South African Foods

South Africa is sometimes known as the "Rainbow Nation", a term coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and later adopted by then President Nelson Mandela, which encapsulates the diversity of the country's peoples and cultures.

This diversity is also reflected in South African foods, which includes cookery practised by indigenous people including the Khoisan, Sotho- and Xhosa-speaking peoples, settler cookery introduced by people of Afrikaner and British descent, the cuisine of the Cape Malay people (people who came from Malaysia and Indonesia, and introduced many dishes influenced by Malaysian cuisine), and the cuisine of people of Indian descent (influenced by Indian cuisine).

Additionally, South African foods have taken influences from that of neighbouring countries, and this can most clearly been in some dishes that contain traces of Portuguese cuisine - Angola and Mozambique both having been former Portuguese colonies.

Some popular South African foods include:

- Biltong - Salty, dried, meat (beef, game or even ostrich), similar to jerky.

- Bobotie - Bobotie is a Cape Malay dish that resembles a meatloaf with raisins, and with a baked egg on top. The dish is served with various accompaniments such as yellow rice, sambals, banana slices coconut and chutney.

- Frikkadel - Meatballs with bread, eggs, onions and spices.

- Mealie bread - A sweetened bread baked with sweetcorn.

- Potjiekos - A stew containing meat, vegetables, potato or rice, with water or wine added. Fruits or pasta are sometimes added.

- Sosatie - A Cape Malay dish consisting of mutton marinated with onions, chillies, garlic, curry leaves and tamarind sauce, placed on skewers and then fried or grilled.

- Tomato bredie (Afrikaans: Tamatiebredie) - Mutton stew, seasoned with cardamom, chillies, cinnamon, cloves and ginger.

- Waterblommetjiebredie - Meat stewed with Cape Pondweed flowers.

- Vetkoek - Dough, filled with ground (minced) meat or syrup and honey, and then deep-fried.

- Malva Pudding - An apricot-flavoured sponge-like dessert.

- Melktert - Melktert is Afrikaans for "milk tart". This dessert consists of a pastry crust containing a creamy filling made from milk, flour, sugar and eggs. Cinnamon is sometimes sprinkled on the surface.