Popular South African Dishes, Their Roots And What’s In Them

6 Min

16/02/2026

Culture

African Cuisine

Written by

Neelanjana Mondal

Copy Writer

Bobotie,
Bunny Chow
And BBQ: Popular South African Dishes And What’s In Them

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Quick Summary

The nation of South Africa is known for its meats, carbs and barbecue delights known as ‘braai’, an Afrikaans term for ‘grilled meat’ or ‘barbecue’. This is South Africa’s distinctive style of cooking over an open wood or charcoal fire. It’s a social tradition woven into everyday life. Aside from these, street food and sinfully dense and rich desserts are also on the repertoire of this country with rolling grasslands, the Drakensberg Mountains, and the Kalahari and Namib deserts.

Deep Dive

In case you forgot, Africa is a vast continent and not a country. So, here’s introducing its southernmost cuisine that has a wide variety of smoky meats, breads and sweet puddings and cakes. South Africa has earned the moniker ‘Rainbow Nation’ not just for its multicultural population (post apartheid abolition in 1994) but for its incredibly diverse food. It has Dutch colonial influences, that meet Cape Malay spices, Indian indentured labourers’ curries blend with indigenous African ingredients, and British traditions merging with modern recipes. So, here’s a look at the country’s enduring and most popular foods.

Bobotie

Widely considered South Africa's national dish, bobotie (pronounced ba-boo-tea) is a spiced minced meat casserole topped with an egg custard. The recipe likely originated from an ancient Roman dish called patinam ex lacte, which featured cooked meat layers with pine nuts and spices, topped with egg and milk. When Dutch traders established the Cape Colony in the 17th century, they brought this recipe along with Indonesian and Malaysian slaves who worked as cooks. The enslaved people adapted the dish using local ingredients and spices from their homeland, creating something entirely new.

Potjiekos

Translating to ‘pot food’, potjiekos (pronounced poy-key-kos) is a slow-cooked stew made in a cast-iron three-legged pot over open coals. It's a special kind of South African communal cooking, like campfire cooking, rivalling braai in popularity. This South African dish is cooked undisturbed by layering meat, vegetables, starchy ingredients such as rice, pasta or potatoes along with sauce in the pot. This technique comes from the Dutch, around the 1500s, who brought their tradition of cooking in cast-iron pots with them and by fusing with indigenous cooking methods, this dish was born.

Bunny Chow

Despite the name, no rabbits are involved. Bunny chow is a street food where a hollowed-out loaf of white bread is filled with curry. The name ‘bunny’ comes from the word ‘bania’ (merchant), referring to the Indian shopkeepers who sold these meals and ‘chow’ is South African slang for food. The dish emerged during the late 1800s to the mid-1900s, when non-whites working at the sugar cane fields were not allowed to dine with the whites. Enterprising Indian restaurant owners began serving curry from back doors and windows, using hollowed-out bread as takeout containers.

Boerewors

Boerewors (pronounced boo-ruh-vors) means ‘farmer's sausage’ in Afrikaans, which came to the nation through the Dutch and French Huguenot settlers in the 17th and 18th centuries. The dish stems from European sausage-making traditions that locals adapt to using local game meat and African spices. By law in South Africa, boerewors must contain at least 90% meat, no more than 30% fat, and be seasoned with specific spices. The sausage is sold in a continuous coil, grilled whole over hot coals, then cut into portions. The casing should snap when bitten, and every weekend, thousands of braais have boerewors sizzling on grills.

Biltong

Exactly how certain cultures in India, especially in the northeast, love drying and curing their meat, South Africans love it too. Theirs is something called biltong that is a great snack, a protein source, a road trip essential, and a taste of home for South Africans abroad. Biltong's origins trace back centuries to indigenous local preservation methods and Dutch techniques, long before refrigeration. The name comes from Dutch ‘bil’ (buttock) and ‘tong’ (strip or tongue), referring to the cuts of meat used. During the Great Trek (1830s-1840s), when Boer settlers migrated inland, biltong became essential travelling food.

Melktert

A creamy, custard-filled tart dusted with cinnamon, melktert is a beloved South African indulgent dessert that lives up to its name – milk tart in Afrikaans. This dish too has a Dutch origin, brought by settlers in the 17th century. Similar to Portuguese pastéis de nata and Dutch Vlaai, it was reformatted using local ingredients. The result was a much less sweet tart as compared to its European cousins. The tart became a staple at church gatherings, weddings, and family celebrations. It's served cold, with ground cinnamon on top, creating that signature speckled appearance.

Malva Pudding

The ultimate comfort food of South Africans, malva pudding is a spongy, sticky cake soaked in a warm, buttery cream sauce. It is served hot with custard or ice cream and is the kind of dessert that makes you close your eyes and sigh with contentment. Malva pudding's exact origins are debated, but it's clearly of Dutch or Cape Dutch heritage, likely dating to the mid-1600s. What gives this pudding its signature taste is the apricot jam used in it. It might also be boozy with the use of brandy, Amarula, or sherry.

From Fire to Fork

South African cuisine is a living history lesson served on a plate, be it the communal potjiekos or the local BBQ of braai; every dish tells a story. What makes South African food truly special isn't just the unique flavour combinations or the diverse influences – it's how these dishes have become symbols of unity. Foods born from difficult histories are now shared across racial and economic lines.

Popular South African Dishes, Their Roots And What’s In Them

Bobotie,
Bunny Chow
And BBQ: Popular South African Dishes And What’s In Them

Quick Summary

Deep Dive

Bobotie

Potjiekos

Bunny Chow

Boerewors

Biltong

Melktert

Malva Pudding

From Fire to Fork

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Popular South African Dishes, Their Roots And What’s In Them

Bobotie, Bunny Chow And BBQ: Popular South African Dishes And What’s In Them

Quick Summary

Deep Dive

Bobotie

Potjiekos

Bunny Chow

Boerewors

Biltong

Melktert

Malva Pudding

From Fire to Fork

blurb

Related Blogs:

Women's Day 2026: Seven Essential Kitchen Inventions You Didn’t Know Were Invented By Women

Women's Day 2026: Charcuterie To Culinary Cocktails, Trendy Ideas To Serve Your Gal Pals

Why Easter Eggs Became A Famous Tradition: A Timeline Of The Chocolate Favourite

You may be interested in

Bobotie,
Bunny Chow
And BBQ: Popular South African Dishes And What’s In Them

You may be
interested
in