the garam masala and mix well to combine the spices with the onion mixture.

Gently stir in the crayfish tails, salt and the yoghurt.

Cook on high for about 5 minutes.

Add the water. Cover and allow it to simmer on low heat till the crayfish meat is cooked and tender about 15 minutes or until the shell of the crayfish turns pinkish. Stir every few minutes, add more water as needed, depending on the consistency you like the texture of your curry (thick or thin gravy/sauce) Stir in the garam masala and lemon juice. Garnish with finely chopped fresh coriander leaves.

Serve with freshly cooked basmati or fragrant rice.

Crayfish Curry

Follow the above recipe and make a lovely crayfish curry potjie!

Crayfish Potjie

Posted in Crayfish Curry, Seafood

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Tags: cape malay cooking, Cape Town, crayfish, crayfish curry, lobster, seafood, TRADITIONAL

Breyani

Jul 19

Posted by Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights

Cape Malay Breyani – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights – Salwaa Smith

Traditional Cape Malay breyani served on Eid/labarang, weddings and special occasions. Serve with slices of boiled egg (optional) and atchars, dhai or tomato & onion sambal. Well worth the effort 🙂

Cape Malay Breyani

Serves at least 6

750 g lamb, mutton or chicken pieces

For the marinade:

3 stick cinnamons

5 cardamom pods

2 bay leaves

5 cloves

5 allspices

1 Tbsp grated ginger

1 Tbsp grated garlic

2 – 4 green chillies, deseeded and chopped

2 tsp koljana / coriander

½ tsp coarsely crushed black pepper

3 tsp jeera / cumin

2 tsp leave masala / roasted masala

1 – 2 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp garam masala

2 medium tomatoes

½ cup plain yoghurt

½ bunch fresh dhanya, chopped

2 tsp salt

½ – 1 cup brown lentils

4 large potatoes

1 cup vegetable oil

3 large onions

3 – 4 cups long grain or basmati rice

2 bay leaves

2 stick cinnamons

2 tsp salt

2 Tbsp butter

Wash and drain the meat or chicken. Using a large dish or bowl add the meat and spices.

Liquidise ginger, garlic, tomato and yoghurt together. Pour this mixture on top of the meat. Add the ¾ of the chopped dhanya. Mix well and cover with cling film. Leave to marinade for at least two hours in the fridge or better still overnight. This will allow all the flavour to develop and the meat to be really flavourful.

Meanwhile boil the lentils, the amount of lentils depends on your taste, my family doesn’t like a lot of lentils in breyani, so I only use half a cup.

Peel, wash and cut the potatoes into round slices. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry the potatoes in the oil until lightly browned. Remove and set aside.

Peel and cut the onions into thin slices. Fry the onions in the same oil as you fried the potatoes until brown and crispy. Remove and set aside, reserving the oil.

Add the marinated meat into a large pot and cook until the meat is soft and tender about 35 – 45 minutes, depending on what cut or type of meat you using.

Parboil the rice with the salt, cinnamons and bay leaves. As soon as the water start bubbling remove from the heat our into a colander, rinse and leave to drain.

Mix the parboiled rice and cooked lentils into a bowl.

Now start the layers. Add a layer of potatoes in a large, deep and lightly greased ovenproof dish.

Then a layer of rice and lentils mixture. Add a layer of the cooked meat, including the sauce, followed by some of the fried onions. Continue layering the potatoes, rice, onions (reserve some onions for garnishing) until all the ingredients have been used and finishing with a layer of rice. Garnish with the braised onions, reserved dhanya and the butter, cut in pieces. Add 1 cup of hot water. Cover tightly with foil or the lid of the ovenproof dish. Cook in a preheated oven at 180C for 45 – 60 minutes.

Ensure you dish from all the layers by inserting your dishing up spoon right down and lifting it up. This way you can be sure to get from all the elements of the dish.

Serve with dhai (yoghurt sauce), tomato & onion salad or atchar.

Video – How To Make Breyani – Step By Step

Posted in Rice

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Tags: Biryani, Breyani, Cape Malay, Cape Malay Breyani, Labarang, Rice, Traditional Cape Malay Breyani

Soet Koekies / Essies Biscuits

Jul 19

Posted by Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights

Soet Koekies

Crisp, sweet biscuits infused with a lovely combination of spices. Use a cookie cutter to press out shapes or alternatively roll the dough into “ropes” and shape in “S” shape.

