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| Thembi at home, feeding Samp and Beans to extended family and to us Mans |
Samp and Beans is a traditional South African staple dish that
is about as comforting as food can get. Some of my earliest memories, were
sneaking off to the humble dwelling of my Zulu Nanny, sitting around a pot of
Samp and Beans and stuffing my face with this nourishing chow. ‘Now, why cant
we eat like this at home?’ I used to think. Well now that I’m all grown up, I
can.
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| Tea and giggles Mans |
Thembi is a Xhosa woman from the Transkei, who now lives in
Khayelitsha (one of the largest informal settlements in South Africa.) She comes
in once a week to sort out the chaos in my home. Thembi grew up in rural South
Africa eating mostly Samp and Beans, which she calls ‘Umngqusho’, so who better
to go to, to learn how to cook this splendid dish.
Mans, armed with his camera and I headed off to Thembis’
home to sample her Samp and Beans. What a fabulous experience it turned out to
be. This kind and dignified woman made us feel as though we were part of the
community. Her house was beautiful and spotless. While the Samp and Beans were
on the simmer, we sat around enjoying tea, giggling and chatting about food.
Her home has no running water or electricity. She has only a single gas cooker,
but still manages to produce delicious meals. Her steamed bread is very yummy
indeed. (Watch this space)
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| Daves' Solar Cooker Me |
Because this dish takes a long time to cook and requires
plenty of energy, I started to explore energy efficient ways to make it. Most
people who make it regularly could benefit from saving a buck or two on energy
and of course it’s good for our environment too.
Me mate Dave leant me a solar cooker that he made. Please
refer to http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/radabaugh30.html on
instructions on how to make one. So I tried my hand at Samp and Beans cooked only
by ‘heavens flame’. The result was pretty good, though not quite ‘Thembi good’.
I have also used a Wonderbag to make a Samp and Beans. A Wonderbag is basically
an energy saving insulation unit, which is brilliant. It should be compulsory
that all kitchens should have at least one. Check out the Wonderbag link on
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| All kitchens should have a Wonderbag Me |
HOW TO MAKE A NO FRILLS SAMP AND BEAN MEA
Wot You Need
500g packet of samp and bean mix
1 onion
1 stock cube (don’t turn your nose up at a stock
cube)
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| Yum Mans |
Wot To Do
Soak a packet of supermarket bought Samp and Beans
overnight. Rinse the mix, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for
about 2hrs, until the beans and samp are soft (you may need to add water a long
the way). In a different pot, fry an onion until soft (at this stage you can
add your own touch – like , bacon, browned meat, spices, curry or whatever
tickles your fancy) then add a stock cube that you have dissolved in a little
hot water. Finally add the onion mix to the soft Samp and Beans, just as it
gets to a lava bubbling simmer it’s time to get stuck in. Eat a bowl full of
this and it’ll keep you going for a loooooooong looooong looooooong time. |
| Thembi outside her immaculate home with Lion, the neighbors dog Mans |
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