Geelrys - South African Yellow Rice

I have grown up familiar with the varieties of rice -both South Indian and North Indian style. The colour yellow is something I always associate with Pongal or tangy lemon rice spiced to perfection. So I was surprised to see a South African Yellow rice with raisins and spiced with my favourite "Cinnamon". It is usually served as a side dish to chicken pie or other meat dishes -may be as a little sweet accompaniment!.This is similar to or equivalent to the pilaf/ Indian pulao which also has spices and optionally cashews and raisins as well. I tried it from here but made sure it was less sweet as I prefer savoury rices.

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice/ Any long grain rice :  1/2 cup
Raisins : 3-4 tbsp
Cinnamon: 1 big stick
Turmeric: a pinch
 Salt: as per taste
Butter: 1-2 tbsp

Optional:
Pepper: as per taste

OR 

Cinnamon Sugar: as per taste

Preparation:

Bring water to boil in a deep pan on stovetop. Add in the other ingredients and return to boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook till done.

If there is more water, drain it out and fluff the rice with a fork. Top with more butter and add pepper (to make it spicy) or cinnamon sugar for a sweeter side/dessert. 

I preferred it spicy with pepper and also reduce around 1 tbsp of raisins as I did not want their sweetness in the rice.The black raisins are a nice contrast to the yellowness of the rice and also impart their colour to the surrounding rice grains as well.

I had this with a spicy gravy like chakalaka. You can also go for raitha or spiced yogurt for relishing this comforting rice.

Shakalaka - Its Chakalaka !

Chakalaka is a South African spicy vegetarian gravy made with onion,tomatos,peppers and beans. It can be a side dish or a sauce or whatever way you like it. For me it is a side dish to be served with rice/breads and also as a soup in itself. You can have a chakalaka whatever way you like. I have adapted the recipe from here.

Ingredients:
Red Kidney Beans: 1/2 cup  presoaked and cooked

Onion: 1 almost big: chopped finely
Green Bell Pepper: 1 medium size chopped into bite sized pieces
Garlic: 1-2 cloves minced
Fresh Hot Chillies: 1 -2 small chopped /slit lengthwise

Curry Powder: as per taste
Tomato: 1 chopped into cubes
Tomato Paste: 1-2 tbsp

Salt and pepper: as per taste

Preparation:
Cook the beans and keep aside. You can use canned beans or even baked beans in tomato sauce, in which case avoid the tomato and paste.

Heat oil in a deep pan. Add in onion,garlic,fresh chilli  and bell pepper cubes. Cook till the onions are transparent and the raw smell of the peppers disappear stirring occasionally to prevent burning for a few minutes.

Add in the curry powder,saute till the raw smell goes -just about another minute and then add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and little salt and pepper. Mix well and cook till the tomatoes turn pulpy and then add the cooked beans along with the water in which it was cooked. Adjust the salt and pepper and cook for another 15-20 on simmer till the flavours blend and the required thickness is reached.

Serve warm with rice/rotis or enjoy as a soup with optional accompaniments.

A simple comforting soup or a hearty side stew. Normally it is served as accompaniment to meilie pap (rice porridge). I loved the stew I had made and found it similar to the several chilis or tomatoey stews I had made earlier.

Herbed Vetkoek

Vetkoek is a fried pastry from South Africa made from flour,yeast and salt.Literally meaning 'fat cake' the koek or cake indicates that the dish can be taken as a dessert or meal.The snack can be made savoury or sweeter depending on how you want.Typically the bread dough is shaped into balls and deep fried.Then it is split open and stuffed with savoury or sweet fillings.

There are traditionally two versions for this.One version has dough made with baking powder and flour and mixed to a thick batter which is then dropped spoonfuls into hot oil.The other version has a yeast based dough cut into shapes or preferably round balls and deep fried.I followed the basic recipe from this site,but made it herbed and here's my version.

Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour: 1and 1/4 cup + more for dusting
Salt: 1/2 tsp
Sugar: 1/2 tsp
Instant Yeast: 1/2 tsp
Herbs/ Seasoning of choice: 1/2 tsp + (I used pizza seasoning)

Oil: 1/2 tsp -1.5 tsp
Luke warm Water: 1/2 cup

Oil:for Deep frying


Preparation:

In a big bowl,mix all the dry items of flour,salt,sugar,yeast and herbs. Add in water and oil to this and knead to form a dough.I added only 1/2 tsp of oil though 1.5 tsp were required.I did not find any difference.or maybe I do not know.

When the dough or the sticky mass leaves the sides of the bowl,put the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead until a firm,elastic and non sticky dough is formed.It takes around 5-10 minutes.

Rest the dough in a lightly greased bowl covered with a wrap until it doubles in volume around 20 minutes to 1 hour.May be its the peak temperatures,mine doubled within 20 minutes.

Once doubled put it on a lightly floured surface and deflate it and then with your hands flatten it into 1 inch thick circle.Using an appropriate cookie cutter cut out shapes from the dough.I used even a star cookie cutter.Let the pieces rest for few minutes.

Meanwhile,heat oil for deep frying.Make sure the oil is medium hot else the insides may not be cooked.

Deep fry the dough pieces in hot oil few ones at a time till golden brown.While frying,turn over to both sides and ensure both sides are golden brown.When we drop the dough in oil,the vetkoek puffs up and as it gets cooked,it floats on the oil and turns brown.This takes just minutes.Drain the vetkoek on paper towels or on cooling racks which makes it extra crispy.

Serve the vetkoek as an anytime snack with your choice of dip or curry.Otherwise,you can split it in half and sandwich it with your choice of stuffing -sweet as well as savoury.The fatcake has crispy exterior and soft chewy interior.When you split open the vetkoek,if the insides look doughy or uncooked,it could be because of the oil temperature.So make sure the insides are thoroughly cooked and it should resemble that of a normal baked bread slice.

Since I prefered snack cakes,I served it as such and also with cheese spread.

I think the vetkoek are perfect snack for soccer parties either as starters or anytime snack.So these SouthAfrican snack cakes are going all the way to the Fifa Cup in SA through Meeta's Monthly Mingle where the theme is South African Food.