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Traditional food · South Africa
Bobotie and the gatsby from Cape Town, the bunny chow from Durban, the kota from Johannesburg, the Xhosa umngqusho, Pinotage from Stellenbosch, rooibos from the Cederberg and marula beer from Limpopo.
In the photo: Table Mountain, Cidade do Cabo
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
The cuisine
South African cuisine brings together many heritages. Pap, the firm corn porridge, is part of the diet of many communities in the country. Dutch settlers planted the Cape’s first vines, and French Huguenots later contributed to viticulture. Enslaved people brought from Indonesia, India and Madagascar by the Dutch East India Company gave rise to the Cape Malay cuisine, with its spices and sweet‑with‑savory combinations. Indian workers who arrived in Natal in the 19th century brought curry. And the braai, the charcoal barbecue, brings everyone together on weekends.
In Cape Town that mix shows up in three specialties. Bobotie, spiced minced meat baked under an egg topping, is a well‑known Cape Malay dish. The koe'sister, a spiced fried dough ball soaked in syrup and rolled in coconut, is the Sunday breakfast in Bo‑Kaap and other city neighborhoods. And the gatsby, a long roll stuffed with fries, meat and sauce, was born in a fish‑and‑chips shop in Athlone on the Cape Flats and is made to share.
Nearby, in Stellenbosch, a university professor crossed two grape varieties in the 1920s and created Pinotage, South Africa’s own red grape. Across the Western Cape, winter brings waterblommetjiebredie, a lamb stew made with the flowers of a native aquatic plant. And in Clanwilliam, at the foot of the Cederberg, rooibos — a drink made from the oxidized leaves of a native shrub from the Cederberg and nearby areas — has protected geographical indication.
In Durban, the community of Indian origin created the bunny chow, curry served inside a hollowed‑out loaf. In Johannesburg, the townships developed their hollow‑bread sandwich, the kota, filled with fries, sausages and achar. In the Eastern Cape, land of the Xhosa, umngqusho — broken maize cooked with beans — is the everyday dish and was Nelson Mandela’s favorite. And in Limpopo, at the end of summer, communities ferment marula fruit into vukanyi, a drink that opens the season with the first‑fruit festival and is served at the Phalaborwa marula festival.
10 flavors
Stew of mutton or lamb with waterblommetjie flowers, an aquatic plant native to the Western Cape, onion, potato and sorrel. It is a winter dish, made in the short season when the flowers are harvested from the province's lakes and marshes.
Cracked white maize (samp) slow-cooked with beans until creamy, seasoned with onion and butter or fat. It is the everyday dish of the Xhosa of the Eastern Cape and was Nelson Mandela's favorite.
Minced meat seasoned with curry and spices, mixed with bread soaked in milk and dried fruit and baked under a milk-and-egg topping. It is a well-known dish of Cape Malay cuisine from Cape Town, served with yellow rice and chutney.
A long roll filled with fries, meat, fish, or chicken, salad and sauce, cut into pieces for sharing. It originated in a fried-fish shop in Athlone, in the Cape Flats, and is Cape Town’s sandwich.
Fried dumpling with a soft dough, seasoned with cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, fennel and tangerine peel, dipped in hot syrup and coated in coconut. It is the Sunday breakfast of Cape Malay families in Cape Town.
A hot amber-colored beverage made from the oxidized leaves of a shrub that only grows in the Cederberg mountains and surrounding areas. Clanwilliam, at the foot of the range, is the center of cultivation and processing, and the name rooibos has a protected geographical indication.
Curry served inside a sliced loaf of white bread cut into a quarter or half and hollowed out, with the removed crumb placed on top. Created by Durban’s community of Indian origin, it’s the dish the city uses to introduce itself.
A quarter loaf of sliced white bread hollowed out and layered with fillings: fries, sausages, mortadella, a burger, cheese, achar and sauces. It’s the street food of Johannesburg’s townships, like Soweto, and of the whole Gauteng province.
Homemade fermented drink made from the juice of marula fruits, from January to March. In Limpopo, the season opens with the festival of the first fruits, and Phalaborwa hosts the annual marula festival where the drink made by local cooperatives is served.
Pinotage red wine, a grape variety created in Stellenbosch, South Africa, from crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsaut (which in the Cape was called Hermitage). It has a dark color, aromas of red and dark fruits, and soft tannins.
Suggest a traditional dish, sweet or drink of South Africa that is not here. We check the sources before adding it.
Your questions
Corn pap, the braai (charcoal barbecue) and bobotie are found across the country. Some specialties are tied to places: bobotie, the gatsby and the koe'sister to Cape Town; the bunny chow to Durban; the kota to Johannesburg; umngqusho to the Eastern Cape; and rooibos to Clanwilliam.
The cuisine developed in Cape Town by descendants of enslaved people brought from Indonesia, India and other parts of Asia and Africa by the Dutch East India Company. It blends spices, dried fruit and sweet‑with‑savory flavors. Bobotie and the koe'sister come from this tradition.
Both are served inside a hollowed‑out loaf. The bunny chow, from Durban, contains curry. The kota, from Johannesburg and the townships of Gauteng, contains fries, sausages, bologna, cheese and achar.
Pinotage, a red grape variety created in Stellenbosch in the 1920s by crossing Pinot Noir with Cinsaut. It is planted mainly in the Western Cape.
From the Cederberg mountains and nearby areas of the Western Cape and southern Northern Cape. The name rooibos has protected geographical indication.