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Denningvleis

Denningvleis is a dish that definitely showcases just how delicious South African cuisine is. Some people say that this dish has become a bit forgotten, so now it’s high time to bring it back! Denningvleis is a South African lamb stew with a mixed spice marinade from Cape Malay influence. Its taste bounces between sweet and sour as a result of the tamarind used. Nowadays, people use vinegar or lemon juice instead. However, back in the day denningvleis was used for medicinal purposes to increase acidity levels in the body.

Traditionally, you’ll find it in South African homes on very special occasions and family celebrations. The term ‘denningvleis’ came from the Javanese word for meat of the water buffalo -‘dendeng’. Combined with a side of rice and some roasted vegetables, this dish will send you on a South African adventure. Before you get on with this recipe, make sure to double check whether you’ve got all the spices at home.

Denningvleis

best selling South African cookbooks

Denningvleis with PGI Welsh Lamb

With lamb being the center piece of the denningvleis, you’ll want to get a high-quality piece of meat. What better protein to use than a superior quality lamb from Wales? More specifically, the PGI Welsh Lamb is known for its exceptional quality and farming excellence over the years. ‘PGI’ – a term granted by the European Commission, stands for Protected Geographical Indication.

This certifies that the lamb is born in a unique terrain which uses pure ingredients to produce this special Welsh lamb. Imagine, sweet spring water, luscious green grass and clean air. Perfect conditions for sheep that give them that unique premium taste. If you’ve had PGI Welsh Lamb before, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about because the taste is on a whole other level.

Hundreds of years of farming traditions have been dedicated to the PGI Welsh Lamb husbandry. It has had centuries of perfecting farming traditions for crafting perfect landscapes, suitable for rearing lamb and cattle. With heavy rainfall in Wales, it creates the perfect conditions for luscious Welsh grass which the cattle and sheep feast on. Therefore, the PGI Welsh Lamb has its own unique taste. Quality is definitely the way to go. To find out more information about PGI Welsh Lamb and why it is superior in terms of quality, please visit this site.

Chump Chops Lamb

 

Selecting the lamb

Once you’ve decided to go for top quality such as PGI Welsh Lamb, next you’ll have to consider the cut. Most people are not so keen on using lamb because they think it’s too expensive. No worries, you can use cheaper cuts of lamb for the denningvleis. The ideal type of cuts are shoulder chop, loin chop, ribs, rack of lambs, chump chops, stewing lamb and shanks. Lamb is very versatile when it comes to cooking with and that’s the beauty of it.

Lamb Stew South African

However, for maximum flavour for the denningvleis, I would recommend using cuts with a bone in for extra flavour. I used chump chops but you can buy stewing lamb if you don’t like to fiddle with the bones. You can even use lamb shanks. The bones can be reused afterwards to create  a broth or delicious gravy.

Lamb Stew Tangy

South African cuisine

South African cuisine is one of those cuisines which you can trace back to many cultures. This is the result of years of European colonisation from the Dutch, German, French and British around the 17th century. However, you can also credit the indigenous people, Sotho and Nguni, for their heavy influence in South African cuisine. Before South Africa was colonised they used a wide range of ingredients. These include leaves, wild plants, game, fruit, nuts, spices, fermented milk and bulbs.

Once the Dutch East India Company came into the picture with their refreshment stations for their ships, they influenced the region for more than 150 years. The Dutch introduced spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon and the deep-frying technique to produce the infamous ‘vetkoek’.

Boerekos

Once the South African trade routes became popular, it was common for Europeans to bring Indo-Asian servants with them on these journeys. Hence, you’ll find a lot of Indonesian influence in the South African cuisine with the use of curry spices. The Indo-Asians became an ethnic group called the Cape Malays, with their very own cuisine. Today, the Cape Malays still continue to have an influence in traditional South African dishes such as the denningvleis.

The French brought in jams, preserves and most importantly wine! Today, South Africa is known for its superior quality wine. The Germans brought sausages and ‘boerewors’, a type of farmers sausage, was born. Post 17th century, the Dutch, Germans and French formed a nation and became known as Afrikaners. Later on, the Afrikaners started taking advantage of the delicious meat and wild game, essentially making meat the center of any dish. As you can see, South African cuisine has many influences and that’s what makes it so exciting!

