Cape Cuisine: 11 South African Dishes to Try

South African cuisine is known for a great variety of ingredients, introduced during the colonial era. Through the slave trade, new foods were imported from other parts of the world such as Malaysia and Indonesia. The Boers – descendants of the Dutch settlers who came to South Africa in the 17th and 18th centuries – also introduced new ingredients and ways of cooking. At the same time, the traditional customs and dishes of the indigenous population were kept alive.

So South African cuisine today isn't a single thing; it reflects the many culinary traditions of the different communities that call the country home. The local food is especially rich in meat, porridge and spices, with lamb the most popular, followed by beef.

In this article we introduce 11 dishes you really shouldn't miss on your trip to South Africa.

Biltong is often served as a snack and consists of dried meat. It's usually made from beef or game, but it can also be ostrich. As a rule, the meat is mixed with various ingredients and spices such as vinegar, coriander, pepper, sugar or chillies to round out the flavour. It's then hung up to dry. The dish was originally especially popular because it didn't need refrigerating. These days meat lovers prize it for its high protein and low fat content.

The word boerewors comes from Afrikaans and the Dutch words boer (farmer) and wors (sausage). This grilled sausage is one of South Africa's most popular and best-known dishes. You'll find it at street stalls, sporting events and in restaurants. The sausages are usually made from minced beef, but also pork and lamb, and seasoned with spices such as coriander, nutmeg and black pepper. Traditionally they have a spiral shape and are grilled or fried, then served with pap – a maize-meal porridge with a tomato sauce (braai sauce) that no braai in South Africa is complete without.

An authentic braai is a culinary experience you shouldn't miss on a trip to South Africa. Braais have their origins in the townships of Johannesburg, where butchers set up grills outside their shops at the weekend to grill their meat and sell it on the street. Today, local communities gather at weekends for braais to catch up and eat together. Visiting a braai, you can soak up the lively atmosphere, listen to music and choose from a wide range of meats.

This dish is also one of many South Africans' favourites. Minced meat is cooked with spices, herbs and dried fruit, then topped with a mixture of egg and milk and baked. It's usually served with yellow rice and garnished with banana or vegetables. Bobotie originally comes from the colonies in Jakarta, which is why it's often made with curry powder.

This filled white loaf is a fast food that, despite its simplicity, is also offered in many restaurants. Usually the bread is filled with chicken curry, though there are now various versions with different breads and fillings. The dish's origins are unclear, but it's thought to have been brought to the country by slaves.

This sweet, typical of South African cuisine, is a syrup-coated fried pastry. To make it, the dough is plaited, fried in oil and then drenched in sugar syrup. The result is a very sticky sweet, eaten cold – literally finger-licking. It looks a bit like a doughnut and tastes like one too. The dish originally comes from the Cape Malays, an ethnic group in South Africa.

This dish is for the adventurous, those not put off by first impressions – because its main ingredient is worms. The mopane worm, named after its food source, the mopane tree, is actually the green-blue, spiky caterpillar of the emperor moth Gonimbrasia belina. Even so, it's considered a popular delicacy in South Africa, especially in rural areas. Children and women collect the caterpillars from the lower branches of the trees, gut them, boil them in salted water and dry them in the sun. Mopane worms are rich in protein and have also become a popular snack for tourists.

Mopane worms are usually fried and eaten with a combination of tomatoes, garlic, peanuts, chilli and onions. But they can also be added to a stew, or simply eaten raw and fresh, “picked” straight from a tree.

This stew, whose name refers to the pot it's cooked in, is made from meat, vegetables, rice and potatoes. It's cooked slowly in a large, round cast-iron pot with a loosely fitting lid over a wood fire. Potjiekos originates with the Dutch settlers, who introduced this way of preparing stews. Various meats and spices can be used for potjiekos. The dish is hugely popular and has so many variations that competitions for the best potjiekos are often held in South Africa.

Vetkoek is a deep-fried dough pocket with savoury or sweet fillings, so it can be eaten as breakfast or a snack, or as a dessert with tea or coffee. Among the most popular fillings are minced beef, jam, honey or syrup. These versatile pockets have become one of the most common “fast food” dishes in South Africa.

Chakalaka and pap are a firm part of South African cuisine. Chakalaka is a vegetable dish made from onions, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, beans and spices, often served cold. Pap, which means porridge, is similar to polenta and is a starchy dish made from white maize. Chakalaka and pap are often served together with grilled meat, bread, salad and stews.

In the 17th century, the Dutch and French landed in Cape Town and brought slaves from Indonesia, India and Malaysia, along with their spices and traditional cooking methods. The aromatic spices such as cinnamon, saffron, turmeric and chilli, combined with local produce, created fragrant curries and stews that are still popular in the region today. Cape Malay curry is usually a chicken curry, served with yellow rice.

Imported from the Netherlands, malva pudding – contrary to its name – isn't a pudding at all, but a baked sponge cake with apricot jam, drenched in a hot cream sauce while still warm. This calorie bomb is not only moist but also incredibly delicious.

If you're taking a tour through South Africa, you should definitely try these traditional dishes.