Skewered Meat Is An Ancient Dish
Oct 03, 2002
Skewered meats have an ancient history dating to the discovery of fire and its subsequent use for cooking meat.
Skewered meats have an ancient history dating to the discovery of fire and its subsequent use for cooking meat. Warriors in the East used their swords as skewers.
Today, traditional skewered meats are prepared on sticks using a curried marinade, spices and often pieces of fruit as well as meat. They are known as sosaties. The combination of sweet and pungent is a distinctive Malay (Javanese) influence.
Some Malay families in the Cape are descended from the Javanese group of Malays of the East who came from Batavia as political exiles or slaves in the 17th century, and sosaties were originally a Malay dish which has become a south African tradition too. The original Malay recipes called for the use of mutton or beef or a combination of both.
Recipe
l One leg of lamb. Remove the fat and cut into squares.
Reserve this and use for interspersing between the meat cubes on the skewer. Cut the meat into 3 cm cubes, once the sinews have been removed.
l One cup of dried apricots, softened in boiling water
l Four onions cut into quarters, softened in the remaining water. (You may boil them for five minutes).
Marinade or sauce
l Two teaspoons (t) ground coriander
l 10 lemon leaves, bruised
l Two cups of white wine vinegar
l Three of sticks cinnamon
l Four cloves.
l One cup of red wine
l Three Tablespoons of (T) curry powder
l Three centimetres fresh ginger, chopped
l One t of ground allspice
l Three T of sugar
l Four cloves of crushed garlic
l Two T of apricot jam
l One T of salt
l Two t of turmeric powder
l Two cups tamarind water
l 100 g tamarind, boiled in two cups water and strained. ( The pulp is discarded.)
l Two T of oil
Place the oil in a large saucepan and fry all the dry ingredients. Add the fresh ingredients and the liquids. Bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the contents to cool. Skewer the meat interspersed with the dried apricots, onions and fat. Arrange the skewered sosaties in a deep dish and cover with the cooled marinade.
Allow the dish to stand overnight before grilling the sosaties on a gridiron or braai. The marinade can also be used as a sauce.
Egoli Recipe Book Ends
Today, traditional skewered meats are prepared on sticks using a curried marinade, spices and often pieces of fruit as well as meat. They are known as sosaties. The combination of sweet and pungent is a distinctive Malay (Javanese) influence.
Some Malay families in the Cape are descended from the Javanese group of Malays of the East who came from Batavia as political exiles or slaves in the 17th century, and sosaties were originally a Malay dish which has become a south African tradition too. The original Malay recipes called for the use of mutton or beef or a combination of both.
Recipe
l One leg of lamb. Remove the fat and cut into squares.
Reserve this and use for interspersing between the meat cubes on the skewer. Cut the meat into 3 cm cubes, once the sinews have been removed.
l One cup of dried apricots, softened in boiling water
l Four onions cut into quarters, softened in the remaining water. (You may boil them for five minutes).
Marinade or sauce
l Two teaspoons (t) ground coriander
l 10 lemon leaves, bruised
l Two cups of white wine vinegar
l Three of sticks cinnamon
l Four cloves.
l One cup of red wine
l Three Tablespoons of (T) curry powder
l Three centimetres fresh ginger, chopped
l One t of ground allspice
l Three T of sugar
l Four cloves of crushed garlic
l Two T of apricot jam
l One T of salt
l Two t of turmeric powder
l Two cups tamarind water
l 100 g tamarind, boiled in two cups water and strained. ( The pulp is discarded.)
l Two T of oil
Place the oil in a large saucepan and fry all the dry ingredients. Add the fresh ingredients and the liquids. Bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the contents to cool. Skewer the meat interspersed with the dried apricots, onions and fat. Arrange the skewered sosaties in a deep dish and cover with the cooled marinade.
Allow the dish to stand overnight before grilling the sosaties on a gridiron or braai. The marinade can also be used as a sauce.
Egoli Recipe Book Ends