“Love Authentic Food”: Woman Shares Easy Recipe To Make Traditional Idombolo From Scratch

• A content creator shared a video showing how to make traditional idombolo (dumplings) from scratch
• She prepared the dumplings with meat, cooking everything together in one pot for added flavour
• South Africans debated the term she used for the meat she used in the dish, which she referred to as "inyama yesiZulu"

Making traditional dumplings doesn't have to be scary. TikTok content creator @nonhlemthembu posted her recipe on 22 June 2025 with the caption:

"If you've been scared of making iDombolo/dumplings… Come closer 😌👩🏾‍🍳."

She was preparing idombolo with meat she brought back from Durban after lobola negotiations the week before.

Traditional dumplings with meat recipe

For the dough, she used four cups of flour, half a cup of sugar, one tablespoon of salt, and a full packet of yeast. She added melted butter as a special touch to make the dumplings extra good.

She mixed all the dry ingredients first, then added the wet ingredients, including the melted butter and warm water. She warned that you'd need to be careful with how much water is added. The dough needs to rise for about 30 minutes, then you continue kneading it.

Read also

"Kai eats like a king": Grace Mondlana's pup's weekly dinner meal prep wows South Africans

She added salt, Knorrox and chopped onions to the meat for flavour, then placed the dough directly into the pot with the meat. Everything was cooked together with the lid closed. She admitted it doesn't look aesthetically pleasing, but said it's not supposed to. Authentic African food tastes amazing even if it's not Instagram-perfect.

The debate in the comments wasn't about the recipe, though. People got hung up on the term "inyama yesiZulu." She explained it means freshly cut meat at home.

Watch the TikTok clip below:

Netizens curious about the dumplings

South Africans had plenty to say about the dish TikToker @nonhlemthembu prepared:

@Bhayi Holdings questioned:

"There is nothing called nyama yesi Zulu."

@Thato B defended:

"😂😂People are bothered with the word 'inyama yesiZulu'. In her defence, where I come from, there's some meat we call 'nama ya setswana', we can even talk about food in general and say: 'e apaye setswana'..."

@user2742328119625 asked:

"What's idombolo in English, please? Pork or beef?"

@sesi_mbatha 🇿🇦 shared:

"Today I told a coworker that samp would taste better with inyama yesiZulu (she's Xhosa). She looked at me like what do you inyama yesiZulu because she would never say inyama yesiXhosa 😭😩😂"

@Pumza Fihlani said:

Read also

Private chef shares what it's like working for a Camps Bay family

"Finally, the 'dombolo' I grew up, not this confusion they caused me when I moved to Joburg, bethi ujeqe idombolo."

@Ella_✨ gushed:

"Looks amazing dude 🤤🤤🤌🏾"

@Tsonga Gem added:

"That looks like such a lovely meal! I'm going to try cook meet this way the next time we slaughter!🥰."

@Aletta Nkosi requested:

"May you please share how you prepared the meat🙏."

More on South African foods

• Briefly News recently reported on a cook who made a traditional 7-colours Sunday meal from scratch.
• A Cape Town man complained about Woolworths pie prices, joking that the pies must go to a private school with how expensive they are.
• A Mzansi food reviewer tested new Woolies buns and gave an honest verdict, saying he enjoyed the flavour, but one small detail could have made them even better.

Source: Briefly News