Our webinar host Lutfia Vayej leads three of South Africa's most-loved foodies – Chef Tharwat Londt, cookbook author and cook, Naqiyah Mayat and Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights author Salwaa Smith – in a conversation that will having you eating your heart out this Eid.
Chef Tharwat Londt is the executive chef at Radisson Park Inn, Newlands, in Cape Town. He has had an illustrious career as a chef, working at five-star establishments, both at home and in Europe and also being a private chef on yachts. His family, especially his mother, inspired his culinary career and he has infused that in his food.
Cookbook author, Naqiyah Mayat is often dubbed South Africa's answer to Nigella Lawson. She is the new-age food expert – her knowledge is gleaned from spending time in the kitchen and experimenting with food. She is a digital content creator and has been sharing her food ideas and recipes on online community platforms and social media.
Salwaa Francis Smith is the founder of Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights, which has led to her writing the Cape Malay & Other Delights Cookbook. Salwaa and her family moved to the UK 18 years ago, and she made sure her family would never forget the tastes of home. Smith cooks all the traditional Cape Malay stews and staples she grew up with in Surrey Estate, relying on her trusty typed-up list of recipes from home.
Now here are the recipes they spoke about during the webinar that you should try out for your family this Eid
Chef Tharwat's Slow roast leg of lamb and baby roots
Slow roast leg of lamb and baby roots. Chef Tharwat Londt, executive chef of Radisson Blue, Newlands, suggests you try this dish out for Eid celebrations. Picture: Supplied
Ingredients
2kg leg of lamb
1 head of garlic
Few sprigs of thyme
Few leaves of sage
Few sprigs of rosemary
1 lemon
Olive oil
500g baby potatoes
400g baby beetroot
500g baby carrots
300g baby onion
Method
For the lamb leg, you can ask you butcher to remove the bone and butterfly it for you. Also ask for some of the meat netting to roll it yourself. This way you will be able to marinate the inside of the leg and roll it to keep a nice cylindrical shape when roasting.
Make sure to remove the lamb leg from the fridge a good hour or so before to bring it up to room temperature, this will help with the cooking time.
Preheat your oven to 200ºC and roughly chop the herbs and garlic add lemon zest and loosen with some olive oil, set aside.
Rub a generous amount of salt and freshly cracked black pepper on the inside of the leg (the side that doesn’t have fat), followed by the marinade.
Roll the lamb back up into a cylinder like shape and pull the netting over it. Set aside in a nice big roasting tray.
Wash the baby root veggies and peal the baby onion keeping the root attached. No need to peal the root veggies but you can if you prefer. I like the caramelisation of the skin on roast root veggies.
Halve the potatoes and place into a tray with the baby carrots and onions.
Halve the baby beets and place into a separate tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season your veggies with salt, cracked black pepper and some roughly chopped thyme.
Roast your leg of lamb for 20 mins at 200ºC and then drop down to 180ºC for 1 hour.
When you have 20 minutes roasting time left on the lamb throw your carrots onions and potatoes into the lamb tray and place the baby beets at the bottom shelf. We do this because we don’t want the beets to bleed into the other veggies (so it’s not really necessary).
Remove the lamb and add roast beets to the tray, cover with foil and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. Boun appetito!
Naqiyah Mayat's
VERMICELLI KHEER
(Serves 10)
This is the second variant of vermicelli which offers a more liquid-like consistency.
This is the second variant of vermicelli which offers a more liquid-like consistency. I’ve grown up eating this with fluffy papar, the contrast between sweet and salty does all sorts of wonderful things in your mouth.
INGREDIENTS
1 litre milk
¼ cup sago, soaked
1 cup broken vermicelli
3 green cardamom pods, slit
4 small cinnamon sticks
4 whole cloves
2 tbs ghee
1 small tin dessert cream
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp rough salt
½ cup sugar
½ cup water
Method
Put the milk into a pot to boil. Add salt and sago. Be careful; the milk can burn. Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and allow to cook. Once milk starts to boil, reduce the heat and leave to simmer until sago is glassy. Heat ghee in a separate pan and fry cardamom, cinnamon sticks and whole cloves till aromatic. Break the vermicelli. Add to the spices in the pot and continue to cook, stirring continuously until they are golden brown. Add half a cup of water to the vermicelli. Cook on low heat until soft. Add the vermicelli to the milk and sago mix. Add cardamom and ginger powder. Add the sugar and stir well. Beat the dessert cream to remove any lumps and then add to milk. Serve in small bowls. We like to eat it alongside fried papar.
Salwaa Smith's Deconstructed Lamb Breyani
Deconstructed Lamb Breyani
Ingredients
750 g lamb pieces
For the marinade:
3 stick cinnamons
5 cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
5 cloves
5 allspices
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp grated garlic
2 – 4 green chillies, deseeded and chopped
2 tsp koljana / coriander
½ tsp coarsely crushed black pepper
3 tsp jeera / cumin
2 tsp leave masala / roasted masala
1 – 2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp garam masala
2 medium tomatoes
½ cup plain yoghurt
½ bunch fresh dhanya, chopped
2 tsp salt
½ – 1 cup brown lentils
4 large potatoes
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large onions
3 – 4 cups long grain or basmati rice
2 bay leaves
2 stick cinnamons
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter
Method
Wash and drain the meat. Using a large dish or bowl add the meat and spices.
Liquidise ginger, garlic, tomato and yoghurt together. Pour this mixture on top of the meat. Add the ¾ of the chopped dhanya. Mix well and cover with cling film. Leave to marinade for at least two hours in the fridge or better still overnight. This will allow all the flavour to develop and the meat to be really flavourful.
Meanwhile, boil the lentils.
Peel, wash and cut the potatoes into round slices. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Fry the potatoes in the oil until lightly browned. Remove and set aside.
Peel and cut the onions into thin slices. Fry the onions in the same oil as you fried the potatoes until brown and crispy. Remove and set aside, reserving the oil.
Add the marinated meat into a large pot and cook until the meat is soft and tender about 35 – 45 minutes..
Parboil the rice with the salt, cinnamon and bay leaves. As soon as the water starts bubbling remove from the heat our into a colander, rinse and leave to drain.
Mix the parboiled rice and cooked lentils into a bowl.
Now start the layers. Add a layer of potatoes in a large, deep and lightly greased ovenproof dish.
Then a layer of rice and lentils mixture. Add a layer of the cooked meat, including the sauce, followed by some of the fried onions. Continue layering the potatoes, rice, onions (reserve some onions for garnishing) until all the ingredients have been used and finishing with a layer of rice. Garnish with the braised onions, reserved dhanya and the butter, cut in pieces. Add 1 cup of hot water. Cover tightly with foil or the lid of the ovenproof dish. Cook in a preheated oven at 180C for 45 – 60 minutes.
Ensure you dish from all the layers by inserting your dishing up spoon right down and lifting it up. This way you can be sure to get from all the elements of the dish.
Serve with dhai (yoghurt sauce), tomato & onion salad or atchar.