Honouring heritage: White Star Sowetan Flavours of Africa winners

The White Star Sowetan Flavours of Africa competition encouraged South Africans to share their culinary stories and submit cherished recipes that celebrate their cultural heritage.

As a staple food brand, White Star took people on a nostalgic journey back to their kitchens, asking them to recreate the traditional meals that hold so much value in our cultures.

The judges chose two Sowetan readers who won a share of R45,000 for entering their favourite meals and sharing the stories behind them.

Meet the winners

First prize: Mikateko Mabasa

Mabasa's winning entry for pap with chicken feet mixed with hearts and cabbage also happens to be her personal favourite, so it's a dish she cooks often.

“Every time I cook this dish my family prays it’s not chicken feet again! They like to complain when I send them to buy the ingredients but when it’s ready and I dish it up they never stop eating till the last piece is swallowed,” she says.

“I like to soak my maize meal with water in the sun to get that sour taste. I cook my pap and make sure it's soft. I always make sure my pap compliments my side dishes.”

Second prize: Relebogile Mahuma

Mahuma's entry also starred chicken feet an pap and she won the judges over with her warm-hearted, nostalgic story of the power of family and the beauty of tradition.

“I often find myself missing the tastes of home — the straightforward but filling meals that bring back memories of my early years in the North West — in the busy metropolis of Johannesburg,” says Mahuma.

“White Star maize meal pap with chicken feet is one dish that sticks out. My grandma would easily prepare this lunch while I was growing up, and I was always amazed at how fast she could do it. In just a few minutes, she would mix the maize meal until it was hard and smooth, the chicken feet, seasoned with a little garlic and chilli, would be boiling away, quickly becoming tender. Lunch would be ready in less than an hour, and the aromas would fill the kitchen, uniting the entire family. It’s a dish that warms the heart and satisfies the stomach. I continue that custom today by preparing the same pap and chicken feet whenever I feel homesick.

“The recipe is convenient and incredibly nostalgic due to the ease of preparation and the simplicity of the components. In the comfort of a simple supper, each mouthful serves as a reminder of the beauty of tradition and the power of family.”

Meet the judges — and try their favourite recipes

Judge 1: Mpumelelo Dhlamini

Dhlamini is one of the most exciting designers on the local fashion scene. Under his label, Ezokhetho, he's dressed stars such as the late Connie Chiume, Ponahalo Mojapelo, Thando Thabethe and Azania Mosaka.

When Dhlamini's not cooking on the runway, he’s in the kitchen, making hearty and mouthwatering meals for his popular online food platform Umpheko.

“This slow-cooked cabbage with beef bones is my favourite meal, taught to me by my mother. It always reminds me of home,” he says.

Slow-cooked cabbage with beef bones

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

• Oil, for sautéing
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 tbsp garlic and ginger
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tsp sugar
• ⅕ cup white vinegar
• 1kg beef bones
• Boiling water
• 2 oxtail stock cubes
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 whole medium cabbage, chopped
• 1 large eggplant, diced
• 2 tbsp curry paste
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp brown onion soup powder 
• ¼ cup butter
• Creamy potato pap, to serve (see recipe below)

Method:

• Heat some oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and ginger, salt and pepper and sauté. 
• Add the sugar and vinegar and allow the onions to caramelise.
• Once the onions have caramelised, add the beef bones, letting them sauté with the onions for 10-15 minutes before covering with boiling water.
• Add the oxtail stock cubes and curry powder and cook for 1-1.5 hours over a low to medium heat. (Keep an eye on the pot to ensure it does not burn.)
• Add the cabbage and eggplant. Cook for a further 40-45 minutes over low to medium heat.
• Add the curry paste, tomato paste, brown onion soup powder and butter and cook over low heat for 30-45 minutes or until cooked. (This is a hearty meal that you cook with instinct. The longer you cook it — maximum 3.5 hours in total — the more buttery and tasty it becomes.)
• Serve with the creamy potato pap.

Creamy potato pap

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1-2l boiling water
• 1 tbsp salt
• 4 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 cup of milk, plus extra
• ¼ cup of butter
• 2-3 cups White Star Super Maize Meal

Method:

• Combine the water, salt and potatoes in a large pot. Cook over medium to high heat until potatoes are fully cooked. Do not drain the water.
• Add 1 cup milk, the butter and the maize meal. At this stage, it’s important not to mix. Let it simmer over medium heat.
• After 20-25 minutes, combine everything and add additional milk to adjust to the desired consistency.
• Cook for a further 20-25 minutes or until fully cooked.
• Serve with slow-cooked cabbage with beef bones, stews or braaied meat.

Judge 2: Nombuso Kumalo

Kumalo is a content producer for Sowetan and S Mag. This food writer and aspirant home cook on a mission to banish hangry people.

“Food is a love language that I want to be well versed in. My favourite meal is steaming mogodu with soft crumbling uphuthu — it’s like a taste of home,” she says. 

Mogodu with uphuthu

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 50g coarse salt (to wash the meat)
• 1kg selection of offal (tripe)
• 1-2 beef/oxtail stock cubes
• Aromat, to taste
• White Star Super Maize Meal
• Salt, to taste

Method:

• Wash the tripe by soaking it in water and coarse salt.
• Cut the washed tripe into bite-size pieces and place it in a deep, medium-sized pot. 
• Add water to cover the meat and bring to the boil.
• As the pot begins to boil, add the stock cubes, one at a time, depending on the size of the pot and your personal taste. 
• Stir the tripe in the broth and, as it softens, season it with the Aromat to taste.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour, or until the tripe is soft, occasionally stirring and tasting to adjust the seasoning throughout.
• In the meantime, prepare the uphuthu using a ratio of ⅓ water to ⅔ maize meal.
• Fill a pot a third of the way up with water, add 1 tsp salt (or salt to your taste) and bring to a boil.
• Add the maize meal to the boiling water and stir. Don’t worry if it looks dry, continue to stir until it's all combined.
• Reduce the heat and allow the uphuthu to cook for 30 minutes, stirring every five minutes. (Stir the pot from the bottom to ensure all the maize meal is cooked.)
• Serve hot with the tripe.

This article was sponsored by White Star.