Best Potjie recipes: how to make it with chicken, seafood, lamb or beef?

• Potjieko, also known as Potjie, is a South African stew mainly containing layered vegetables. It is rich in vitamins and bursts with many fantastic flavours.
• Potjie has been gracing the tables of South African households for many years.
• The easy Potjie recipes below offer detailed steps to make a Potjie for you and the family to enjoy.
• Masego Mbonyana, Chef and Food stylist, recommended seasonings and spices that enhance the flavor of potjie dishes to the Briefly.co.za's readers.

Discover some of the best Potjiekos recipes and try them at home. It can be one of the best things to do to surprise friends and family members. These Potjiekos recipes are favourable for beginners.

Tips from Chef

Masego Mbonyana, Chef and Food stylist, shares with Briefly.co.za the seasonings and spices that enhance the flavor of potjie dishes and regional variations to consider:

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Potjie dishes are known for their rich flavours and can be enhanced by a variety of seasonings and spices such as curry powder, cumin, coriander, paprika, garam masala, thyme, bay leaves, chillies, garlic and onions.

She also adds that depending on the region and cultural influences, you may find variations in the spices used in potjie dishes:

For example, in coastal regions, you might find dishes flavoured with coconut milk and curry leaves, while other areas make use of spices like cloves and allspice which might be more prevalent.

Traditional beef Potjie recipes

This is the basic and traditional lamb Potjie recipe. It is easy to make with readily available ingredients.

Ingredients

Below are the ingredients you should use.

• 45ml sunflower oil
• One large onion
• Three large cloves of garlic
• Two leeks
• 1kg beef
• 250 ml red wine
• 100g tomato paste
• Four carrots
• Two button mushrooms
• Four mielies
• 5g Thyme
• Two beef stock cube
• Water
• One large handful of green beans

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Preparation method

Below is a step-by-step guide on how you can prepare this meal.

1. In a Potjiekos pot, add the sunflower oil and wait for it to heat up.
2. Once it is heated, add in the chopped onions, crushed garlic and finely sliced leeks and fry until soft.
3. In the pot, fry the cubed beef until they have browned well.
4. After browning the meat, add the red wine and tomato paste and mix well. Allow the stew to simmer until the liquid has reduced to approximately half of the initial content.
5. Add in the carrots, mushrooms, mielies, thyme and beef stock cubes and then pour in water. Do not stir the contents of the pot.
6. Allow the vegetables to sit in layers on top of the meat. Cover the pot and let it simmer for approximately 1-2 hours or until the beef cubes are nice and tender.
7. Add your green beans and let the stew simmer for 20 minutes while covered.
8. After the 20 minutes have elapsed, your beef Potjiekos stew is ready. This can be served with rice.

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Beef and butternut Potjiekos

This Potjiekos recipe is rich in vegetables, including butternut pumpkin, for extra nutrients.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you should have to be able to prepare this stew.

• One kilogram of cubed beef
• 30ml extra vi*gin olive oil
• Two medium onions, sliced
• 125g dried apricots
• Four carrots, sliced
• One butternut pumpkin, cubed
• Four potatoes, sliced
• Two corns on the cob, cut into five pieces each
• Chopped cabbage
• Six baby courgettes, sliced
• 250g frozen peas
• 125ml sherry
• 50ml soy sauce
• Dried rosemary
• Dry mustard powder
• Dried thyme leaves
• Two cans of chopped mushrooms
• 250ml red wine
• 250ml water
• Salt and pepper

Preparation method

Below is a step-by-step guide on how to prepare this beef and butternut Potjiekos.

1. Place the Potjiekos pot on the stove and let it come to high heat.
2. Carefully pour the oil into the pot and add the beef. Sauté the cubed beef pieces until they brown well.
3. Add in your sliced onions and allow them to brown together with the beef.
4. After browning the onions, add your soy sauce, dry mustard powder, rosemary, thyme leaves, beef stock cube, chopped mushrooms, red wine, and water to the pot.
5. Stir the contents well and allow the stew to simmer for 1.5 hours while covered.
6. After this, add in your dried apricots, diced carrots, cubed butternut pumpkin, sliced potatoes and corn, layering them all in that specific order. Make sure you do not stir.
7. Season well with salt and pepper. Cover the pot with its lid and allow it to simmer for 45 minutes.
8. After 45 minutes, add your chopped cabbage, sliced courgettes and peas, layering them in that order.
9. Cover and let the stew simmer for the final 10 minutes.
10. You can thicken the stew with cornflour and water if necessary.
11. Remove the stew from the heat and serve with rice or pot bread.

