Collection
Iconic South African Dishes
The food that actually defines South African eating — bunny chow, bobotie, biltong, braai and malva pudding. Not restaurant lists; the dishes themselves.
9 places
Bunny Chow
A hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with curry — Durban's Indian-community invention, eaten with the fingers.
Bobotie
Cape Malay spiced minced meat baked with a savoury egg-custard top — South Africa's most famous home dish.
Biltong
Air-dried, vinegar-cured meat — beef most often — cut into chewy strips. The country's universal snack.
Boerewors
A coiled farmer's sausage of beef and pork, spiced with coriander and cooked over coals — the braai's centrepiece.
Braai / Shisa Nyama
The South African cookout — meat over open coals, from a backyard braai to a township shisa nyama, and the country's social ritual.
Chakalaka
A spicy relish of onion, tomato, carrot and beans — the township staple that goes with everything.
Durban Curry
The Durban Indian curry — hotter, redder, and richer than its Indian ancestor, served with rice or in a bunny.
Malva Pudding
A baked, sticky sponge of apricot jam and butter, served hot with custard — the Cape's national dessert.
Koeksister
A plaited or ball-shaped doughnut, fried and drenched in syrup — two versions: the Cape Malay spiced ball and the Afrikaner plaited crisp.
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