POTJIEKOS RECIPES

Cast iron pot cooking

Waldo Kuhn
6/5/2020

Images: Shutterstock Images

 INTRODUCTION
Recipes made using a cast iron pot with lid over coals. Traditionally a slow cooking layered stew. The
layers that take longest to cook, usually the meat and vegetables like sweet potato and potato, are
placed at the bottom. Faster-cooking ingredients like spinach and mushrooms are layered on top of
those. The steam from the lower layers cooks the layers above them; while the juices from the latter
run down to the lower levels, creating a percolating effect. Some potjiekos-cooks consider it sacrilege
to mix up the layers.

Potjie (Afrikaans) = literally: Little pot

Kos = Food

A common potjie uses oxtail as meat. The meat gets marinated overnight in a marinade typically
made with soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce with Coca Cola or sweet fortified wine, and additions
like vinegar, bay leafs, crushed garlic cloves, sliced up hot chillies, ground black pepper and other
spices. The meat is then stewed with potatoes and/or sweet potatoes, onion and lots of other
vegetables, like baby marrows, cruciferous vegetables, carrots, and so on. Beef stock and wine, or
beer, are added in. It is served on a bed of rice.

2
 BULLY BEEF POT

INGREDIENTS: 3 medium potatoes

2 medium onions
Packet of flavoured rice (like Tastic Spicy Spanish 200 g) or brown rice
1 tin of chilly-flavoured corned beef
1 cup raisin juice (sweet fortified sultana- or Muscat-type amber wine)
(Or, use half a cup of seedless raisins instead. Add them with the rice.)
Some ears of sweet corn
About 250 ml-350 ml water

METHOD: Ideally made in a cast iron pot over low-medium coals. Pour about 100 ml vegetable oil
into the pot. Peel the potatoes and onions and cut up into the pot. Add the flavoured rice and then
the corned beef (cut-up into fine pieces or mashed with a potato masher.) Add the water. Place the
ears of corn on top and place the lid on. Put the pot on the coals. Keep an eye that it does not run
dry. After about an hour, give a stir with a sturdy spoon. When the potatoes are soft, add the wine.
Let it reduce until almost dry. (It should not end up sloppy; but not burnt either.) Remove from the
coals. It serves two people. I have also made the recipe with only potatoes, onions and plain corned
beef, and added a mix of a tablespoon of brown sugar plus a teaspoon each of paprika and cayenne
pepper.

Clean the pot. Let it dry; then use a paper towel to smear the inside with a bit of vegetable oil,
supposedly to prevent rust. Put the lid back on and put away.

3
 BUNNY CHOW POT

Background: A bunny chow is a half or quarter white bread, with the core removed and filled with a
mutton curry. The bread core is then placed on top. It originated with Indian immigrants to South
Africa. Inspiration for this recipe was from the YouTube channel Unilever Food Solutions.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6o46yXxObw . I have modified the recipe somewhat. This
is not a “potjie” in the traditional sense, because curry-ingredients are supposed to all get mixed
together. It is ideal for a Dutch oven pot.

Ingredients: 1.2 kg mutton pieces

2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon crushed black pepper
100 ml Vegetable oil
50-100 ml fortified wine (optional) and 250 ml water
2-3 bay leaves
1-2 sticks of cinnamon
2 teaspoons roasted cumin seeds (jeera)
2 teaspoons garlic (crushed)
1-2 teaspoons ginger (freshly grated)
Half teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon dried coriander powder
1 teaspoon curry powder (medium)
1 teaspoon curry paste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Quarter cup of fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)
1 tablespoon of fine apricot jam
2 medium onions (chopped)
4 potatoes (peeled and cut into quarters)
100 ml lime juice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
200 ml coconut milk
1-2 cups frozen peas

Method: Put the pot on coals and put the oil in. Put the salted meat into the hot oil to sear for about
2 minutes. Turn it so that all sides get browned. Remove the meat and place in dish. Remove some of
the coals under the pot to create medium heat. Into the oil, add the bay leaves, cinnamon, jeera,
garlic and onions and give a brief stir. Do not allow the garlic to burn. Put the meat in together with
the potatoes and pepper. Mix everything around. Add 250 ml boiling water and 100 ml sweet
fortified wine. Add the rest of the spices. Also add the tomato paste, curry paste, cilantro leaves, lime
juice and apricot jam. Give everything a mix. Add the peas. Slow cook until the potatoes are soft. Add
the coconut milk in. The end product should be quite reduced, because it has to go into the bread
baskets.

4
 VEGETABLE-STEAMED SALMON (DUTCH OVEN SLOW-COOKING RECIPE)

Background: Healthy cooking. Teriyaki-salmon steamed on a bed of vegetables.

