SA Rocks

As the US bloggers tour came to a close I was asked to put together a short summation of our trip with Ray Lewis. We decided to ask the bloggers what South Africa means to them, this is the response we received:

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Street food – it’s such a great concept. Something cheap and readily available, sold on the streets in a portable format, and eaten by the average local. Think Leberkaese rolls in Austria; grilled corn on the cob in Morocco; falafel or shawarma throughout the Middle East; frites with mayonnaise in Belgium; poutine in Canada; tacos in Mexico; chilli dogs and corn dogs in the USA; and arepas in Venezuela.

In South Africa, we have the usual collection of generic international street food like hamburgers, fried chicken, or fish and chips, but here and there you will find some truly South African food being sold on the streets, like Durban’s home-grown favourite: bunny chows.

There is some discussion as to the origin of this steet food which broadly consists of curry ladled into a scooped-out loaf of bread. One theory is that it originated at a restaurant in Durban’s Grey Street when, in the early 1900s, caddies from the Royal Durban Golf Club were unable to get enough time off over lunch to dash to predominantly Indian Grey Street to pick up a curry for lunch. The caddies would ask their friends to bring back curries for them and because there were no polystyrene containers back then, the shopkeepers sent the curry in holowed out loaves of bread. There was also no disposable cutlery, so the bread was useful as a tool to dip into the curry and use instead of a fork. This theory might also explain the rather unusual name: the shopkeepers on Grey Street were called banias (an Indian caste of merchants), and “bunny” could be a corruption of this. Another similar theory is that bunny chows originated as a means for the (mostly Indian) labourers to take lunch onto the sugar cane plantations of Kwa-Zulu Natal in the days before disposable containers.

The curry used in a bunny chow varies according to taste – chicken, lamb, beef or vegetable are all popular, and the level of heat varies (beware – Durbanites like theirs HOT!). The bread component of a bunny chow may be a whole, half or quarter white loaf, and the scooped out centre (known as the virgin) is replaced on top of the curry before serving. The virgin is then dipped into the gravy before and eaten as an appetiser, and it is considered very bad form indeed to take somebody’s virgin without asking . As the level of the curry drops, you can rip off bits of the bread bowl to use instead of cutlery – so all in all it’s a fun but potentially messy meal and not suitable for first dates or important business lunches!

Bunny chow terminology is a minefield for the uninitiated. When suggesting to friends that you should go and get bunny chows for a meal, using the word “chow” marks you out as a clueless foreigner – the correct term would be “let’s go get some bunnies for lunch”. And when ordering, you shouldn’t even use the word bunny – you merely order a whole, half or a quarter, depending on the portion of bread you want, and specify the type of filling you want (e.g. a half beef, or a whole chicken). And be very careful if you have a funny bunny – this is a bunny made from the centre of the loaf rather than the end and, as such, has no crust at the base. Make sure you support the base, otherwise your friends will quickly let you know where the “funny” part of the name came from

The recipe below is a great basic lamb curry and could also be served on rice. If you are making bunny chows though, be sure there is enough liquid for plenty of gravy: you want the gravy to soak properly into the bread “bowl”. I was lucky enough that my lovely friend Simla brought back a packet of Osmans Taj Mahal roasted Durban madras curry powder for me last time she went home, which I use in my curry – but you could use any ready-mixed curry powder that you like and which is available where you live. You can also add chopped chillies at the end to spice up individual portions if some diners like it hotter than others. And as always, if you have time try to make the curry a day in advance because the flavours always improve on the second day.

So what are you waiting for? Try these for yourself and experience the authentic taste of South African street food!

BUNNY CHOW (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1 kg lamb, cubed
1 medium onion, sliced thinly into rings
2 large tomatoes or 1x400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2-3 curry leaves
1 stick cinnamon
4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1.5 tsp crushed ginger
1.5 tsp crushed garlic
4 tsp Durban masala (or substitute shop-bought curry powder,as hot or mild as you like)
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp garam masala
3-4 potatoes, cubed
Salt
1 or 2 (depending on the size) crusty, square loaves of bread
Fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

Cube the meat and slice the onion; peel and dice the tomato.

Heat the oil and add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, onion and curry leaves. Fry until the onion is light golden brown in colour.

Add the masala mix (or curry powder), turmeric, ginger, garlic and tomato. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mix resembles a puree.

Add the meat and cook for about 10 minutes. Then add the poatoes and about 1/4 cup of water. Lower the heat and simmer over low heat until the meat is tender and the potatoes cooked. Keep an eye on it to make sure the bottom of the pot does not burn.

When the meat is cooked through and the potatoes are tender (about 30 minutes), add the garam masala mixture. Test for seasoning and add salt if necessary. Simmer for a further 10 minutes on a low heat.

