‘To be African is to feel a deep connection to this continent — its history, its beauty, and its people.’
Daniella Sachs (Tourism Innovation Expert)
When you visit South Africa, you soon discover what a wonderful, innovative, and exciting place it is. Filled with an unmatched diversity of people, cultures, regions, foods, and landscapes.
This is what it is to be South African: A melting pot of all of the beautiful things life has to offer, we cannot be defined by just one thing, this is what makes us the Rainbow nation, we are colorful to our core and proudly so.
Chef Ryan along with the extremely talented Hannah Lewry, food stylist, and consultant, and the Tanda Tula kitchen team are shifting the dining experience of Boma dinners to reflect the inspiring diversity that exists throughout our country. Ultimately, we want to share and celebrate our roots and heritage with our guests and take them on a food journey through this beautiful land.
All South Africans love a braai, known to the rest of the world as a BBQ or cooking over a fire, but here you will always hear it fondly referred to as a Braai. The essence of a braai is centered around the fire. Fireside dining, flame grilled, coal baked, interactive cooking. Boma dinner is our opportunity to capture that iconic South African braai experience that is unique to our country.
Our Boma menu will tell our guests a South African story, offering the opportunity to taste some of our most famous dishes from many of the various cultures that live here, obviously with a Tanda Tula twist. We have Cape Malay Frikkadels with soft herbs and pink pickled onions, to our hand-strained Amasi Curds (Amasi is an African-style fermented milk product similar to buttermilk or yogurt) with griddled flat breads, served with our famous 8-hour slow, coal-roasted Potjie style lamb shoulder.
Chef Ryan’s cooking ethos is all about starting from scratch and this passion is illustrated by going back to the basics of good, honest, simple but considered food while celebrating and sourcing local and seasonal ingredients, as far as possible. We are so excited to share our love of braai with you, especially in a way you have never experienced before.
A roaring fire in the bush, heady with aromas of braai sizzling upon the open flames, the sounds of the wood crackling beneath the grill releasing sprays of glowing embers into the open night’s sky is one of the many safari experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime.
Tanda Tula Green Chutney
Makes one small jar
¼ bunch fresh coriander, chopped with stems plus with extra for serving
1 – 2 green chilies, seeded and chopped
1 small bunch of mint, leaves picked off stems
Zest and Juice of one lime or half a lemon
½ clove garlic
2 cm fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
3 tablespoons coconut cream
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
1 tablespoon caster sugar or honey, to taste
Blend all the ingredients until desired consistency and season to taste, feel free to add a dash of water if necessary to loosen the chutney. It keeps for 1 week in an airtight jar in the fridge, for best results make it the day before and allow the flavors to merge overnight.
Cooks tip:
You can substitute lemon or lime for 1 tablespoon of brown vinegar to taste. Why not try another version by substituting the coconut milk for peanuts or peanut butter but add 1 Tablespoon at a time to taste? Both add a creamy coolness to the chutney but deliver very different delicious results.
Served with Braaied mielies, rolled in melted Biryani butter, and topped with pink pickled onions.
Recipe by: Hannah Lewry, food stylist, and consultant in the Tanda Tula kitchen.
