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Vetkoek
Vetkoek @Salwaa Smith | Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive for the past 10 years!
Vetkoek literally means “fat cake“, which is a traditional South African fried dough bread. The vetkoek forms part of South African culture and cuisine.
Vetkoek is traditionally served filled with mince curry. My mom also served vetkoek with curry instead of roti or rice. Vetkoek dough can be frozen for later use, thaw and fry as needed. Ready fried vetkoek can also be frozen. My recipe makes 20 vetkoek.
Dutch immigrants who moved from Cape Town to the interior of South Africa in the early 1800s, known as Voortrekkers, or “those who trek ahead,” began making vetkoek because it was quicker and easier to cook than typical breads. The bread is similar to the Dutch oliebollen, a sweet fried bread containing raisins.
Ingredients:
cake flour
oil
salt
sugar
yeast
water as needed
oil for frying
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Mince Curry Recipe
500g lean steak mince
1 tablespoon oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 large tomato, finely chopped
1 teaspoon crushed ginger
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
2 pieces stick cinnamon
5 cardamom seeds
3 cloves
2 teaspoons leaf masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground jeera/cumin
1 teaspoon ground koljander/coriander
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into quartered
1 cup frozen peas
Method:
Wash and drain meat. Heat oil, add onions, cardamom and stick cinnamon and cook until onions are transparent. Add all the spices and simmer for 15 minutes. Add mince to sauce, stirring. Cook covered for 10 minutes, then add tomato and potatoes and cook until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Add frozen peas. Cook a further 10 minutes. Serve hot with roti or rice and atchars.
Variation:
Instead of adding frozen peas add 1 aubergine cut into small pieces.
Add chopped green chillies if you like your curry hot.
Delicious Homemade Doughnuts
Light, fluffy, airy, soft glazed, sugared or cream doughnuts. These may just be the best homemade doughnuts you will ever make and they are sinfully addictive!
This soft and fluffy doughnuts is one of my best doughnut recipes, passed down from my mother. I’ve made it countless times since a teenager growing up in Surrey Estate, Cape Town. I’ve shared the recipe before and many have made it with great success!
The ingredients used in my recipe are simple everyday store cupboard ingredients:
Flour, you can use cake, plain or all-purpose flour
Yeast, the instant yeast are perfect to use
Milk, either whole or semi-skimmed
Eggs, I prefer using large and free-range eggs
Vanilla essence
Salt
White sugar
Butter, I use pure butter but a good baking butter is good to use as well
Cook’s Tips:
What happens if the doughnuts haven’t been proofed properly?
Over-proofed – leads to oily, collapsed, flat doughnuts.
Under-proofed – leads to stiffer (denser) doughnuts that don’t puff up well when fried.
You might be tempted to shallow fry the doughnuts with less oil. DO NOT do that! Please make sure there’s a good amount of oil, allowing the doughnuts to freely float while being fried.
Doughnuts are best eaten on the same day they are made! You can however, freeze the unglazed doughnuts in an airtight container or zip lock bag for future use. Defrost at room temperature before glazing and filling.
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3 Ingredient Fruit Cake
Introducing my 3 ingredient fruit cake made from dried mixed fruit, cold coffee and self raising flour. This cake can be stored for up to 2 weeks. To store, simply wrap in foil or place into an airtight container at room temperature. Serve on it’s own at room temperature or warm, with a dollop of cream or custard.
You can substitute coffee with:
Juice (orange, apple or pineapple)
Black tea
Chocolate milk
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Brownie Cheesecake
Brownie Cheesecake
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
Love brownies? Love cheesecake? Now, you can have both at the same time! This is a baked cheesecake with a brownie mixture as the base. Absolutely divine.
For the brownie base you will need:
100g chocolate
50g butter
Melt over a double boiler and allow to cool
1/3 cup cake / plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
Sieve and set aside
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 large egg
Cream together and fold into the cooled butter and chocolate mixture
Fold in flour/ cocoa
Spray a 18cm loose bottom tin (spring form tin) with spray and cook and pour the brownie mixture in. Bake at 180°C for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven.
For the filling you will need:
600g smooth cream cheese
3/4 cup castor sugar
2 Tbsp cake flour
1 tsp vanilla essence
Finely grated zest of 1 medium lemon
1 & 1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 large eggs
1/2 cup Greek yoghurt
Topping:
Whipped fresh cream
Fruit of choice
Method:
Mix the cream cheese, castor sugar until smooth. When the cream cheese is smooth add the yoghurt, vanilla essence an lemon rind. Add the eggs 1 at a time mixing gently after each egg has been added. Mix well until the eggs have incorporated into the mixture. Grease the sides of the tin with the brownies . Pour the cheesecake mixture on top of the base. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200°C for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 140°C and bake for a further 60 minutes more. Turn the oven off, leaving the cheesecake in the oven with the oven door slightly ajar until the cheesecake has cooled down.
