Give me an African Christmas………

A few weeks ago, I was comparing notes (online ofcourse) with a friend of mine on what we will be having for Christmas lunch. Christmas is all about food these days, a far cry from the days when it was about Nativity plays, dressing up in masks and going from house to house asking for a ‘Christmas box’. These days it’s a family affair, family wakes up and each person has their specialty dish that they make. This has changed at my home though, my brothers wake and cure their hangover (a three day hangover build up), my mom goes to church and I slave away in the kitchen. Nothing elaborate, just good food.

The question I have regarding Christmas is this: Is there anything wrong with African people cooking European food during Christmas? Am I just some darkie that is too fixated with race and all things African?

I still get shocked when I see black people buying gammon and massive, chemical laden turkeys during Christmas. It’s not your culture, I say to myself. What then should they be eating?

I like Christmas lunches that have those Africanized dishes. For the uninitiated, these are Western dishes that are cooked in an African way. Top of this list is rice, with turmeric and raisins. It’s a must have at Sunday lunches and functions. Next up are salads: potato salad which has tinned peas. Then the beetroot. No fancy vinegar, just plain vinegar. Cabbage, that is stir fried with a curry powder. A bit of chakalaka to give it an African feel and last but not least, some meat. We love our meat! And roast potatoes.

That is what I think Christmas food should be for black people. Wake up in the morning with some tripe and steamed bread, or fresh liver. Then while the guys sip some traditional beer, the ladies prepare a meal. Dessert should be include trifle, jelly and custard (not runny like the one you get in restaurants, but cold and stiff) and that can of mixed fruit, the one with soggy pineapple and some sweet syrup. And if you can still get it, some chocolate pudding. Cold.

Notice the absence of a starter? We don’t do starters, we go for the kill!

As is customary, some braaied meat to round the whole thing off, and start the drinking session. For the teetotalers, home made ginger beer.
Maybe I am saying this because my home town doesn’t have shops that stock up the gourmet stuff like turkey, Peking duck, gammon, panetonne and French champagne

The absence of a street food culture in South Africa – who is to blame?

During the very few times I have gone overseas, I have always marveled at how other nations simply buy food from a street vendor and nibble on while window shopping, or waiting for the bus. You will find people in Malaysia nibbling on some skewered pork satay, people eating a bag of roast chestnuts in Singapore, the thousands of samoosa stands in Chennai, etc. The concept is simple; food on the go.

Not that I have been to all these places.

My fascination with street food started when I spent a couple of weeks in Singapore, which is the epicenter of Oriental cuisine in my opinion. At every street corner there is something for you to buy, nibble on and by the time you get to the next corner, you have finished and need to replenish. I once had a street dinner there, walked to the first stand and bought chicken satay, then to the next one and got a portion of sweet and sour pork, next was a can of Coke Light, and I had pork satay. It was pretty filling and dirt cheap, that is why I could afford Haagen Dazs for dessert.

Now back to South Africa……

We have so much good food that one can buy and eat on the go, but for some reason we don’t exploit what could be a wonderful culture. Let me give you a few, boerewors roll, the peanuts sold in central Johannesburg street corners, our lovely fruit, koeksisters, moatwana (chicken feet), sheeps’ feet, vetkoek and mince, mealies, etc. Why can’t I walk to a fruit vendor, and ask her to make me a fruit salad of banana and papaya, right there on the street?

These are just a few examples of things that could make for wonderful street food. Portable, and affordable. I think the reason we don’t have a street food culture is because we don’t walk around a lot, especially at night. Blame it on crime, or the apartheid architects who forced us into shopping in malls and not walking up and down the streets in the city centers. The reality is that we do not walk the streets in South Africa. You simply step out of your office, grab a cob of mealies and then dash back to your desk and eat it there. Why don’t you walk around the block, marvel at the city buildings while nibbling on some fresh mealies?

Just leave valuables behind.