My Cape Malay Kitchen
Cariema Isaacs
(Struik Lifestyle)
Cape Town - The Bo-Kaap is known for its colourful houses and cobbled, narrow streets.
Situated on the slopes of Signal Hill, it has one of the most breathtaking views of the city and Table Mountain.
As a little girl living in Bo-Kaap, Cariema Isaacs would sit on a bench outside her home, admiring this view. Her grandmother, Raghmah Hartley, would be seated next to her, preparing their next meal.
Her granny would peel the potatoes, while she, too young to handle a sharp object, would wash them in a bowl of water. On other occasions, she would perform her favourite task - opening pea pods by hand.
Her father, Moegamad Rashaad Isaacs, was always in the background, overseeing the process.
Isaacs says her grandmother was an exceptional cook and taught her everything she knows, including how to use ingredients such as spices.
“My grandmother never cooked a bad meal in her life. She cooked really well and all her ingredients were bought fresh. Freezing a large quantity of meat was not popular in those days.
“We had a butchery just down the road where I used to buy the meat, and within half an hour we would have a meal on the table,” says Isaacs.
“When I was in the kitchen cooking with her, my dad would always come in to keep a watchful eye on me.
“She taught me all the basics of starting any dish, such as how to braise onions and meat.
“She always had a lot of spices in the kitchen and my dad taught me to how to mix different spices and which spices go with certain dishes. He loved spicy food and that really formed part of what I loved when I started cooking curries, the more spicer versions.
“While my grandmother taught me how to cook, my father taught me why we cook. My dad's family saw food as a means of keeping the family together. For them it was always about love,” she says.
“Cooking was also respected, and whoever cooked the food was respected, acknowledged and recognised. When we sat down at the table for a meal, there wouldn't be any TV playing. Everything would be done quietly because when we sat down it was really a celebration of food.
“Most importantly, I grew up with a sense of God being connected to food, because everything comes from a higher source.
“My dad was really big on making sure that there was an appreciation and gratitude to our Creator for placing food on the table.
“We never had sandwiches for lunch, it was always cooked food... and whoever passed by would always be welcomed,” says Isaacs.
Now Isaacs has written a book, titled Cooking For My Father In My Cape Malay Kitchen, dedicated to her father who died in 2013. She says his dying wish was that one day she would write a book sharing the family's stories and recipes with the world.
I spoke to Isaacs, who is based in Dubai, during her short visit to Cape Town to launch her book in the Bo-Kaap.
“I decided to write the book soon after my dad passed on. About two weeks before his passing, I cooked him a meal and he said it was the best meal I had ever cooked and that I was now a better cook than before. He said to me, we have so many family recipes you should write a book'.”
“After his passing, I really struggled for months. As spiritual as I am, I was left with this intense emptiness and a big ache in my heart. I thought of writing a book even if it wasn't published. I wanted to just write a manuscript to document his life with me and my life with him. Something that I could keep for myself, that I could share with my kids because they had such a short time with him while I had 43 years with him,” she says.
“He had this huge personality and I wanted those who knew him to remember him because he was an exceptional man, so kind-hearted... That is why I wrote the book, I am extremely proud of him.”
My Cape Malay Kitchen is about flavourful food, richly spiced curries, indulgent cakes and decadent desserts. Isaacs's approach to food showcases many of the Cape Malay traditional recipes, as well as a selection of modern dishes. It is ideal for anyone who needs a little inspiration in the kitchen.
She explains: “ All the recipes in the book are recipes that he loved. You will find one or two very traditional Cape Malay dishes that are not in the book. It's not because we didn't eat them, I really wanted to capture the recipes that had great significance to me,” she says.
Isaacs describes Cape Malay food as a fusion between Malaysian, Japanese and Indonesian food, with a hint of Indian spices. For me, the book cover depicts what Cape Malay food is all about - bright, vibrant, flavourful and spicy, but not so spicy it will blow the top of your head off.
“That is what I love about it, but most importantly, it's home food,” says Isaacs.
“Maybe I feel a sense of comfort because I grew up with it.
“If you are living outside Cape Town, like I am, the only way to recreate those kinds of memories on foreign soil is to cook these recipes. “It brings us so much joy because it is so closely linked to the fact that food is to be shared in company and shouldn't be eaten alone.”
* For more information on the book, visit www.randomstruik.co.za
Daltjies (My Cape Malay Kitchen, page 86)
Daltjies are the Cape Malay version of an Indian bajiya or pakora, which is a spicy snack similar to a savoury fritter.
It's the ideal Ramadaan snack, and often made as soon as Ramadaan starts.
It's important to fry these chilli bite fritters until they are crispy and crunchy, otherwise they will retain too much oil and can be unpleasant when serving. The addition of baking powder makes these lighter and spongier.
The recipe is straightforward with no complicated techniques required.
Simply place all the ingredients in a bowl, mix and fry - as simple as that!
You can make the flour mixture from scratch, but I find the Pakco Chilli Bite Mix, which is used in most Cape Malay homes, the easiest alternative, especially when you're stretched for time during Ramadaan.
Makes 12-14 bite-sized daltjies
6 spinach leaves
1 medium onion, coarsely grated
1 medium potato, peeled and coarsely grated
2 cups (500 ml) Pakco Chilli Bite Mix
1 tsp (5 ml) baking powder
1 cup (250 ml) water
3 cups (750 ml) oil for deep
Preparing the vegetables:
Spinach
Rinse the leaves under running water until it runs free of any sand. Drain and pat dry with a kitchen or paper towel.
Fold each leaf in half (lengthways) and remove the hard, white stem with a sharp paring knife.
Stack a few trimmed leaves on top of each other and roll up tightly like a cigar.
Slice across to form ribbons, and then chop roughly.
Onion and Potato:
Peel the onion and potato and use the coarsest setting on your grater to grate both ingredients.
Preparing the batter:
Place the prepared vegetables into a large bowl and mix well.
Add the remaining ingredients, except the oil, and mix to form a fritter batter.
Heat the oil for about 5 minutes over high heat and then reduce to a medium setting.
Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the warm oil.
The fritters will sink to the bottom, then slowly rise to the surface as they start cooking.
When this happens, gently turn the fritters over to fry the other side until golden and light.
Remove from the oil and place on a paper towel to rest just before serving.
The fritters should be crispy and crunchy with a soft and sponge-likecentre.
Nontando Mposo, Cape Argus