Xoliswa Ndoyiya is Nelson Mandela’s personal cook. Anna Trapido has worked as a cook in hotels and restaurants in South Africa, Switzerland, England, and India. She is a food writer, a radio and television broadcaster, and the author of Hunger for Freedom and To the Banqueting House: African Cuisine and Epic Journey.

Ukutya Kwasekhaya

Tastes from Nelson Mandela’s Kitchen

By Xoliswa Ndoyiya, Anna Trapido, Sue de Groot, Debbie Yazbek

Real African Publishers

Copyright © 2011 Xoliswa Ndoyiya
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-9869968-1-8

Contents

Dedication,
Note from Mr Nelson Mandela,
Acknowledgements,
Foreword from Professor Jakes Gerwel,
My life in food,
Soups,
Vegetables,
Fish and seafood,
Poultry,
Meat,
Breads and desserts,
Drinks,
Conversion tables,
Statement from Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela,
Message from Oprah Winfrey,
Message from The Nelson Mandela Foundation,
Glossary,
Index,

CHAPTER 1

Soup

“Comfort is just a mouthful away”

Pea soup

Zindzi Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s daughter, says:My father has vested a lot of trust in Sis’ Xoli and he gets anxious if she’s not there. It’s not difficult to see why – her food is always so comforting. Her cooking makes a home out of a house. With every bowl of soup you just know that however tough life might be, comfort is just a mouthful away. And you have no idea how much we appreciate it.

Serves 4 – 6

500g frozen peas
400g (2 medium) potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 chicken stock cube
500ml (2 cups) water
1 medium onion (about 100g), finely grated
125ml (½ cup) fresh cream
45ml (3 tbsp) olive oil
salt and white pepper, to taste

Put the peas, potatoes, stock cube and water in a pot. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and cook until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Add a little extra liquid if necessary.

Remove from the heat and blend to a purée.

Add the onion and cook for a few minutes.

Add the cream and cook over a low heat. Add additional liquid if too thick. Stir in the oil and slowly bring to the boil. If its still too thick, stir in a little boiling water.

Season and serve.

Isophu (sugar bean and white maize soup)

Isophu is another one of those tastes that we all grew up with. In the early 1990s, before he was President, Tata used to come back from work at Shell House (the former ANC headquarters), sometimes with Tata (Walter) Sisulu or sometimes Uncle Raymond Mhlaba and they would smell that I was cooking isophu or umfino (spinach and maize meal porridge) and they would say, “Aah, ukutya kwasekhaya, home food” and be very happy with it.

Serves 8 – 10

700g dried sugar beans
3 chicken stock cubes (or to taste)
2,5 litres water
300g white maize (corn), cleaned and removed from the cob
1 medium onion (about 100g), finely chopped
30ml (2 tbsp) butter
salt and white pepper, to taste

Place the beans, stock cubes and water in a pot, bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the beans are soft, about 2 hours. During this time a nice brown stock will form. Add extra water when necessary to prevent the beans from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Once the beans are soft, add the maize kernels, onion and butter and cook until you have a thick, wholesome soup, about a further 30 minutes.

Season and serve hot.

Butternut soup

Luvuyo Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s great-grandson, says:I grew up in Durban, so when I came to Jo’burg to visit my great-grandfather, Mum’ Xoli was like a mother to me. Whenever I came she would make me do the things that little boys sometimes forget, like having a bath. Sometimes I was naughty and disregarded her advice, but she never stopped