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Creamy chicken Potjie

If you love chicken, you can opt to prepare this recipe. This recipe is easy, inexpensive, and relatively quick to make compared to other Potjies recipes.

Ingredients

Below are the ingredients you need to use to make a creamy chicken.

• Large onion, thinly sliced into rings
• One chicken braai pack (2kg)
• Italian dried herbs
• Ground ginger
• Salt to taste
• White pepper
• Creamy mayonnaise
• 275 ml bottle of sparkling apple juice
• A bottle of ginger beer
• Freshline baby potatoes in herb butter
• White onion soup powder
• Milk

Recipe method

Below is a guide on how you can prepare this chicken Potjie flavour.

1. Melt the herb butter from the potato pack in a Potjie. Fry the onion slices in this, then remove and set aside.
2. Combine the herbs, ginger, salt, pepper, and mayonnaise in a mixing bowl. Turn the chicken pieces in this, then transfer to the Potjie and brown on all sides.
3. Pour in both juices and cook for 1 hour with the lid on.
4. Combine the onion rings, vegetables, baby potatoes, and soup in milk. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then replace the Potjie lid.
5. Cook for another 30 minutes over hot coals or until the chicken falls off the bone and the sauce is nicely bubbling.

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Potjie vegetables and oxtail

You can use oxtail for your Potjiekos instead of the normal beef cutlets. You will notice the difference in the flavours.

Ingredients

Below are the ingredients needed when preparing this vegetable meal.

• 500g oxtails, chopped into thick pieces
• Ten slices of bacon cut into pieces
• ½ cup flour
• Salt and pepper
• 1-litre beef stock
• One can of tomato paste
• One bay leaf
• Six black peppercorns
• Six large leeks, chopped
• Two large onions, chopped
• Six large carrots, chopped
• 20 button mushrooms
• One bouquet garni
• 1 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup of sherry
• 1/2 cup of cream
• Two tablespoons of butter
• Two tablespoons of olive oil
• Two tablespoons of crushed garlic

Preparation method

Using a paper towel, dry the oxtail pieces.

1. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Place it into a Ziploc bag, add the oxtail pieces, and shake well to coat them evenly.
2. Place the butter and olive oil into a Potjiekos pot and heat.
3. When hot enough, pour the bacon pieces and sauté them until golden brown.
4. Take out the bacon pieces and, in the same oil, place the flour-coated oxtail pieces and brown them well.
5. Once browned, take them out and drain them of the excess cooking oil.
6. Proceed to finely dice the carrots and coarsely chop the onions and leeks.
7. Add the chopped and sliced carrots, onions and leeks to the oil. Sauté them until they soften.
8. Afterwards, add the browned oxtail pieces, fried bacon, bouquet garnish, bay leaf, ground peppercorns, crushed garlic, tomato paste, red wine and sherry.
9. Mix well and bring to a boil. Let it cook slowly on medium heat for 3 to 4 hours.
10. With 1 hour left on the set cooking time, cut the remaining carrots into 1-inch pieces. Add the chopped carrots and button mushrooms to the Potjiekos stew and let it continue to cook slowly. Make sure the meat is soft and tender.
11. Before serving, add half a cup of cream and stir it into the stew. If you wish to thicken the sauce, mix cornflour with the cream before adding it to the stew.
12. Once ready, take off the heat and serve with the desired side dish.

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Creamy seafood Potjie

This simple recipe uses a variety of seafood that can be obtained fresh or purchased in a bag. Muscles, calamari, shrimp, crab, or white fish can all be used.

Ingredients

• Two tbsp of olive oil
• One tbsp of butter
• One leek, sliced
• Two stalks of celery, finely chopped
• Two cloves garlic, minced
• 1½ tbsp of medium curry powder
• Three squid tubes cut into rings
• 650g firm white fish, cut into large chunks
• 1½ tsp fish spice
• 1kg pot-ready blue mussels
• 300g jumbo prawn tails
• 200g punnet grape tomatoes
• 1 cup vegetable stock powder (prepared)
• A can of light coconut cream
• Two bay leaves
• ½ tbsp of sauce
• Salt and milled pepper

Preparation method

Below is the preparation method.

