Potjiekos

Potjiekos

A potjie on a log fire
Type	Stew
Place of origin	South Africa
Main ingredients	Meat, vegetables like cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, potatoes; beer or a dessert wine

In South Africa, a potjiekos /ˈpɔɪkiːkɒs/, literally translated "small pot food", is a dish prepared outdoors. Potjiekos is not really a stew, and most boerekos enthusiasts will frown upon this term being used, because potjiekos is cooked with very little liquid and it is not stirred (see explanation below). It is traditionally cooked in a round, cast iron, three-legged pot, the potjie, descended from the Dutch oven brought from the Netherlands to South Africa in the 17th century and found in the homes and villages of people throughout southern Africa. The pot is heated using small amounts of wood or charcoal or, if fuel is scarce, twisted grass or even dried animal dung.

Traditionally, the recipe includes meat, vegetables like carrots, cabbage, cauliflower or pumpkin, starches like rice or potatoes, all slow-cooked with Dutch-Malay spices, the distinctive spicing of South Africa's early culinary melting pot. Other common ingredients include fruits and flour-based products like pasta.

Potjiekos originated with the Voortrekkers, evolving as a stew made of venison and vegetables (if available), cooked in the potjie. As trekkers (pioneers) shot wild game, it was added to the pot. The large bones were included to thicken the stew. Each day when the wagons stopped, the pot was placed over a fire to simmer. New bones replaced old and fresh meat replaced meat eaten. Game included venison, poultry such as guinea fowl, warthog, bushpig, rabbit, and hare.