Blog Archives
Pepper Steak Pie
Salwaa’s Pepper Steak Pie Filling
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
From My Kitchen To Yours – keeping our heritage alive since 2011!
Ingredients:
1kg stewing steak
2 onions, chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 & 1/2 teaspoon freshly crushed garlic
3 bay leaves
3 cloves
3 allspice
1/2 cup sago soaked in water
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
Water as needed
1kg puff pastry
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg (beaten for glazing pie pastry top)
200-250g mushrooms, chopped (optional- stir in at end of cooking while mixture is cooling)
Method:
Wash and dice up steak into 4 cm cubes.
Heat a large saucepan. Add oil. Cook onion until golden brown over medium heat and add garlic after a few minutes, stir well. Add the steak & water to cover, stir through.
Add and mix in the pepper. Whilst the steak is cooking soak the sago in water to cover.
Gently bring to boil then reduce heat & simmer on low for 1 – 1 & 1/2 hours or until steak is nice and tender.
Stir occasionally to stop burning, check because you may need to add some extra water.
Add the soaked sago and cook a further 15 minutes.
Allow your pepper steak filling to cool completely before using. (Stir in the mushrooms at this point if using.
When you are ready to cook the pie, preheat oven to 190°C.
Roll your pastry out on a lightly floured work surface. Ideally the pastry should be about 3mm thick.
Using your pie dish as a guide, cut the pastry 1 cm wider than edge of pie dish and set aside. This will be the base. Cut lid for pie, make this same size as pie dish and set aside.
Grease the pie dish by rubbing butter liberally over the base – this helps later for removing/serving pie after baking.
Line base of pie dish with the pastry bottom and press all around to edges of pie dish.
Spoon in the cooled pepper steak mixture, (removing bay leaves, allspice and cloves as you do this) spreading it out evenly to edges.
Brush lip of pastry around pie dish with beaten egg.
Put pastry lid on and press edges all round pie dish. Decorate with fork to create ‘crust edge’.
Brush all over with beaten egg. Make a small sliced opening in middle of pie before putting in oven – this lets steam escape as it cooks.
Transfer to oven and cook for 15 minutes. Rotate pie around and cook for a further 15 minutes or until top is lightly browned.
Allow to cool for 15 minutes, after cooking and before serving – this way the pastry sets and makes it easier to serve or flip on to a plate.
Alternatively, cut the pastry in square, drop a spoonful of filling on one half fold the other half over to make a triangle.
Or using a round cooking cutter, press out circles big enough to line a muffin tin (the holes) drop spoonfuls of filling in the centre and close with another pastry circle. Brush with beaten egg and bake as above.
Cook’s Tip:
Instead of adding plain water during the cooking process, dissolve 1 cube beef stock in half litre water and use that as needed.
You can find my pastry recipe here⤵️
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Chocolate Pancakes / Crepes
Salwaa’s Chocolate Pancakes / Crepes
Salwaa Smith – Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
Here is a delightful refreshing pancake recipe with a twist. Wow your family with this chocolate pancake, fill it with chocolate instant pudding, chocolate mousse, fresh fruit, fresh cream or a combination of everything. Indulge!
Ingredients:
2 cups cake/plain flour, sifted
Pinch of salt
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
2 extra large eggs
1 ½ cup milk
½ – ¾ cup water, depending how thin you want the batter
100g butter, melted
Method:
Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it.
Next gradually add small quantities of the milk and water, still whisking (don’t worry about any lumps as they will eventually disappear as you whisk).
When all the liquid has been added, use a rubber spatula to scrape any bits of flour from around the edge into the centre, then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream. Now melt the 100g of butter in a pan. Spoon halve of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it to grease the pan, using a piece of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake.
Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium and, to start with, do a test pancake to see if you’re using the correct amount of batter. I find 2 tbsp is about right for an 18cm pan. It’s also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook. Flip the pancake over with a palette knife – the other side will need a few seconds only – then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate. Keep warm and continue until all the batter has been used. Makes about 20 pancakes.
© Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights
Ramadan Kareem!
Ramadan Kareem from my kitchen to yours
Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights – keeping our heritage alive
Ramadan – a brief explanation
Ramadan is the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, a religious annual observance and month of fasting that is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The time spent fasting is meant to be used for prayer, charity, spirituality, and for purifying the mind and body. The beginning and end of the month of Ramadan is determined by the sighting of the new moon. Muslims fast from before sunrise to sunset.