Ingredients:

3 x 250ml cups cake flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1 & 1/2 cups brown sugar

175 g butter

3 large eggs

1 tsp red bol

Peanuts for decorating

Method:

Sift flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar and spices except the red bol. Add sugar and mix. Rub butter into flour mixture with fingertips. Beat eggs, add to flour mixture and form a dough that can be rolled out. Mix the red bol into a third of the dough. Roll out the remaining dough on a lightly floured surface. Dot the dough with the red bol mixture and roll out again until approximately 5mm thick. Cut out cookie shapes with a heart cookie cutter. Place a half of peanut in the cenrer of the cookie. Transfer the cookies onto a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 180C for 10- 12 minutes. Loosen biscuits and cool on wire rack. Makes 80 biscuits.

Alternatively divide the doughty into half and mix one half with red bol. Roll out the dough into thin “ropes”. Place the two colours of dough and place it next to each other. Cut the dough into approximately 10 centimetres length wise and shape the dough into “S” shapes.

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Tags: Biscuits, Cape Malay Biscuits, essies, soet koekies, traditional cape Malay biscuits

Boeber – 15th Ramadaan

Jul 2

Posted by Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights

Boeber – Traditional Milk Drink

A traditional South African Cape Malay recipe, the taste is so rich and sugary. Boeber is made of milk, vermicelli, sago, sugar or condensed milk flavoured with cardamoms, stick cinnamon and rose water. If you like a “thicker” boeber add more sago. Boeber is traditionally served on the fifteenth night of Ramadan to celebrate the middle of the fast. The evening of the 15th day of Ramadaan is special for those who had fasted the first 15 days. They are known as people who are ‘op die berg’ Many, many years ago after the taraweegh salaah, boeber was served at the mosques. Every family also made boeber for this particular night. After Taraweegh salaah, boeber was also sold at boeber houses at two pence a glass. There, friends would assemble and, if it were a Friday or Saturday, would stay up until sower (suhur) and then go to the masjid for Fajr.

To make boeber you will need the following
100g butter
1/3 cup sago
1 cup water to soak the sago
1 – 1 1/2 cups crushed vermicelli
3 cinnamon sticks
5 cardamoms
50 g sultanas
2 litres milk
15 ml rose water (optional)
150 – 200ml white sugar (depending on your taste buds)
50g blanched almonds

Method:
Soak the sago in the water for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan.
When it has melted, add the vermicelli and toss it so that the butter covers it and it starts to go golden brown.
Add the cardamom, cinnamon and the sultanas.
Stir before pouring the milk into the pan.
Bring to the boil before adding the pre-soaked sago and then simmer for about 30 minutes stirring constantly otherwise it will stick. The sago should become transparent.
Add the rose water (if using), sugar and almonds and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes or so. Serve hot and enjoy!!!
Serve hot and prepare to enjoy this rich, spicy and flavourful drink.

Posted in Boeber, Ramadan

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Tags: #capemalaycooking, #capemalaycooking #capemalayhomecooking #cape town, Boeber, RAMADAAN, TRADITIONAL, Traditional Cape Malay Food

Cape Malay & Other Delights Cookbook Launch

Jul 1

Posted by Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights

Cape Malay & Other Delights Cookbook Launch

On Sunday, 7^th June 2015, my Cape Malay & Other Delights Cookbook was launched at the Grassy Park Civic Centre.

The launch of my cookbook was the result of more than 20 years of dreaming and preparing for this, my first published work. I started collecting recipes in my teens, scribbling recipes from mother, family members and friends on pieces of paper. About 20 odd years ago we bought our first computer and I started to type up all my recipes I collected mostly from my mother, the late Zainunesa Francis (nee Adams). My mother was a great cook and baker, she in turn was taught by her mother (my grandmother) who made the most amazing tarts and pies I am told. She made this pies and tarts, which she sold at factories, as a means of helping to maintain the family. My mother, may her grave be filled with light and may she be elevated to the highest place in heaven, baked the most wonderful bread. (It would have been her birthday today 1st July) Although my mom stopped cooking and baking long ago due to her having a stroke people would still talk about the raisin bread, egg loaf, rolls amongst other stuff she made. At one time my mom baked cakes for a small bakery as well, supplying them with freshly baked cakes and delicacies every day.

