Recipe for DRY CHAKALAKA SPICE MIX ingredients

[Tryntje]

Am looking for a recipe for a dry spice seasoning - Chakaklaka, Heaps recipes for chakalaka "relish" but what I am after is a recipe for the dry ingredients, and quanitities, so can make up myself to have on hand, and use as a dry mix to add to potato cakes, hummus, salads etc. Can anyone help me,

[duonyte]

I could not find one either, but I zmailed Zurie, who lives in South Africa, and perhaps she knows of a recipe.

[Molly53]

From WiseGeek: "Chakalaka is a spicy dish from South Africa that is usually made from onions, tomatoes, and beans. In its earliest forms, the dish was a staple for those who lived in the townships of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was probably prepared with a simple and inexpensive spice mixture, but some variations have evolved into a more complex dish. There is some disagreement, however, over whether chakalaka is a dish or a condiment, but it does appear that the most people categorize it as a dish. It is possible to purchase a pre-made spice mix to make it.

To make a simple version of chakalaka, start by heating oil in a saucepan and adding chopped onion, garlic, and green bell pepper. The vegetables are cooked until the onions are translucent and then a curry mix and chili pepper are added. Cooks can either make their own curry mix — usually consisting of turmeric, coriander, cardamom, and cumin — or they can purchase a pre-mixed curry powder. A can of baked beans in tomato sauce is then added to the pan, and the whole mixture is allowed to heat through. The beans are not a necessary component, but they are a very common addition to many recipes.

Some believe that chakalaka is an important condiment for any barbecue, and this side dish is often paired with meat. There are many local variations, and many families have their own versions. Some recipes resemble a relish and, in these cases, it is more of a condiment than side dish."

Click on Colombo Curry Powder and see if it will work for you. It appears to have all the components mentioned in the article. If you give it a try, recipe reviews are very much appreciated.

If that's not it, there are a great many curry powder recipes in the db for you to choose from.

[Zurie]

Molly's quote is about 99% correct. Chakalaka is not a dry spice. It is really a dish, with curry spices. It usually contains cabbage, tomato and green (bell) pepper, with curry spices added to taste.

It's a very generic dish -- there is no ONE correct recipe, and cooks make it to their taste.

I've never made it because I don't like it much. It is available here in a few variations in cans.

If I had to make it I would use curry powder or make up curry spices, fry in oil, add thinly sliced green pepper and the sliced cabbage, and add canned tomato.

Right now I have to run -- but I will see where I might be wrong and get back to this question ...

[Zurie]

I'm back, Tryntje. (Are you Dutch?)

Anyway, there's a recipe here on Food.com: Chakalaka by Justcallmetoni, and you could also click on this link for a recipe:

http://www.whats4eats.com/vegetables/chakalaka-recipe

The baked beans in chakalaka is optional.

The recipe can be varied as I said and as Molly's research also implies, but the basis are chillies (hot peppers), garlic, ginger, and curry powder.

The background: it is a favourite side dish of black South Africans, who eat it over their staple starch, namely "mieliepap" -- which translates as cornmeal porridge, but thick, like mashed potatoes.

I hope this helps. If you go to Google just type in "Chakalaka" and I think you'll find a lot of recipes.

[Tryntje]

Many thanks for contacting Zurie, this has been of assistance. Love your bread recipes must try when I have time.

[Tryntje]

Hi Zurie,

Thanks for taking time to reply. (I am half dutch, mother being dutch father being Latvian. I am living in NZ).

I thought the spice mix would more or less follow the lines of a curry mix. When searching for on the net found somewhere in the world you can buy Robertsons Chakalaka mix, so thought someone might know the "secret ingredients" and proportions. Will try the curry mix suggested and "tweek" it to come in line with the Chakalaka taste I experienced. Being vegetarian I find spice/condiment mixes a great way to taste the worlds pleasures on everyday vegetables etc. Thanks again

[Zurie]

Tryntje, I do hope you make a great chakalaka one of these days!! Remember, to make it really authentical, you need to also make a thick maize porridge to ladle it over!

And with that, some crisply fried or BBQ'd lamb ribs, with crushed coriander seeds, salt and pepper as a seasoning...