Dates & Mint Tea
Does Ramadan always start on the same day?
No. Because Ramadan is a lunar month, it begins about 10 days earlier each year. During a Muslim’s life, Ramadan will fall during winter months, when the days are short, and summer months, when the days are long.
Why is the month so significant?
Principally because it is the month that Allah revealed the Quran to the last Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Who is exempt from fasting?
Those who are not required to fast during Ramadan are young children, (those who did not reach puberty) the sick or those with mental illnesses, travellers, the elderly and women who are menstruating, pregnant, breast-feeding or have recently had a baby.
The month of Ramadan contains the most blessed of nights – known as Laylatul Qadr – about which Allah, subhana wa t’ala, says:
‘What will make you realize what the Night of Power is like?
The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.
Angels and the Spirit descend upon it with their Lord´s permission with every command;
There is peace that night until the coming of dawn.
(Quran: 97:1-5)
Traditions
Muslims break their at sunset with dates or water. Traditionally we, the Cape Malays, will have a starter consisting of soup, samosas, dhaltjies, fritters. More often than not after prayers we will have a main meal. During Ramadan plates of food are shared with neighbours. Little children can often be seen carrying plates of food to neighbours, etc… The best charity, the best Zakah, the best Sadaqah is in Ramadan. Feeding the poor and needy fasting people is highly recommended in Ramadan. The Prophet (pbuh) said, ‘Whoever feeds a fasting person, will get a reward like him.’ (Ahmad) He also said, ‘Protect yourself from the fire even by giving half of a date.’ (Agreed upon)
The benefits of Dates
The Prophet (pbuh) used to break his fasts by eating some dates before offering Maghrib prayer. Modern science has proved that dates are part of a healthy diet. They contain sugar, fat and proteins, as well as important vitamins. Dates are also rich in natural fibres. They contain oil, calcium, sulphur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper and magnesium. Dates and palms have been mentioned in the Holy Quran 20 times, thus showing their importance. The prophet likened a good Muslim to the date palm saying, “Among trees, there is a tree like a Muslim. It’s leaves do not fall.”
The Five Pillars of Islam include Sawm: Fasting during Ramadan, Hajj: a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life, Zakat: giving to the poor, Salah: five-time daily prayer, facing Mecca, including absolution prior to prayer, Shahada: declaration of belief in one true God.
May you have a blessed spiritual uplifting month, ameen
Here’s the link to some of my favourite Ramadan treats.
CINNAMON RING DOUGHNUTS
Ring Doughnuts
Makes +/- 30
Ingredients:
500g selfraising flour
3 eggs
¾ cup sugar
70g butter/margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 – 1½ cups buttermilk
Oil for frying
7cm and 3cm round cutters
For the coating:
1 level teaspoon ground cinnamon
125g caster sugar
Method:
Cream together the eggs, sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl. Add vanilla essence.
Add the flour and baking powder. Make a slight dent in the middle of the flour.
Add the buttermilk.
Mix together into a smooth ball and then turn out on to a floured work surface.
Roll the dough out to a thickness of just over 1cm. Flour the cutters and use the larger one to cut out rounds of dough, then cut out the centres using the smaller cutter. (Or you can buy a ring doughnut cutter from your local spice shop)
Re-roll the trimmings to make more doughnuts.
Put the doughnuts to one side and make the coating.
Mix the cinnamon into the sugar in a small bowl.
Now fry the doughnut. Place the rings carefully into the hot oil and fry for 3-4 minutes, until golden on the bottom, then turn them over and fry for a further 2-3 minutes, until they are an even golden colour and cooked through.
Lift on to kitchen paper to drain briefly and, while they’re still hot, toss them in the cinnamon sugar until evenly coated. Shake off any excess and place on a wire rack to cool. (Not suitable for freezing).
Cook’s tip
GLAZE
1 cup of icing sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla essence or a drop of food colouring
Whisk in enough boiling water to make a thin glaze, drizzle over donuts.
Cover with sprinkles.
Kids love these different coloured doughnuts!!
Or
Spread the doughnuts with chocolate spread
Ring Doughnuts
Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights - Salwaa Smith 
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