South African

serving

It’s very common to serve the denningvleis with rice. To keep things traditional, I served the denningsvleis with ‘geelrys’ – a South African yellow rice with spices and raisins. No meal is complete without greens, so I also served ‘boereboontjies’ – green beans mashed with potato and onions. Top the plate off with some coriander or parsley for additional flavour. A lovely red wine will complement the denningvleis beautifully. Enjoy!

For more lamb recipes, check out:

Indian Roast Leg of Lamb

Grilled Curried Lamb Chops with Apricots

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Denningvleis

5 votes

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Denningvleis

Prep

Total

Yield 8

Author: Michelle Minnaar

Ingredients

  • 1.5kg (3lbs) Welsh lamb chump chops, cut into smaller chunks
  • 30ml (2 tbsp) oil
  • 3 large onions, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 5ml (1 tsp) allspice
  • 5ml (1 tsp) ground nutmeg
  • 5ml (1 tsp) mustard seed
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 7.5ml (1½ tsp) salt
  • 60ml (4 tbsp) tamarind paste
  • 30ml (2 tbsp) brown sugar
  • 250ml (1 cup) water

Instructions

  1. In a large ovenproof casserole, fry the chops in the oil until browned on all sides then remove the meat from the dish.
  2. Preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F/gas mark 3.
  3. Lower the heat and gently fry the onions and garlic until softened.
  4. Add the cloves, allspice, nutmeg, mustard, bay, salt, tamarind brown sugar and water to the mix and stir until everything is well mixed. Add more water if needed.
  5. Place the lid on the casserole and transfer the casserole to the oven. Cook for 1 hour.
  6. Check on the meat, add more water if needed just enough to ensure the stew doesn’t dry out, then cook for another hour or until the meat is tender at 140°C/280°F/gas mark 1.
  7. Serve with geelrys and boereboontjies.

Notes

  • Other cuts of stewing lamb can be used, even lamb shanks!

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 118

% Daily Value

Total Fat 5.5 g

8%

Saturated Fat 1.2 g

6%

Cholesterol 80 mg

27%

Sodium 255 mg

11%

Total Carbohydrates 12.4 g

4%

Dietary Fiber 2.2 g

9%

Sugars 7 g

Protein 5.9 g

12%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

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 Denningvleis

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. I love the sound of most spiced meat and rice dishes like the lamb dish above, but haven’t much experience of South African food. Does plantain feature? I don’t live in a city and I was super excited to see my local store is stocking it for the first time, as I love it!

    Reply

  14. I haven’t had the pleasure of sampling any South African dishes as yet, but i most certainly will be trying out a few of the recipies, they sound amazingly delicious! 🙂 x

    Reply

  15. Well I have a feeling once I’ve tried the Denningvleis lamb stew that will be a firm favourite but I’m going make hubby look through and try a few recipes (he adores cooking, I adore eating!)

    Reply

  16. I don’t have any experience with South African food but the curried lamb chops look lovely. I love cooking so I’m going to try some of the recipes to see how the family like them

    Reply

  19. I’m being honest I’ve never tried South African food but it looks amazing. Will try some recipes at home now after seeing this, looks like my kind of food.

    Reply

  25. My favourite is Bobotie, as I can see quite a favourite on here too. Love getting new things, you’re such an inspiration. Thank you

    Reply

  31. I dont know what they are called but one of the school mums (from south Africa originally) made some fab little doughnut style cakes for the Christmas fair cake stand this year. They were filled with jam like a doughnut but were covered in a cinnamon sugar. Heaven!

    Reply

  33. Well as we are only just starting our South African journey our two favourites at the moment are BOERE BREYANI and the VANILLA & GRAND MARNIER SOUFFLE. 🙂

    Reply

  34. I love bunny chow! I also love just about any meat on a braai, though. Although it technically isn’t a recipe, I also love Pronutro and Milo (not together).

    Reply

  40. I have actually never tried South African food as far as I am aware, although your post and question inspired me to take a look and see what kind of recipes are there. I found a Chicken and Peanut Stew that looks delicious on pinterest and have now added that to my recipe list to try along with yours as it looks delicious.

    Reply

  53. Bobotie is my favourite. My friend made it for me once and I absolutely loved it! I make it myself a couple of times a month now. Absolutely delicious!

    Reply

  54. Have eaten very little SA cuisine, all I can recall are some delish sausages I had at a bbq one time. Would like to try Bunny Chow

    Reply

  55. I’ve never actually tried any South African dishes. I generally like most fish dishes so I’d like to try some new South African ones.

    Reply

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