Zenoyise Madikwa

Zenoyise Madikwa

As the cold breeze rolls in, many of us will start thinking about the types of food that will warm our bodies from the inside out.

Few dishes do that as well or as palatably as tripe (mogodu or unqweme).

This African delicacy can be eaten with beans, rice, pap, dumplings, veggies and samp.

It is a dish that some people will politely say no thanks to because experience has taught them that not everyone who tries to knows how to cook it.

According to caterer Asithandile Madlingozi, it is very important to clean the innards very well when preparing this dish.

"The cleaning must be done well and properly," Madlingozi says.

"Nowadays things are a lot easier because you can buy tripe that is already cleaned from a butchery or supermarket," she says.

Tripe experts recommend that you clean tripe with vinegar or lemon juice before cooking it.

Madlingozi says that fresh tripe must be cooked for at least 12 hours.

Ingredients

1 kg stomach (ulusu)

1 kg intestines (amathumbu)

Salt and pepper to taste

Thyme

Preparation:

Wash the tripe thoroughly. Soak in water overnight and blanch for half an hour in salted water. Wash it again. Drain and cut the tripe into small pieces.

If you don't have a pressure cooker, it will take longer to cook this meal.

Add water and salt to the pressure cooker. Add the tripe. Pressure it for about half an hour.

Turn off the heat and wait for about five minutes before removing the lid. Put the pressure cooker under the tap in the kitchen sink and run cold water over the top of the pot. This will cool the pot and reduce the pressure build-up.

Pour all into a stock pot.

Use a fork to check the texture of the tripe.

Add the thyme and black pepper and stir well. If the taste is not perfect, add more black pepper and salt to taste.

Put the pot back on the stove and simmer until the tripe is cooked. Serve with pap, beans, rice, dumplings, veggies or samp.