1. Place the Potjie pot over medium-hot coals and add the olive oil and butter once heated.
2. Cook, constantly stirring, until the leeks, celery, and garlic are softened.
3. Cook for another minute after adding the curry powder, stirring to combine.
4. Season the squid rings and fish chunks with fish spice.
5. Pour the stock and coconut cream over the squid, fish, and mussels in the onion mixture.
6. Cover with a lid after adding the bay leaves. Allow simmering gently for 10 to 12 minutes before adding the prawns.
7. Cook and cover for 5 minutes, or until all of the mussels have opened (discard any mussels that have not opened) and the fish is cooked through.
8. Pour in the peri-peri sauce—season with salt and pepper to taste.
9. Garnish with herbs and serve with garlic toast and lemon wedges.

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Potjiekos recipes for beef and beer

Switch things up and add a little flair to your Potjiekos by using a beer of your choice. Try this recipe and explore the new twist.

Ingredients

Below are the ingredients required.

• 15g cake flour
• 5g mixed herbs
• 375ml beer of choice
• 5g paprika
• 1kg beef, cubed
• 250ml beef stock
• 15g butter
• One packet of tomato soup powder
• 15ml vegetable oil
• One bay leaf
• Two onions, sliced
• 15ml vinegar
• 15g white sugar
• 10g cornstarch
• Eight green beans, sliced
• Four carrots, sliced
• One garlic clove, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation method

Follow these steps to prepare this tasty meal using beer.

1. Mix the cake flour and paprika until well combined. Place the cubed beef pieces in the mixture and coat well.
2. Place the Potjiekos pot over high heat and carefully pour in your oil until heated. Place the coated beef pieces in the oil and brown them well.
3. After browning, remove the beef pieces. Add the sliced onions and white sugar to the same oil until the onions are soft and caramelized.
4. Next, add your sliced green beans, chopped garlic, and carrots. Cover the pot and allow it to simmer for approximately 5 minutes.
5. Add your browned beef cubed to the pot. Proceed to stir in your mixed herbs, bay leaf, beer of choice, tomato soup packet and beef stock.
6. Mix it well and cover it with the lid, allowing it to simmer for an hour or until the meat is soft and tender. Stir occasionally using a wooden spoon.
7. Mix the cornstarch and vinegar in a small bowl and stir it into the stew.
8. Simmer until the stew thickens—season nicely with salt and pepper.
9. Serve with the desired side dish.

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Beef Potjie with red wine

Red wine and beef are a match made in heaven. Add some red wine to your Potjie stew and enjoy its rich flavours.

Ingredients

Below are the ingredients you should use.

• One kg thin beef, cubed
• 30ml vegetable cooking oil
• One onion, chopped
• One clove of garlic, crushed
• One can of diced tomatoes
• 10g salt
• Ground black pepper
• 30g freshly chopped basil or 10g dried basil
• 150ml white wine
• 30ml lemon juice
• 15g cake flour
• 30g freshly chopped parsley or 10g dried parsley

Preparation method

Follow these steps to prepare this delicious meal.

1. In a Potjiekos pot, pour in your cooking oil and heat it over high heat.
2. When the oil is hot enough, put in your pieces of beef and brown them nicely.
3. Add your sliced onions and crushed garlic. Sauté the two until golden brown and translucent.
4. Add your chopped tomatoes, basil, salt and black pepper to taste.
5. In a separate container, heat your white wine and add it to the pot. Stir well.
6. Add in your lemon juice to season.
7. Covet the pot with the lid and allow it to simmer for 1-2 hours or until the meat is tender.
8. After the time has elapsed and the meat is tender, mix your flour with cold water well in a container to form a paste. Add this paste to the stew, stir well and allow it to simmer for a couple of minutes to thicken.
9. Remove from the heat and serve. Before serving, sprinkle the chopped parsley. Serve with a side of your choice; rice or bread.

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Potjie recipes are the best, especially during the festive season. The recipes included in this article will bring the family together. The rich flavours remind every person what home truly feels like.

READ ALSO: How to make butternut soup: best butternut soup recipes

Briefly.co.za recently published a recipe for butternut soup. This is one of the most nutritious plant foods you can prepare anytime.

Butternut soup contains vitamins C and E, folate, magnesium, potassium, and manganese. This soup can be made in various ways and served with any side dish.

Source: Briefly News