Ingredients: 100 ml olive oil

Homemade teriyaki sauce: 50 ml soy sauce, 2-3 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce or
1-2 teaspoons of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon freshly grated
ginger, 2-3 teaspoons of lime juice, 2 tablespoons (6 teaspoons) of honey, 30 ml sake or
semi-sweet (medium cream) sherry.
400 grams raw salmon filets – marinated for 15 minutes in the teriyaki sauce.
Half a teaspoon of crushed black pepper
Vegetables: 5-10 baby potatoes, half a cup of diced green onion, quarter cup of broccoli
pieces, a cup of julienned carrots (grated lengthwise into strips) and 1 medium bell
pepper sliced. Add a teaspoon of salt.
1 cup of brown rice – pre-boiled for 10 minutes
100 ml water or vegetable or chicken stock

Method: In this recipe there should be more coals around the cast iron pot, as well as placed on top
of the lid, than there are underneath the pot. This is to prevent burning of the vegetables. The dish
can also be made in a ceramic Dutch-oven pot in the oven. Oil the base with olive oil. Put the
potatoes fist (halved), followed by the rice, and the other vegetables on top. Add in a small amount
of water (100 ml). Place the marinated salmon fillets on top and cover them thoroughly with the
remaining teriyaki sauce. Place the diced green onions on top. Cook for an hour.

5
 LOW-GI BLEEDING HEART VEGAN POTJIE

Background: Vegan stew. The profile is that of naturally sweet vegetables and roughage to
complement soy mince. Ingredient amounts are, as always, approximate.

Ingredients: 200g-packet of chilli-flavour soy mince

2-3 large sweet potatoes or 2 sweet potatoes and a parsnip
2-3 medium-sized red beets
1 bell pepper
200 g frozen peas
200g chopped mushrooms
1 cup of brown rice
1 cup of brown lentils
1 tin of cream-style sweetcorn
1 teaspoon of instant coffee powder
1 teaspoon paprika
(1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper if using a flavour other than chilli-soy mince)
2 teaspoons brown sugar or 2 bananas sliced (add when adding the soy mince)
1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper
2 medium-sized cloves of garlic, crushed
1 small packet of constituted minestrone soup, brown onion soup or vegetable stock
1 small packet of instant mash
3 tablespoons soy sauce

Method: Peel the sweet potatoes and put into the pot in large chunks. Cut the beets (smaller
chunks) and bell pepper into the pot. Add the rice and lentils. Add the mushrooms. Add the spices.
Add water to cover. Place over coals. After it has simmered for 15 minutes, add the frozen peas. Let it
cook over hot coals for about an hour. Reduce the coals under the pot. Mix and constitute the
packets of soy mince, instant mash and soup / vegetable stock with water; let stand 2-3 minutes to
thicken to a thin paste. Add the soy sauce. Stir slowly into the upper layers of peas and rice. Stir for 5-
10 minutes. Add in the cream-style corn and mix into the soy. Serve with whole-wheat bread.

6
 WATERBLOMMETJIE STEW POTJIE

Background: Waterblommetjie: Lit. transl.: water-floret. It is commonly known as Cape pondweed in

English. The scientific name of this small waterlily is Aponogeton distachyos. They flower during the
wet Cape winters in South Africa. The flowers in the bulb stage are harvested and sold in stores
locally. They are also available canned.

Ingredients: 1.2 kilogram stewing mutton

700 g fresh flower buds
4-5 large potatoes
2 large onions
Spices: 3 teaspoons of coarse salt, 3 teaspoons of ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons of
crushed garlic, half teaspoon cayenne pepper, half teaspoon of dried coriander.
1 cup of white wine
2 cups beef- or vegetable stock
100 ml olive oil

Another local wildflower called surings in Afrikaans (Cape sorrel or sour-grass) can also be added.
Scientific name: Oxalis pes-caprae. The longish stems of the small yellow flowers are high in oxalic
acid, giving it a zesty sour taste. A small bushel of about 8-10 flowers can be added (or 3 teaspoons
of lime juice instead.)

Method: If you are using fresh bulbs of waterblommetjies, they must be soaked in brine for 10
minutes to get rid of waterborne organisms like small snails or worms. Then rinse with running water.

Start by placing oil in the pot over hot coals. Season the cubed meat with salt and pepper, garlic and
the rest of the spices, and place in the pot together with the peeled cut-up potatoes and onions. Add
the white wine and stock. Put the flower buds in and the sour-grass on top. Put the lid on and slow-
cook for 2 hours over medium coals. The leafy bulbs are quite tough, but if canned
waterblommetjies are used, add them a bit later so they don’t overcook.
Serve with rice, accompanied with sweet mashed pumpkin spiced with cinnamon.

CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13772

7
8