Page 20 - Cornwall 3 2021

ESTATE CULTURE

eat less carbohydrates with meals and based foods coming from the produce of and three children have called Cornwall
in summer, meals are often a loaded her parents’ garden - mealies, boiled or Hill Estate home since moving into their
salad. This is a base of salad leaves roasted, yams, sweet potatoes and nuts newly built home in 2014.
topped generously with a selection of fruit, and curries with rotis or rice. She shared a
vegetables, nuts, cheese, eggs, chicken, fish delicious traditional curry with eggs and There is a theme running though our
or meat. During lockdown the family had a selection of home-made samoosas with discussions and it comes up again in
the time to start paying more attention to the ladies on the morning. If you have Bongi’s reminiscences of her childhood
their orchard and vegetable garden and never tried a freshly made samosa with a foods. Meals were based on fresh,
now all meals are planned around what steaming cup of tea, you are missing out! home-grown vegetables like madumbi,
is in season, and ripe, in the garden. spinach and sweet potatoes, with beans
Nowadays, with the smaller garden and some animal protein like beef or
Nnyambeni Golele is a Venda. Originally spaces and time constraints, Dolly says chicken, but not a lot, Bongi emphasises.
from Limpopo, she and her husband and the family does enjoy the convenience of Domestic animals were raised at home
their family of four children have called take-away food, but the focus of family and once slaughtered, the whole animal
Cornwall Hill Estate home since building meals is still on wholesome, home- was processed for food and other uses
their home on a hectare stand in 2005. cooked food. Meals are served with a lot around the house. Vegetables were the
of salads and fruit and she has become base of most dishes. Nowadays her own
She recalls the food of her childhood accustomed to using shop-bought fruits family still eats a lot of traditional food,
in Limpopo being based largely on and vegetables. although her children do like “new food”
the vegetables that the family grew and take-aways occasionally. When
in their garden, a variety of beans and Avid golfer and member of Irene she has time, Bongi makes dombolo,
nuts, and the ubiquitous hard chicken, Country Club, Bongi Shabalala was steamed bread or dumplings, a family
with fresh fish from the all-season river persuaded to put down her golf clubs for favourite. She had prepared dombolo
running near their home. Her secondary a few hours before flying to George to with white beans in a savoury mince
schooling was in a Catholic boarding represent Northern Gauteng in a golfing stew to share with us and it was a hit. I
school which she says, with emphasis, tournament, and joined us representing helped myself twice from the bowls and
was nothing like home, but she values the Zulu culture. Bongi, her husband noticed that I was not the only one!
that it taught her to be independent.
After school she went on to complete
her teaching degree before joining the DOLLY’S CHICKEN PILAU
National Research Council.
Cooking time 45 minutes
Nnyambeni cooks all her traditional Serves 4 to 6
favourites for her children and now for
her first grandchild. She tells us that this Ingredients
little one can be a fussy eater but needs • 750 ml rice of your choice
no persuasion when offered delele, a
northern South African dish made from • 1large onion
the fruit of the plant with the same • 250g margarine or butter
name, which is similar to okra. Bright • 3 cardamom seeds
green with a slimy texture, she warned • 10ml coriander powder
us it was an acquired taste but upon • 2 sticks cinnamon
tasting the dish, we gave it both thumbs • 10ml crushed ginger and garlic
up. It was delicious. She sources many • 10ml fennel powder
of her traditional vegetables from the • 10ml cumin powder
Lyttelton Housewives Market and those • 3 cloves
that she cannot get there she grows • 6 green chillies
herself in her vegetable garden, such as • 1 chicken cut into portions and washed
Gushe, or Jew’s Mallow leaves, which is • salt to taste
cooked into a tasty stew with onions and • 300ml peas
tomato. Many of her meals are based • Parboil rice, drain water and set aside.
on various beans - black, speckled and
kidney beans – with samp and peanuts, Method
ground up in her coffee grinder, served - Melt margarine or butter in a large pot and add sliced onions and sauté
alongside chicken which she buys from
a farm near Cullinan. A common theme until opaque.
of the morning was that hard chickens - Add the spices and mix well together.
have a far superior taste but because - Add the chicken pieces and cook on low heat until the chicken is done.
they must cook for so long, they are not - You may need to add a little water to ensure your chicken and spices do
particularly kind on the electricity meter! not catch and burn.
The consensus was that it makes sense to - Add peas and cook for another 5 mins.
cook in bulk and freeze portions. - Add the boiled rice to the chicken and carefully stir the mixture till the
rice and chicken are evenly distributed.
Dolly Naidoo is a relatively new resident, - Garnish with sprigs of mint and steam on moderate heat for 10 mins.
having moved into the estate with her - Serve with cucumber in plain yoghurt, salads, chutney and pickles of your
daughter Samantha and her family in May choice.
2019. Originally from Stanger, KwaZulu - A special touch to add flavour is to add air-fried potato cubes and extra
Natal, she was born on a farm into a large
family of 11 children. Dolly reminisces fried onions on top of the pilau.
that as children they ate a lot of plant-
20 Cornwall View • Issue 3 2021