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The evenings are cooler again, and this makes us want yummy and hearty meals at the end of a long and busy day. Who wouldn’t want to dive into a warm and delicious South African Amagwinya?
Perfect as a savoury meal or even as something sweet, these fluffy vetkoek will have you licking off your lips and longing for the next meal so you can have them again!
Clover Mama Afrika’s Mama Albertina hits a homerun with the always popular South African Amagwinya recipe
The recipe book, Clover Mama Afrika’s Manna was released in December 2022, as a beautiful tribute to the amazing women of the project. The cookbook is a collection of treasured, traditional South African recipes from the Mama Afrikas themselves. This special book was created for all the Mama Afrikas, with the purpose of sharing their lovely recipes with each other, and to honour these incredible women who passionately care for their communities.
The name of the cookbook, ‘manna’ was given with the Mama Afrikas in mind; manna refers to spiritual or divine nourishment. It is widely accepted that these women are the primary caregivers in many communities. To those in their care, Mama Afrikas are a godsend, and their valuable contributions and involvement are like Manna from heaven to the community. It refers to manna for sustenance through the transfer of income-generating skills, and it’s manna for the soul because those empowered by the Mama Afrikas regain a sense of pride, dignity and self-respect as active members of the community.
To celebrate our South African heritage, we share the love by sharing their delicious ‘manna’ recipes with the country.
This month we share Mama Kedibone Miyambo’s Traditional Samp recipe
Mama Albertina Bloko’s Vetkoek (Amagwinya)
Ingredients:
7 cups Cake flour
10ml Salt
15ml Sugar
125g Clover Mooi River salted butter
10g Yeast
650ml Lukewarm water (220ml boiled and 430ml cold water, added together)
Method:
- Sift the cake flour, salt and sugar together.
- Add the yeast and mix.
- Rub the butter into the dry ingredients and add the lukewarm water.
- Knead dough for 20 minutes by hand OR 10 minutes with an electrical mixer.
- Cover the dough with cling wrap and let it stand for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Roll the vetkoek into balls, the size you like it, until all the dough is used. Let thevetkoek rise for 30 minutes.
- Heat the oil in an electrical fryer to 170 degrees OR until a small amount of dough pops up within 10 seconds in a pot of oil.
- Fry the vetkoek until golden brown (not too dark).
- Enjoy with syrup or jam.
A little bit about Mama Albertina
When someone looks at you with love and sees potential where others only see shame, you blossom. This is what Mama Albertina achieved when she took seven young, differently abled children under her wing.
She started a centre which offers early learning stimulation in a safe space where these children can exceed expectations and find a place where they belong. A gifted teacher, Mama Albertina taught the children how to bake, sew and knit, and also how to do beadwork and mosaic. She now has more than 21 children at the Centre, and her care and joyful dedication has turned them into positive, productive members of society. They are no longer outcasts.
Mama Albertina is famous for her lush organic vegetable garden. Year round, fresh vegetables are served to those in her care. The enormous pumpkins and sweet potatoes are always a hit, not only with the children, but also with the elderly who eat at her table.
Since Mama Albertina is passionate about culture and heritage, she completed a diploma in Travel and Tourism to learn more and share her knowledge with the community. “Our heritage is important knowledge passed down from our ancestors to remind us of who we are today. I believe I should do as my ancestors did. To me, it means that on Heritage Day, I wear traditional clothes with beads around my neck and a decorative wrap around my head. It is called ‘umbhaco’ in Xhosa.”
Mama Albertina is particularly proud of our country’s flag. “Each colour symbolises different aspects of South Africa: Blue represents the sky and ocean. Green represents farms and nature. White represents peace. Red is for the blood that was shed. Gold symbolises our mineral wealth, and black is for the majority of our people.”