This week on our Afro Cuisine recipe is Chakalaka. It is another #TastyThursday and we want you to savor a taste of Africa. You can search for the ingredients in African stores around you; or better still take a trip to Africa and give your tastebuds a treat.
If you’ve never heard of Chakalaka before you might think it’s a Mexican dish by the name. Nope. It is a South African dish.
Although its exact origins are unknown, some believe it originated from mineworkers in Johannesburg who added tomatoes, beans, chilli and anything else they had into a pot to create a vegetable dish. However it originated, it is now a staple of South African cuisine and is served just about everywhere in South Africa, especially at braais(cookouts/barbecues).
3 tablespoons oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 green bird’s-eye chiles (Thai chiles), seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
50 grams (2 ounces) ginger, finely grated
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
5 large carrots, scrubbed, topped, tailed and grated
400 grams (14 ounces) canned chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
400 grams (14 ounces) canned baked beans
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onions until soft and translucent. Add the chiles, garlic and half of the ginger (reserve the other half to add right at the end). Add the curry powder and stir to combine. Add the bell peppers and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the carrots and stir to make sure they are well combined with the other ingredients and coated in the curry powder. Add in the tomatoes and tomato paste and stir. Cook until the mixture is well combined and slightly thickened, 5 to 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and add the baked beans, thyme and remaining ginger and stir to combine; season with salt and pepper. Serve hot or cold.