My journey with Cape Malay Cooking started in earnest during 2001 when we moved to the UK. In the UK I had access to many ways and methods of researching how to compile and to produce a cookbook. I began by researching how to produce a family heirloom recipe book and self-publishing. All these methods needed lots of monetary investments. For a few years I forgot all about it. In the meantime I was lucky enough to go on many courses. I did various courses from Community Parenting to Business & Administration Diplomas. During 2007 whilst working at the Birmingham City Council I went on an Empowerment for Women course. During that 5 days I learned a lot about myself and my goals in life. On the last day of the course the instructor asked us to close our eyes and visualise the next 5 years of our lives and what we would like to achieve at the end of the 5 years. For me that was visual journey was very emotional and I came to realise that I still wanted to compile a cookbook.

My first granddaughter was born in November 2009 and I resigned from work to take of her whilst my daughter completed her education. The next year and a half was spend caring for my granddaughter. In the meantime my daughters were telling me about Facebook to keep in contact with my family in Cape Town. I opened a Facebook account in February 2011, naming it Cape Malay Cooking. I started posting pictures of food I made every day. Ever since we moved to the UK I continued cooking our traditional Cape Malay foods, bredies, frikkadel, breyanis, etc. The first message I received was from a lady who said “motjie, don’t ever stop with this page, I was looking so long for something like this”. From then onwards it all took off. Within months I reached my 5000 friend limit (I didn’t know about fan pages then, I learned as I went along). Another person advised me to open a second account, I reached my friend limit very soon on that one as well. It was only after I reached my friend limit on my third page that I found out about fan pages! I researched some more and finally merged all my Facebook accounts into one, Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights. For 3 ½ years I was known only as Cape Malay Cooking, very few people knew my true identity. The reason for this was I wanted to remain anonymous for as long as possible, I didn’t start this page for name and fame, I simply did it for the love of my culture and tradition, my sole wish was to preserve our unique way of cooking for my children and future generations.

Many of my followers started requesting recipe books. I compiled 5 PDF Ebooks, but people still wanted the hard copy. I had a few copies printed at a local printer but the quality wasn’t very good. From then onwards I started researching again, this time in more earnest. I approached a large publishing house, who agreed to print my cookbook but due to unforeseen circumstances the contract was cancelled. This was in fact a blessing in disguise. Towards the end of 2014 my husband, Aghmad Smith, decided to finance my project. Alghamdulilaah he worked very hard to enable me to realise my dream.

But the real struggle was still to come. I learned so much the past year. Through research I learned how to style food, take food photography, the layout, publishing, graphic designing, marketing, web designing amongst other things. But I’ll be the first to admit I still have lots to learn as everything is not perfect yet. This journey has finally came full circle with my self-published cookbook being received with wide acclaim from most people, especially people who knows about publishing, cookbooks and literature. I am humbled by the response and feedback I have received thus far. I have to admit my cookbook has a couple of spelling errors but as my brother, Mustapha Francis (who was MC at my launch) pointed out in 30 years time this cookbooks will be a sought after collector’s item! In Sha Allah (God willing)

A few facts about my “Cape Malay & Other Delights Cookbook”

My book was launched at the Grassy Park Civic Centre on 7^th June 2015
Over 500 people attended my launch
My foreword was written by Mogamat G Kamedien, independent slave scholar & community heritage activist who also delivered the key note speech on the day of my launch
My cookbook is self-published
My desire to write a cookbook started over 20 years ago
Members of the oldest Malay Choir, Young Men’s Malay Choir, entertained guests
My cookbook launch was covered by Abidah Dixon Mohamed for TVs “Proe” program
The Weekend Argus, covered my story in their 13^th June 2015 edition
The Cape Times as well as the Argus included recipes from my book in the Ramadan supplement
Chanel Islam International radio covered my story
Voice of the Cape radio station reviewed my cookbook
My story featured on southafrica.net
Capetownmagazine.com featured my story as well
In addition to the Cape Town launch I had a launch in Birmingham, UK as well as in Bosmont, Johannesburg