3 Iconic South African Recipes You Have To Try! [Recipe]
If there’s one food that is synonymous with South Africa it’s slap chips. We slather it in salt and vinegar and pair it with fish, we douse it in tomato sauce and chow it on Portuguese rolls, and we even stuff it into emptied out loaves of bread. South Africa just wouldn’t be the same without the good old slap chip! Which is why we were beyond thrilled that McCain paired up with local muso and foodie, J’Something of Mi Casa fame to bring us his take on 3 iconic South African recipes using the humble slap chip. Here are 3 iconic South African recipes you have to try, straight from J’Something’s recipe book!
J’Something has put his twist on the iconic South African Kota, Bunny Chow and Gatsby using McCain Slap Chips, coming up with locally inspired dishes that are quick and easy to prepare. “When we started conceptualising the dishes we wanted to make sure that we kept the integrity of the original Kota, Bunny Chow and Gatsby recipes but still add a little spice to them and we did just that” says J’Something. The recipes have little tweaks, like using a special atchar we found for the Kota, adding chips into the Bunny Chow and adding some masala and spice to the Gatsby.”
1. Slap Chips and Spicy Mince Bunny Chow
COOKING TIME: 35-40 MINUTES
Ingredients
1 medium size onion chopped
2 small cardamom pods
1 tsp Cumin seeds
3 Garlic cloves
2cm Ginger
1 tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Coriander powder,
1 tsp Cumin powder
1 tbsp Chilli powder
1 tbsp Garam Masala
300g of Mince beef
1 cup of Tomato Puree
½ cup McCain Frozen Peas
½ cup McCain Frozen Diced Carrots
2 cups McCain Frozen Slap Chips (directly from the packet)
½ Green Chilli chopped
Coriander for garnish
1 loaf Fresh White Bread
Method:
Slit Cardamom seeds with a knife or crush with a glass bottle. Fry the cumin seeds, cardamom pods and chopped onions with 3 tbsp of oil on medium heat.
Cook Onions until golden brown. Crush garlic and ginger to make a paste. (You can also use 2 tsps of ginger and garlic paste from the jar). Mix Turmeric, Coriander Powder, Cumin Powder, and Chilli Powder & Garam Masala with 2 tbsp of water to make a paste. Add the ginger garlic paste to paste.
Add the above mixture to the onion mixture and fry till aromatic, over low heat. Add remaining ingredients (mince beef, tomato puree, green chilli, McCain frozen peas & carrots) into the spice mixture, stir mixture until well combined. Allow the ingredients to simmer on low heat.
Add the McCain’s slap chips and half a cup of water to the mince mixtures. Season with salt and chilli to taste, and allow the curry to simmer for a further 10 mins.
Cut loaf of bread in half and place it on a plate crust side down. Hollow out the bread and keep the inside.
Scoop mixture into the bread shell and top with a few more McCain Slap Chips and serve.
2. The McCain Slap Chips and Masala Steak Gatsby
COOKING TIME: 30 MINUTES
Ingredients:
500g Tenderized Steak (cut in half lengthways)
1 Large Onion thinly sliced
1 Tomato, grated (mixed with a teaspoon of brown sugar and a spoon of brown onion soup)
1 tbsp of oil
2 tsp Ginger and Garlic paste
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cumin, ground
1 tsp Coriander, ground
2 tsp Curry powder
1 tsp crushed Chilli flakes
1 large soft baguette
McCain’s Slap chips (cooked as per packet instructions)
Handful of shredded lettuce
Sliced tomato and cucumber
Cheddar cheese, grated (optional)
For the sauce:
Equal parts mayonnaise, tomato sauce and sweet chilli sauce. Mix well and set aside.
Method:
Cut Steak lengthways. Combine all the spices and rub into the meat.
Heat tbsp oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and fry until golden brown.
Add the meat and cook with the lid on over medium heat for about 8 minutes.
Pour the tomato mixture over the meat and season. Cook until meat is tender and the sauce is thick.
Cut the baguette lengthwise. Spread some of your sauce on both sides of the baguette.
Add a layer of lettuce and tomato then pack the soft chips on top of that.
Add steak to the baguette and then add more sauce and cheese.
Close the sandwich and enjoy!
3. The McCain Slap Chips Kota
COOKING TIME: 30 MINS
Ingredients:
1 loaf of bread, halved and quartered length ways
1 tablespoon of atchar
Chip spice
1 teaspoon of paprika
2 cups of McCain’s Slap chips (cooked as per packet instructions)
Pink Sauce
1 slice of processed sliced cheese
1 slice of sliced ham
1 Russian sliced down the middle length ways
Method:
Using a knife, hollow out the quartered bread. Spoon and spread the atchar on the base of the loaf like you would butter.
Place your seasoned hot McCain Slap Chips and squeeze over the pink sauce.
Place sliced cheese and ham on top of chips.
Add another layer of seasoned chips, place the Russian and then finish off with the last layer of chips.
Add more sauce if desired, and use the hollowed out bread as a lid.