Traditional Potjie by Meisiekind
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Description
Let me explain! "Potjie" is the Afrikaans word for small pot - as in cooking pot. The "potjie" is made of cast iron and comes in a myriad of sizes. This is the traditional shape. It is used to cook a "meal in one pot" over an open fire. South Africans often do a "potjie" instead of a barbeque - especially in winter. Recipes always have you brown the meat first with onion and garlic and then add some stock (which normally have wine or port in it), close the lid and leave the potjie on medium coals for a long time... About 45 minutes before the end of the cooking time, the vegetables get added - potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, leeks, zuccini... basically anything you want. Once cooked, it is served with rice. I think it is the combination of the cast iron, the open coals and the wine that gets consumed while the potjie is cooking that makes this very special and yammy!! Anyway - just some useless info on this very tradisional SA cooking pot!
Thank you for popping in and for your kind comments and favs on my 'Puzzled' upload of yesterday!
Hugs, Carin xx
Comments (34)
flora-crassella
a wonderful pot!!!! great photo!!!
anmes
These classic traditional shapes are unbeatable. Great image.
cfulton
I can only guess how you are celebrating old year's eve... what about the klippies and coke?! Snigger, Clive
mariogiannecchini
Wonderful pot !!!
Santa29Klaus
Oh Carin!! What a wonderful idea! That is so... us! So maybe I need to upload a picture of a traditional braai? this is a great great picture!
nikolais
Amazing bw and story, Carin! Happy New Year!
jendellas
Sounds delicious, b/w makes it seem even more traditional!!!!!
Tholian
Classic cooking. And it always tastes better out of cast iron. It's all that I cook with.
helanker
UMMMM! I get hungry :-) Beautiful pot and so nicely captured Carin :-)
BessieB
A lovely photo Carin and great info!
durleybeachbum
We call these cauldrons! Sounds scrumptious (except for the garlic which completely RUINS any meal for me!)
belasebok
Great shot and an interesting info.
kgb224
Superb capture Carin. Now i am hungry.
danob
Sounds wonderful food and thanks for the insight into the culture
bmac62
Simple/excellent B&W. Love the story and like the thought of sipping on the wine while the "Potjie" is taking care of supper:)
sandra46
great capture and info!!!!
goodoleboy
Wow, if hadn't seen those logs -- which offer size relationship -- to the right of the image, I would have sworn that was one of those big pots that cannibals boil their victims in. Or the ones that cackling witches throw eye of newt into. Interesting photo and narrative, Carin.
ocoee53
I love to cook outdoors in cast iron. I have used a potjie. It worked wonderfully! In my part of the world, the Dutch oven is the traditional equivalent. Your picture perfectly captures the lovely form and traditional character of this instrument
beachzz
I use cast iron all the time, though not on an open fire. This is a great shot, with a wonderful little story about your part of the world!!
Faemike55
I love one-pot cooking! and this would be fun to use!!!!
auntietk
This really speaks to me, Dierbaar. What a wonderful image ... I can see generations and generations of your people using this pot down through the years. Beautiful and moving work.
koosievantutte
een heel mooi potje :-) very fine photo.
Chipka
I really like the "ancientness" of this. All too often in the 21st century, we rely on modern stuff...which is okay, but by the same token, big, heavy, cast-iron pots and slow-cooking are a part of the human experience that we should never stray too far away from. I love this image because of what it evokes. Old/Traditional things add a texture to life that is often lacking in the modern world. Cooking over an open fire (with wine somewhere in the picture) goes back a long way, and whether the pot is South African in design and use, or even Agaran (with fish shaped handles and catalpa leaves stamped into the lid) they're vital parts of who and what we are! I love this image. It's timeless, and as Tara said, moving! It stirs all of those wonderful atavistic impulses that we like to pretend not to feel. Great work!
moochagoo
Good idea that B & W, here :))
emmecielle
Interesting photo! :)
Kaartijer
Nice shot, Carin! Just cooked some sort of potjie yesterday... of course it wasn't the same size or design as yours, but good enough for what I wanted to cook!
kbrog
Love cast-iron kettle pots. Can't beat them for cooking stews. Great B&W capture! :)
amota99517
Marvelous shot!
MrsLubner
My camping dutch oven...that's what I call mine. :-) I can cook up anything in any weather. Cooking on a grill over an open flame in winter takes a very hot fire and a long time but with a dutch oven buried in the coals, I can cook quickly. Stews, soups, beans, meat and dumplings, roasts, etc. are all at home in my dutch oven. A quick clean in the river or with sand and water, and I am ready to put in the sugar, spices and fresh sliced fruit to make a cobbler in the coals for dessert. This potjie is the difference between a successful stay in the wild and one that leaves a bad taste in the mouth. :-) Oh, and when I had a fireplace, I also would cook in my oven in there. It was fun for the kids and the smells throughout the house were incredible....
prutzworks
haha braaj in summertime, potje in winter love that stew recipe cool DOF btw