Llove traditional meals? Then you simply have to try this easy homemade beef stew and steamed bread recipe, courtesy of top 30 Miss SA contender Andile Mazibuko.
Beef stew is a cold-weather essential. It’s cheap and it gets more tender the longer it cooks. If you find your beef isn't tender after 45 minutes, continue simmering, adding more broth or water as needed. And steamed bread?
This bread is made by steaming the dough until it’s cooked. If I tell you it’s divine, you’ll look at me and wonder what’s divine about steam-cooked bread? Wait until you try it. It’s a perfect example of a simple pleasure.
Mazibuko, who hails from Ulundi in KwaZulu-Natal says: “Sundays are not Sundays for me without what we call ‘seven colours’ – two dishes that are a reflection of every African home.”
Below she shares her mother’s much-loved beef stew and steamed bread recipes – two of her favourite dishes.
Beef stew
Ingredients
1 tbs oil
1 onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1kg stewing beef, cut into bite-size pieces
2 bay leaves
1 tsp BBQ spice
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tomato, diced
2 beef stock cubes
1 cup sweetcorn
4 carrots, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Add the oil to a large pan and, over medium to high heat, sauté the onion, peppers and garlic until soft.
Add the beef and fry till brown, stirring to coat with the onion, peppers and garlic.
Once the beef has browned, add all the spices, the diced tomato, the 2 beef stock cubes, and a cup of hot water.
Reduce the heat, pop the lid on the pan and cook for 1 hour.
Then add the sweetcorn and carrots and cook for a further 15 minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste before plating. Serve hot with your favourite vegetables or a salad.
Steamed bread
Ingredients
4 cups flour
1 pack yeast
2 tbs of sugar
1 tsp salt
500ml lukewarm water
2 tbs melted butter
¼ cup sweetcorn
Method
Add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix well.
Stir in the butter and then gradually add water. Using your hands, mix unntil a dough forms (the dough should not be sticky or dry).
Place the dough in a clean steel bowl, cover with a cloth, and put it in a warm area for 45 minutes to prove.
After 45 minutes, the dough should have risen twice its initial size.
Pound it down and then add the sweetcorn and mix well.
Form a ball with the dough and place in a steel bowl pre-greased with butter or oil.
Place the bowl in a pot half-filled with boiling water, making sure the water does not rise above the bowl.
Steam for 45 minutes before removing bread. Serve hot with the beef stew.