The Cape Malay Cooking Market

I don’t have any New Years Resolutions, but I do have a burning desire to accomplish more. More in the kitchen!! ..Because #Motherhood, I’ve simply been way too sick or too exhausted to stand over the stove and cook. It’s been a whole chicken, fish or meat in the oven with a yummy Woolies veggie pack or salad.
I absolutely love Good Food, and Delicious Wine!

This year I vowed to make more time to cook and bake, because I do LOVE entertaining and serving others. I also love the fact that FOOD brings people together, and can be relied upon to comfort someone on a gloomy day.

If you’re not sure how to stir your way into the perfect Roti & Curry, meet ZAIDA from Cape Malay Food Market. Her passion for our local cuisine inspired her into hosting Group Cooking evenings in her home, teaching people how to serve their best Cape Malay dish. It’s not a strict or formal set up at all, but rather centred around “cooking in an environment of love” as she called it, and “going with your gut” when it comes to tweaking recipes.

At first, I was not sure what to expect, but upon the arrival of all 8 of us, Zaida introduced herself and gave a brief history on the Cape Malay Food Culture and a short description on the selected meals being prepared that evening.

After choosing a partner (not the one we came with- because lets meet new people, and throw in a good laugh or two), we got to choose the dish that most resonated with us on the menu. At our allocated cooking station, we had a recipe to follow, accompanied by the cooking ingredients, appliances and utensils needed. We were given the freedom to play around in our pots, but Zaida checked in on us once in a while to make sure nobody would get food poisoning! She explained the process of our dish to us, making special mention to what colors we should be seeing, textures felt, and spices smelled.

It was a really lovley way to learn, without the pressure of following a structured method, but rather being able to explore what tasted good to YOU.

Once we had completed our dishes, we all helped to lay the table- a spread of wonderful Cape Malay Inspired dishes.

Ours was (although may vary on the evening):

Starter:        Grilled butternut, beetroot & feta salad

Sides:            Onion & Tomato sambal

          Sweet Yellow Rice

          Roti

Mains:          Butterbean Curry

         Spicy Kebabs
Dessert:       Boeber (sweet milk with almonds)

(All dishes available on the menu can be found at https://thecapemalayfoodmarket.co.za)

We each shared a little on who we are and what we do as we ate our delicious meal. Our story telling worked as a nice ice breaker which led to shared stories of upbringings, numbers exchanged and ofcourse, yes, instagram handles followed!
It was so hard to leave, but as they say “maagies vol, oogies toe!”.
Zaida sent us off with the most lovely gift of spices to start us on our way.

I enjoyed my time in Zaida’s kitchen as a fun, intimate couples night out- but it can be enjoyed by friends AND families as a unique experience! I would highly recommend it as a team-building exercise too.

If you wish to book a Cape Malay Cooking Class/Experience with Zaida, you can do so on:
1) Her website
2) Facebook- The Cape Malay Food Market
3) Instagram- @TheCapeMalayFoodMarket
4) Email- zaidatofie@gmail.com

All images by Bus-udah Manie Photography.

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