Heritage Day always makes one nostalgic and we think about home and the food we grew up eating. No can be judged for thinking about that because the food we used to eat is the food that essentially adds the varying hues and shades to who we are. The food that comes to mind when I think about heritage though are vetkoeks, among other things. In all their crispy, golden brown glory.
Perhaps it is the fact that they are a big part of quite a number of households. Or that there is not a single person who can truly say they absolutely detest vetkoeks.
With September being ‘heritage month’, sharing a vetkoek recipes and spots that sell the best vetkoeks is only right. So sit back, relax and salivate with us.
A vetkoek can be eaten plain or with a mince stuffing and many other things- people have been very experimental. Let us start off with something very simple like Hollow vetkoeks . They don’t have any fancy frills added to them. It is just the regular flour and milk/water mixture and extra ingredients, which you then fry up in some oil.
Next, we have some curried mince vetkoeks .
A savoury side of mince is made and stuffed inside the vetkoek. If we wanted to go the extra mile, we could say this version of the vetkoek is the South African sister of mince tacos. Equally messy but you can’t hate it. Then we move on to something slightly different and not so common; vetkoeks stuffed with a mixture of Pilchards, carrots, celery and mixed herbs.
Staying with the experiments, boerewors vetkoek lollies are a twist on the classic lollipop but a great marriage between two South African classics.
They are served with a tomato dip, which could perhaps even be substituted with a tomato relish or even chakalaka; and the Mozzarella added in the dough takes it to another level. A final experimental recipe; mielie meal vetkoeks. This is a very interesting recipe. The batter starts out as mielie meal porridge, which then has corn starch added to it, together with cream style sweet corn.
Because we understand that not everyone has time to actually make vetkoeks. Here is a list of 6 places in the country that serve amazing vetkoeks, so you can just buy them and perhaps add fillings and other condiments yourself:
1. WOZA, in Cape Town
2. Le Sel de Pezula in Knysna
3. Baba’s jem in Ceres
4. Vetkoek Paleis Parys in Johannesburg
5. Bergbron plaaskombuis en padstal in Johannesburg
6. Caffe Rossini in Polokwane
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