Refrigerate for four hours or overnight. Remove the cheesecake from the spring form tin before serving and decorate with whipped cream and fruit of choice.
to remove the cheesecake, run a round-bladed knife around the sides of the tin to loosen any stuck edges. Unlock the side, slide the cheesecake off the bottom of the tin onto a serving plate.
Cook’s Tips:
- ALL THE INGREDIENTS NEED TO BE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
- BAKING TEMPERATURE DETERMINES THE TEXTURE
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVER BAKE
- CHILL WELL BEFORE SLICING AND SERVING
TIPS FOR A BETTER CHEESECAKE
Mix gently. Don’t be tempted to mix ingredients at a high speed or to use a whisk attachment instead of a paddle attachment in an effort to get rid of lumps. This aerates the batter and can ruin that cake’s final texture. Starting with softened cream cheese and being patient while mixing on low speed is the best way to ensure a smooth filling.
Scrape down the bowl after mixing in each ingredient. When mixing the ingredients together the consistency starts off quite thick with the cream cheese and thins out with the addition of each ingredient. The batter that sticks to the sides of the bowl—and hides in the bottom of the bowl—needs to be scraped down completely so it combines evenly. If the bowl isn’t scraped consistently, the batter will be lumpy.
Here’s another cheesecake recipe for you ⤵️
For more recipes or to purchase my cookbooks and spices please visit my website at http://www.capemalaycookingdelights.com
Choose to collect, delivered in South Africa or worldwide.
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Salwaa’s Tiramisu
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
Tiramisu is an Italian dessert made of ladyfingers soaked in strong black coffee, arranged in layers and filled with a cream made with mascarpone and eggs. Tiramisu is one of the most famous Italian desserts in the world, it’s delicious and easy to make.
Make a large tiramisu or into individual serving dishes for convenient serving at your next party.
Ingredients:
1 cup strong black coffee
18 – 20 sponge finger biscuits
250g mascarpone cheese
284ml fresh cream
2 medium eggs
4 tablespoons caster sugar
50g plain chocolate, grated
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
Method:
Lightly grease a 900g loaf tin. Line with cling film. Using a shallow dish, dip the finger biscuits in the coffee.
Arrange soaked finger biscuits, sugar side on the outside, vertically along the long sides of the tin.
Whip the cream until soft peaks.
Add the cheese. Whisk the eggs and sugar until thick, fold into the cream and cheese mixture.
Mix together the chocolate and cocoa powder.
Scatter a third of the chocolate into the tin, top with half cream mixture.
Trim finger biscuits, add the trimmings to the cream
Top with half of the remaining chocolate, remaining cream and finish with a layer of the rest of the chocolate.
Chill for at least 3 hours or better still overnight.
Invert tin onto a serving plate and peel away the cling film. Serve chilled.
For more recipes or to purchase my cookbooks and spices please visit my website at http://www.capemalaycookingdelights.com
Choose to collect, delivered in South Africa or worldwide.
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http://www.capemalaycookingdelights.com
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For any queries please email: enquiries@capemalaycookingdelights.com
Peppermint Cheesecake
Peppermint Cheesecake by @Salwaa Smith | Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
Wow your family and friends this holiday season with our Peppermint Caramel Cheesecake.
We’ve taken the South African classic peppermint pudding a notch higher by turning it into a delicious cheesecake.
Best of all, my cheesecake can be made in advance, meaning there’s one less thing to do on the day you’re entertaining. My recipe makes a 20cm cheesecake or 20 cheesecake shots.
Cook’s Note: Cheesecakes can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days. For even more convenience, make or bake a cheesecake weeks in advance and freeze it! Here’s how you do it, place a whole cheesecake or individual slices on a baking sheet; freeze until firm. Wrap the slices or whole cheesecake in plastic wrap and place in a resealable plastic bag. Freeze for up to 2 months.Defrost whole cheesecakes in the refrigerator overnight.Individual pieces can be defrosted in the refrigerator or at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Perfect if you’re planning on feeding a crowd!
Ingredients Needed:
Biscuits for the base. If you in South Africa you may use Tennis biscuits. You can also use Nice Biscuits, Tea Biscuits, Digestives or any similar type of biscuits.
Butter Caramel
Cream Cheese
Fresh Cream
Peppermint Chocolate
Peppermint Essence
20cm loose bottom tin or 20 shot glasses
Find my recipe here ⤵️
For more recipes or to purchase my cookbooks and spices please visit my website at http://www.capemalaycookingdelights.com
Choose to collect, delivered in South Africa or worldwide.
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For any queries please email: enquiries@capemalaycookingdelights.com
Cauliflower Stew
Blomkool Bredie (Cauliflower Stew)
Bredies consists of mutton or lamb pieces and vegetables cook together in true Cape Malay tradition. Stew or bredie as its known in South Africa usually consists of mutton, lamb or beef pieces cooked with various fresh vegetables. Bredies are traditional Cape Malay food which is simple and inexpensive to cook, especially when feeding large families.
