Chakalaka – South African Vegetable Stew

Summary

Ingredients

• 3 large carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3 medium peppers, green, in bite-sized pieces
• 3 large onions, roughly diced
• sunflower oil or coconut oil
• 2 cans baked beans in tomato sauce
• 3 teaspoons curry powder, mild
• 2 teaspoons curry powder, red, hot, or some chili powder
• salt and pepper
• Vegetable broth, instant

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Instructions

1. Cover the bottom of a large pot with about 1 cm of fat. The vegetable information is only a guideline! Onions, peppers and carrots should be about equal parts. Put the cut vegetables in the hot fat. Shift down a bit so it doesn`t burn. Let the whole thing cook for about 20 minutes and stir regularly. The vegetables should be done. Add the beans with the sauce and season. Heat together for another 10 minutes and stir again and again. Season as you like, the dish can be a bit spicy.
2. A salty, firm semolina, rice or potatoes goes well with it.
3. Tastes best all through, so a pleasure the next day too.
4. About history:
5. I was in Lulekani near Phalaborwa, a city in the Limpopo province in northeastern South Africa, for 3 months. There I learned to cook this and other dishes. Traditionally it is eaten there with maize porridge. But it doesn`t have much to do with the polenta we know. It is made from white cornmeal and water. The pulp is called cardboard and is quite firm. It is shaped by hand and the vegetables are spooned with it. We still like to eat it by hand today.