chakalaka

When I was at Erich’s, I noticed the tin of Chakalaka sitting on the shelf above his stove. I sent this tin in response to a conversation we had about what people eat in South Africa. I said people eat chicken. Its not an exaggeration. People here eat a lot of chicken. But chicken wasn’t a good enough answer for Erich, he needed more than a list of one I believe. So I added in Paap (pup), which is also referred to as Mealie Meal (mee-lee meal), coming from mealies which is what I call corn. Here you can say corn, but I think it is predominantly called maize or mealies. Maize I understand and mealies is an Afrikaans word. In any case paap is kind of like polenta. A list of two was clearly rather unsatisfying and I was pressed for more… Um, chakalaka. People eat chakalaka with their paap. It’s a fun word to say so Erich and I bantered it about for awhile and of course a description was necessary. Its kind of like salsa, you know, tomatoes, onions, chillies – that kind of thing.

"What else?" Boerewors (see previous blogs), biltong (also previously mentioned), ostrich, springbok (lion fodder), then I started running out of interesting things to say. Um, there’s naartjies, which is a South African orange (and way better than the oranges available generally in the States). Naartjie by the way is pronounces nar-chi. That "tjie" still screws with me though. A potjie is pronounced poy-key and is (after much household discussion around the subject) a three-legged Dutch oven that is used for making stews at braais and other outdoor eating experiences.

Basically South Africans eat the same things (less my running American shopping list of Taco Bell, Combos, Graham Crackers, Ranch dressing and the like) – some things are just called differently. "And you eat biltong and chakalaka?" Actually no, I eat McDonalds and KFC and Subway (I’ve eaten all three on 4 different continents – suggesting, perhaps, a long-standing issue with American food). And I eat bacon and eggs and ham sandwiches and spaghetti and steak. I still don’t eat cheese no matter where I go though. (Okay, some carefully placed cheddar on tacos is acceptable, so long as it is not melted.)

But I do like Nando’s a lot, a South African grilled chicken chain (which is actually based on Portuguese style chicken). And I always order the Sprigbok carpaccio at Wombles, my favourite restaurant. Ditto that sentiment with the Ostrich burger at Moyo (which certainly ranks within my top 5 restaurants). Although I usually order the Mpumalanga (go ahead – try that one out) Salad when we go there at dinnertime. On the British tip, we often have bangers and mash and (meat) pies. And in line with the things that SA ex-pats miss, I really like Mrs Balls Chutney.

Whatever. I don’t think anyone but Holly spends this much time or energy contemplating food. Yet, I am completely comforted by the little stash I have at home right now. Really, its like a little shelter from everything. I kept the tin of pumpkin Julie gave me for well over a year before I caved. So Erich, keep the chakalaka up on the shelf for as long as you like. I understand. I’ll bring you another tin next time I come home so you can try it. In the meantime, the ladies from "How Clean Is Your House?" suggest applying a coat of clear nailpolish to the bottom of your tin to prevent rust…