Any type of vegetables can be used on its own or use a combination of two e.g. cauliflower and carrots. Most bredies are spiced with stick cinnamon, allspice and cloves with a green chilli or two for extra flavour. The most popular Cape Malay bredies are green bean, tomato, cabbage, cauliflower bredies and is healthy nutritious winter food. Bredies are served with plain boiled rice, atchars or sambals.
This recipe serves 4 – 6 people
Ingredients:
600g mutton / lamb pieces, washed and drained
2 Tbsp cooking oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 tsp salt or to taste
1 – 2 green chillies, chopped
2 pieces stick cinnamon
1 large cauliflower, leaves cut off and broken into pieces
3 potatoes, peeled and sliced into quarters
1 – 2 Tbsp sugar (optional)
Method:
Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan and fry the onions until golden brown.
Add the meat and cinnamon.
Brown the meat, ensuring it is well browned but not burned.
Add a little water, cover and reduce the heat.
Simmer until the meat is nearly tender, approximately 30 – 45 minutes.
Add the cauliflower, potatoes, chillies, salt to taste and simmer until the potatoes are tender.
Add more hot water as required.
Stir in the sugar if using.
© Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
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Add 1 or more green chillies 
Cauliflower 
Add a few knuckle bones in addition to your meat for extra flavour 
Add a couple of carrots for variations 
Maqluba
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
Maqluba (means upside down in Arabic) is a very popular dish among Palestinians. It’s basically a layered pot of meat or chicken , vegetables and rice. Cooked all together and then flipped over a big flat platter to serve. For variation you may add cauliflower florets as well. We got this recipe from a Palestinian friend of my husband who says this dish is served at many special occasions in their country.
The first time i made this recipe was way back in 2013, since then I’ve made it a few times and my family enjoyed it each time i made it.
Serves 6
½ cup vegetable oil, divided
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 medium size chicken, cleaned, skin removed and cut into small pieces
2 tsp salt
1½ tsp allspice
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp cinnamon powder
3 cardamom, crushed
2 bay leaf
1 lage aubergines, peeled and sliced
1 -2 courgettes, washed and sliced
1 small cauliiflower
3 tomatoes, sliced
2½ cups basmati rice, thoroughly washed
A handful almond slivers (optional)
Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a saucepan, add onions and chicken and stir over a medium heat for couple of minutes. Season with salt, black pepper, allspices, cardamom, cinnamon, and bay leaves. Add 4 cups of water, cover the pot and let simmer until cooked approximately 30 – 45 minutes (cooking time varies for lamb which will cook from an hour to two and half, depending on meat type).
Meanwhile, heat the rest of vegetable oil in large frying pan. Add aubergine, courgette slices as well as the cauliflower, sauté both sides until golden brown. Place them on paper towel to absorb oil and set side.
In a big pot, add a half a cup of rice (to avoid burning of the meat). Arrange chicken, tomato slices, aubergine, courgettes slices and the cauliflower in layers. Pour the remaining liquid from the chicken, and then add rice. Add a small pinch of salt (optional). Bring the pot to a boil over a medium heat. Then cover it and turn the heat down to low and let simmer until rice is cooked (from 20 to 30 minutes). Turn the heat off.
Leave the pot to cool for 15 to 20 minutes, and then carefully flip it up-side down over a serving platter. Sprinkle a handful of almond sliver over. Serve warm with fresh yogurt or salad.
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Creamy Mushroom Pasta
Salwaa’s Creamy Mushroom Pasta
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive for the past 10 years!
Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
250g (1 punnet) sliced mushrooms
Salt and pepper to taste
A knob of butter
4 cloves of finely chopped garlic
1/2 cup fresh cream, you can use more
1 tsp tandoori spice
200g uncooked pasta of choice
Method:
In a pan, add the oil, mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste. Fry until dark brown. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to packaging instructions and put aside. Add the butter and garlic into the mushrooms and cook until garlic is soft. Add cream and tandoori spice and cook until thickened slightly. Mix in cooked pasta and serve.
Absolutely delicious!!
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Split Pea & Veg Soup
Split Pea & Veg Soup
These ingredients make a large pot of soup. Suitable for freezing, divide into portions and freeze until needed. Defrost at room temperature and reheat.
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive!
Ingredients:
1 packet (500g) green split lentils
A few soup bones, meat or knuckles
5 allspice
5 cloves
1 & 1/2kg carrots
2 large tomatoes
2 large onions
2 large potatoes
1/2 bunch celery
1/2 bunch parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Rinse the green split peas a couple of times.
Pour it into a large deep pot add the allspice, cloves as well as the soup bones and meat if using. The bones and meat gives depth and flavour to the soup. Cover with water and bring to the boil. Simmer until the split peas are soft and mushy. This will take a good couple of hours.
Meanwhile clean and cut the vegetables into smaller pieces. Liquidise the vegetables, add water as required. Pour the liquidised vegetables into the pot with the cooked split peas. Season to taste. Bring the soup to a boil. Once it starts boiling, lower the heat and leave the soup to simmer for a further two hours. Stir now and then, adding water as required.
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Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights - Salwaa Smith 
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