Culinary Hotline - Siba's recipes

Craving some Sibalicious goodness?

All recipes by Chef Siba Mtongana

Ingredients:

Serves: 6
Cooking time: 2 hours

Coating for the oxtail seasoned in flour:

  • 2 Tbsp ground cumin
  • 4 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp sweet paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  • ½ tsp each all spice, ground ginger & turmeric
  • ½ cup cake flour
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 1.5kg oxtail, cut into pieces

To cook the oxtail:

  • 2 Tbsp canola oil
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely grated or crushed
  • 1 green pepper, diced or any colour bell pepper
  • 4 leeks, thoroughly rinsed & finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp chermoula spice
  • 1 Tbsp garlic & herb seasoning or mixed herbs
  • 1 tsp dried thyme or 2 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 6 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1L beef stock, or enough to cover
  • For the dumplings:
  • 1 ½ cups cake flour
  • 1/3 cup bran flour
  • 3 ½ tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp flaked sea salt, crushed
  • 1 Tbsp white or brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp melted butter
  • ¾ cup (180ml) full cream milk

How To Make Oxtail Stew with Dumplings

For the oxtail: mix spices together to create a chermoula spice blend, mix half of the spice mix with flour and season with half the sea salt, toss the oxtail in the seasoned flour until well coated. Heat oil in a large, wide pan and cook until golden brown all rounds. Season with the remaining salt. Add onion, garlic, green pepper with leeks and sauté for 5 minutes until the vegetables are slightly soft. Add the remaining spice mix along with mixed herbs and thyme and stir well. Add the tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes, pour in the beef stock, bring to a boil and simmer for 1 ½ hours until the meat is tender and pulls away from the bone and the stew is slightly thickened. (Stir in between a few times to prevent the gravy and oxtail meat from burning and forming a burnt layer at the bottom of the pot.
 

For the dumplings: Mix all the dry ingredients together and make a well in the centre, add the melted butter and warm milk and mix well. Tip into well-floured surface then knead the dough until it’s soft and pliable. Divide into 6 – 8 portions and shape into balls. Drop each one into the oxtail stew leaving room for each one to expand, cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 10 – 15 minutes until they have doubled in size and are cooked. Do not open the pot until at least a third of the cooking time has passed which is 5 minutes. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley and serve with your choice of side vegetables or salads.

 

Ingredients:

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 6

  • 45 ml olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 20 ml ginger, finely grated
  • 1 red bird’s eye chili, deseeded and chopped
  • 30 ml mild curry powder
  • 1 green pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 red pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 yellow pepper, finely chopped
  • 4 large carrots − scrubbed, topped and tailed, and grated
  • 30 ml tomato paste
  • 250 ml tomato purée
  • 15 ml castor sugar
  • 400 g can bake beans
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme, stems removed and chopped
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

 

How To Make Siba’s Secret Chakalaka (Relish)

In a large frying pan, heat the oil and fry the onion for 2 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and half of the ginger – reserve the other half, so you can add it right at the end. Add the chilli, curry powder and stir to combine.
Add all the diced peppers and continue sautéing for 2 minutes. Add the carrots, stirring well to ensure they are coated with the curry powder.
Add the tomato paste, tomato purée and stir. Cook for 10 minutes until the mixture is well combined and slightly thickened. Sprinkle with the sugar and stir.
Remove from the heat. Add the baked beans, fresh thyme, remaining ginger and seasoning to taste.

Ingredients:

 

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes
Serves: 8


Berry sauce:

  • 400 g frozen mixed berries
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 250 ml castor sugar
  • 60 ml water


Layering:

  • 2 x 250 g tubs plain cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 L strawberry yoghurt
  • 4 mini-Swiss rolls or 1 large, cut into thin slices
  • 1‒1.5 L good quality readymade custard
  • 125 ml cream, whipped
  • 250 g fresh raspberries
  • 250 g fresh strawberries, quartered
  • 100 g blueberries
  • 125 g gooseberries (optional)

 

How To Siba’s Favourite Trifle

Place the frozen berries in a medium-sized saucepan and heat for a few minutes until they soften, then crush them with a fork.
Add the lemon zest, sugar and water, and cook for 5 minutes until the mixture has thickened and reduced. Set aside to cool completely.
Whisk the cream cheese until soft and smooth and place it in a large dish. Add the fruit yoghurt a little at a time, beating well after each addition to prevent any lumps from forming.
Continue until all the yoghurt has been combined with the cream cheese.
In a deep glass trifle dish, arrange the mini-Swiss roll slices up the sides and on the base.
Top with a layer of custard and a layer of the yoghurt and cream cheese mix.
Drizzle the cooled berry sauce around the edge, followed by a layer of the fresh mixed berries.
Repeat the layering with the Swiss roll, custard, yoghurt and cream cheese mix, berry sauce and fresh mixed berries, until the dish is filled.
Top with cream and more berries and serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until you need it.

Chefs Tip: The pockets can be frozen at this point.  Place your pockets in the fridge to chill while preheating your oven to 180°C.
Place your pockets on a baking tray lines with baking paper or coated with nonstick kitchen spray, then bake for 20 -25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow the pockets to cool slightly before serving it with WOOLWORTHS’ vanilla bean ice cream.