Chakalaka – South African vegetable stew

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 3 large carrots
• 3 m.-large bell pepper(s), green
• 3 large onions
• e.g. sunflower oil or coconut oil
• 2 can/n baked beans in tomato sauce
• 3 tsp curry powder, mild
• 2 tsp curry powder, red, hot, or some chili powder
• salt and pepper
• Vegetable stock powder

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Rest time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 5 minutes

vegan, with curry and beans

The vegetable quantities are only guidelines; onions, peppers, and carrots should be roughly equal. Cut the carrots and peppers into bite-sized pieces. Roughly dice the onions. Cover the bottom of a large pot with about 1 cm of fat. Add the chopped vegetables to the hot fat. Reduce the heat slightly so they don’t burn. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring frequently. The vegetables should be cooked through. Add the beans and tomato sauce and season. Heat together for about another 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Season to taste; the dish can be a bit spicy. Serve with salty, thick semolina porridge, rice, or potatoes. Tip: Tastes best when cooked through, so it’s also delicious the next day. A little background: I spent three months in Lulekani near Phalaborwa, a town in the Limpopo province in northeastern South Africa. That’s where I learned to cook this and other dishes. Traditionally, it’s eaten with maize porridge. But it doesn’t have much in common with the polenta we know today. It’s made from white corn flour and water. The mash is called “papp” and is quite thick. It’s shaped in the hand, and the vegetables are then scooped into it. We still like to eat it by hand today.