Breakfast is mos the most important meal of the day.
For me, that means ’n bietjie pap, ’n stukkie toast en ’n koppie koffie.
However, this week’s Cooksister breakfast is a lot fancier, people.
We are going to show you how to set the table for a lekker labarang brekfi s, usually had after the Eid prayers.
Author Fatima Sydow shares some of her favourites from her book The Journey of Cape Malay Cooking with Fatima Sydow.
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the end of the holy month of Ramadaan than with a hearty breakfast with family and friends.
It’s the one morning you swap the pap, toast en koffie for a stukkie sout vleis, tong and a soet dingetjie.
Fatima says there is no specific rule when it comes to setting the perfect breakfast table.
“It all comes down to what you can afford and what is tradition in your family,” she says.
“But because it’s a special day, a celebration, so you tend to go the extra mile.
“It’s something to look forward to. While the men are at mosque, the women will prepare the food and set the table.
“When the men come home, only then do we wish people and start the Eid celebrations,” she says.
Fatima usually cooks food for an army.
“When we cook we don’t just cook for the family, we cook for everyone,” she says.
‘We love to send barakat to our Christian neighbours so they can also be part of our celebration,” she adds.
But just because there’s enough lekker kos for Africa, that doesn’t mean you must eat like a giemba.
Hou vir jou in, die dag is nog lank, she advises.
“For breakfast, I like to keep it simple and balanced,” says Fatima.
“I don’t make a lot of starch; instead I add lots of greens and salads.
“I also don’t serve cool drink in the morning; I serve flavoured water so that you don’t feel bloated throughout the day.”
And there’s no shame in carrying over the breakfast to lunch. I mean ma, die maand is nog lank.
“You don’t have to set a whole new table for lunch,” says Fatima.
“Save yourself some money by simply adding more things to the table for lunch.
“Adding fruit is a great way to decorate your table, add some greens to the plate to make it look nice.
“You can also buy some oranges, cut them in half and put it on the table.
“Or buy a bag of naartjies and scatter around the table to add colour.”
Lekker labarang
Labarang mince pie
Ingredients
- 2 packets of ready-made puff pastry
- 1 egg whisked for egg wash
- For the Mince filling
- 1kg steak mince, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 onion finely chopped, 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper, 4 cloves, ½ cup sago soaked in water, 3 boiled eggs, peeled
Method
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
- Add the onions, cloves and salt and fry until golden brown.
- Add mince, black pepper and garlic and braise. Add a cup of hot water and cook a few minutes.
- Next add the sago and a cup of hot water and cook on a medium heat for 30 minutes or until the water is cooked away.
- Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool completely. Place in fridge to chill.
- Roll out puff pastry on floured surface and transfer to greased baking tray. Pour in the mince filling and grate a boiled egg over it. |Gently put a pastry top on filling and seal edges well.
- Cut a few slits in the centre of the pastry top to allow steam to escape, and then egg wash.
- Bake at 200 degrees for 25 minutes.
Jam and coconut tart
Ingredients
- Two packets of ready-made puff pastry
- 1 whisked egg
Filling
- 2 cups desiccated coconut
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup water
- 3 cardomom pods
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
- 1 cup smooth jam
Method
- To make the filling, place all the ingredients except the vanilla essence in a pot on a medium heat and cook until the coconut is sticky and dry.
- Add vanilla essence and remove the cardamom and cinnamon sticks and give a good stir. Allow to cool completely. Pre-heat oven to 220 degrees.
- On a floured surface, roll out the pastry and cut to the size of the backing dish. Ease dough into a pie dish. Fill half the dish with the coconut mixture and fill the other half with jam. Line the top with 1cm strips of pastry that’s been twirled.
- Egg wash the pastry. Bake until golden brown and the pastry is cooked through. Remove from oven and leave to cool. Spoon the remaining jam on top of the baked jam side of the tart.
Bollas
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp castor sugar
- 2 eggs
- 5 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp of vanilla essence
- 2 and 3/4 cups cake flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 300ml buttermilk
Syrup
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups sugar
- Desiccated coconut to dust.
Method
- In a large bowl, beat the sugar and eggs with a hand whisk until creamy.
- Add the oil and vanilla essence and whisk until fluffy.
- Sift in dry ingredients and add the buttermilk and mix until well combined. Don’t over-mix.
- Cover the bowl of batter with cling wrap or a tea towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
- Once ready, use a tablespoon to scoop the batter and shape into a round ball.
- Deep fry in a deep saucepan on medium heat.
- Fry until golden brown on each side.
- Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel.
- In a separate pot, boil your water with sugar for 15 minutes to make a syrup.
- Dunk the bollas into the warm syrup just once and remove with a slotted spoon.
- Sprinkle with desiccated coconut and serve.
- If your batter is too runny, simply add 2-3 tbsp of flour.
Soutvleis and Ox tongue
Simply boil on a simmering medium heat with water, just about covering the meat.
Add a bay leaf, a few peppercorns and one clove.
Boil for an hour and 30 minutes.
If it’s a bigger size meat, boil on medium heat for two hours.
Remove and cover with foil and allow meat to rest for 30 minutes.
Slice and serve on freshly-baked rolls spread with butter.
For Tongue, use the exact same method as the Soutvleis, just add one hour cooking time.
When slightly cooled but still warm, remove the tough outer skin.
It will peel away and that is also how you know the meat is cooked just right.
After slicing and placing the meat in a serving bowl, pour over just a little of the cooking juices to keep it moist and juicy.