In the meantime, take a fresh loaf of white bread – it needs to be crusty on the outside with a nice, soft crumb. Little farmouse loaves half the size of standard loaves are ideal. Halve the loaf and scoop out the soft white crumb, leaving the crust to form a “bowl”.

Spoon the curry into the half loaf and serve, garnished with coriander leaves. The soft crumb can be dipped into the curry and eaten as well.

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I have been involved with the It Starts With You organisation (see the video to your left) and the IMC on and off over the past few years.

I am absolutely blown away by the campaign that the Jupiter Drawing Room has put together for them. Have a look:

What are your thoughts? I am quite intrigued by the pay it forward sort of approach that they have taken. I like it. You give, others will see you give, intervene, be nice, kind and do the same and the process is doubled in effort and so on and so on. Let’s hope it’s a real possibility.

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I am a firm believer in turn the other cheek with a dash of eye for an eye (to be biblical). To explain that what I believe aids in change is the education to know when to stand up and fight, when to walk away, when to hold em or when to fold em – with respect to Kenny Rogers.

Without education all you have is emotion. Emotion can only get you so far.

Browsing through The Trust website I found an organisation that I can finally relate to. The Adopt a School Foundation. This is something that I think I could get behind, give money and time to and afterwards really feel as if I had made a difference.

Those that truly suffer in many if not most unfortunate national situations, wars, screw ups and historical misfortunes are the children of nations. It’s time that in SA we gave the children our country a fighting chance.

For a years I’ve said to people who ask me when things will get better, things will get better when my 1 year old cousin (who is now nearly 5) grows to be a 40 year old man and is colour-blind and has been taught from a schooling level what is right, what is wrong and what is moral we will be on the mend.

So why not kick that process off now? Any charity that is aiding the healing process, giving the citizens of our country a chance to make it in this life deserves a meager R3000.

My point is, R3000 might be used up quickly by the Adopt a School Foundation but in the long run their efforts will eventually start to pay. So R3000 now will mean paying it forward down the line and if every student, ±50 000 since the start of the foundation, end up giving back to their community then a difference will be made.

Let’s be more realistic. If 10% of the 50 000 children all grow up to be successful and decide to give away R30 per month to a charity of their choice then that will total R150 000 per month in charitable donations. THAT is a difference, it’s a long term plan but it is, in my opinion, one of the only ways we are truly going to heal this country, think long term, plan ahead and protect our youth.

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When I’m an old woman, grey, frail and allowed to be cantankerous, I’ll gather my grandkids about me, puff on something seemly for my age and station, and launch into a tale about the many, many Aussie whippings that I watched dished out to us. The spectre of the Waugh brothers at the Wanderers crease, the world cup agonies, the humbling series defeats, the glimmers of hope that were so cruelly bowled over by Messrs Warne, McGrath and Co…. And my grandkids will nudge each other impatiently wondering what the point of my tirade is. And then I’ll get to the tour of OZ in 08/09 and everything will be much clearer.

The twin victories in the test and ODI series are massive to South African cricket, South African sport but even beyond sport- It is a triumph over the ugly politics, the discontent over the board’s commitment to play a team that is reflective of the country it represents, the emigrations en masse ala Pieterson- these victories speak of a nation that is prepared to roll up its sleeves and fight through the night.

When Graeme Smith was dressed by Morne Morkel in Jacques Kallis’ shirt and Paul Harris’ stained pullover and faced ten gut wrenching balls with a plastered forearm, that fighting spirit was exemplified. The series was already won, we could have gone easily into the good night, it was a dead rubber, it really wouldn’t have mattered that much, but Captain, Hero, you call him what you like so long as it is sufficiently adulatory, he showed what it meant to be a Captain of a South African team. It’s little wonder Kevin Pieterson resigned the England captaincy soon thereafter, he probably realised this captaincy business had been set standards he wasn’t likely to scratch up to.

We may be accused of dishing out an unfair portion of our glee to Mr Pieterson, but you see these victories have justified in the most everything that KP has so publicly and liberally criticised about SA cricket. Among the stars of the test series were JP Duminy and Hashim Amla, players whose place in the team would previously be labelled spots of affirmative action, they flouted the misconceptions and silenced the detractors with every stroke of the ball while playing among the other rising stars, the Morkels, Steyn and within a team united in purpose and spirit.

And the spirit in which the Proteas approached the tour is in itself something to be proud of. Far from the maddening controversies that mired India’s tour down under, the Proteas, led admirably by Captain Fantastic, were not duped into engaging in wars of words. Even in the immediate aftermath of the ODI series victory, Johan Botha, called on the team to be humble. Truly signs of a great team.

With bat and ball they played, with bat and ball history has been made. Rock on SA!

This post is a contribution from http://kayenchantey.blogspot.com/

Images contributed by my friends Courtenay and Tam who, for the moment, live in Aus and attended the great ass-whipping of ’09!

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The video is called

Zimbabwe: The stolen ballot

Why has this video not ever been shown on local TV stations? And if it has, why has there been no vocal coverage of it, or word of mouth about it? I found this video at the kickmugabeout website. with the following explanation:

A GuardianFilms’ undercover video report revealing vote rigging by Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party filmed ‘in Mugabe’s face’ during last year’s presidential Zimbabwe election won best news programme of the year during last week’s Broadcast Awards held in London. Zimbabwe: The Stolen Ballots, a world exclusive posted on the guardian.co.uk website in July last year and also broadcast on BBC2’s Newsnight, showed a Mugabe supporter getting prison officers to fill in their postal ballots in his presence. The film was shot in Zimbabwe capital Harare’s central jail by prison officer Shepherd Yuda and smuggled out of the country by him. Yuda later fled the country with his family. This is believed to be the first time a UK newspaper has won a Broadcast award. GuardianFilms is the TV production arm of Guardian News & Media, which also publishes MediaGuardian.co.uk. Shepherd Yuda, the prison guard who filmed this video footage ‘in Mugabe’s face’ (rhetoric) has since fled Zimbabwe.

This is one of the best pieces of investigative citizen journalism that I have ever seen and it well deserves the awards it has received. The cost of the video? A man and his family had to flea Zimbabwe for their lives. This makes me sick to my stomach. Yet the SA government offers up quiet diplomacy. Tsk tsk tsk.

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It’s tough to imagine anyone coming to South Africa and having nothing to do on holiday. In fact it’s almost impossible. We have everything you can imagine from the big five, to mountain ranges, historical sites and astounding beaches.

Here’s a great advert about just this topic but told from a very interesting (and old) perspective. Hilarious stuff.

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Just as mothers have mothers day, and fathers have fathers day, today is police person day.

Yes, that’s correct, today is the day in the year dedicated to thanking police for their incredible work and thankless job. Let’s be honest, it really is a thankless job especially in our country where the crimes outweigh the arrest and the criminals outnumber the protectors.

So do me a favour and don’t tell that cop joke today, don’t rag them when you see them pull over one too few taxi’s, they can’t handle them all. Don’t shout at them when you’ve been speeding and they pull you over. How bout we all try our hardest today to not to break the rules (yes, you and me) and not to piss off the hard working police who aren’t corrupt (whatever number you personally believe that to be). There are many, many great South Africans working in the police force, they go to work everyday and see more action than many cops see in a year in other countries.

My heart always go out to police officers when I know how much they earn and how much crap we give them.

Good on you police-people. You do a great job and a thankless one, but here’s a thank you from SA Rocks!

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Americans get a lot of grief about their seemingly inherent lack of geographical knowledge and education.

On Friday I was sent a tiny little flash game to play. It is focused on geography. Capitals of countries, famous places, cities etc etc. As you progress through the levels it becomes harder and harder to pinpoint the exact proximity of the place you are asked for.

I managed to get up to a whopping stage 6 (out of a lot more than that).

So here you go, take the test and let me know how you do. I’ve chose Africa as the focus of this little test. I mock other people for their lack of knowledge but let’s see how we all do with African geography.

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OpenSA! launches in Johannesburg today with a pilot project to make South African heritage more accessible for remixing and re-publishing by online creators. In collaboration with SA Rocks and the African Commons Project, OpenSA! is collecting, tagging and managing donations from people who are willing to make their material freely available online. OpenSA! will also be helping to coordinate outreach to South Africa’s young creators to enable them to learn more about how to find open content that they are free to remix and share.

As access to the Internet grows in South Africa, so too does the range of creative activity by a new generation of active online citizens. Internet publishing in the form of blogging and citizen journalism, online publishing of photographic, video and music publishing are all part of a wide range of democratic speech that we as a young nation are trying to encourage and nurture.

There are some moments in the history and culture of South Africa that are part of our shared heritage – such as Nelson Mandela’s speech when he was released from prison in 1990 or Thabo Mbeki’s ‘I am an African’ speech. For the first time in history we have the means to make those moments available to more than just the professional journalists, filmmakers and researchers who were traditionally authorized to re-publish them.

OpenSA! is a pilot project dedicated to the growing number of young South Africans who are finding their voice online. The project was started in order to nurture this creativity by making it easier for young creators to find and share media about our heritage safely and legally.

Gregor Rohrig appears to be one of the first to contribute to OpenSA!. This is a great move for us as Gregor’s photography is some of the best that I’ve seen of South Africa and its people.

One of the main concepts around this project is the public domain. To find out a bit more info about public domain, what it is and what it means check out the blog post on iHeritage.co.za.

For additional information, please contact Heather Ford
Phone: 011 327 3155 or 082 872 7374

Email: heather@africancommons.org

The African Commons Project is a non-profit organization based in Johannesburg with the goal of mobilizing communities through active participation in collaborative technology (www.africancommons.org).

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