Recipe for the weekend Ditlhakwana (Cow Heels)

When I was looking for main course options for Dinner Divas I decided to go with Cowheels/ Dithlakwana/Amanqina.  Damn! I even bought a brand new pressure cooker just to test and perfect the recipe at home. I cooked it for my family and they were totally impressed and after testing the recipe twice and judging by the way they were licking fingers and looking for seconds I decided that ja this is one of my freakum dishes.

The dish needs to be cooked until soft and stick but unfortunately that didn’t happen during filming. Eish!  Some have asked why I chose cow heels for the show because they take long to prepare….well, my answer is and will always be the fact that I wanted to try something that was not already on the blog…..Besides that, I wanted to cook a dish that would appeal to someone who is at home more especially in the homelands.

Remember when a sheep or a cow was slaughtered afterwards we would sit around the fire sikarabha amanqina nentloko?  (scorching the hair off the heels and head).  Then they would be cleaned and washed with a pot skryfer…to be cooked in a big pot until soft and sticky.

That’s my fond memory of cow / sheep heels.  These days one gets to buy them at retail stores or from your butcher, already cleaned.  The cowheels were served with sour cream & parsley morogo/mifino; honey & rooibos butternut chips; last but not least with butter bean & pumpkin seed curry sauce.    

Ditlhakwana (Cow Heels) Recipe

Serves: 4-6

1.5kg cow heels, cleaned

1.2L boiling water

30ml (2Tbsp) beef stock powder

200ml red wine

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

2 green chillies, chopped

3 sprigs fresh parsley, chopped

15ml (1Tbsp) medium curry powder

Method:

1. In a pressure cooker or pot, place the cowheels, add water, stock powder and red wine.
2. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour or until soft and sticky.  If necessary, add more water.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until thickened.
4. Remove from the pressure cooker and take some of the gravy (about half a cup) to cook the butter bean sauce.

Butter Beans & Pumpkin Seed Curry Sauce Recipe

Serves: 4

125ml gravy from the cowheels

1/2 yellow pepper, chopped

1 can Rhodes Butter Beans in Curry Sauce

1 heaped tsp roasted pumpkin seeds

3 sprigs fresh coriander, chopped

 Method:

1. In a saucepan, add the gravy from the cowheels, add yellow pepper and sauté for 2 minutes.
2. Add butter beans, pumpkin seeds and coriander.
3. Continue cooking and stirring for two minutes.
4. Serve with Cow Heels.

 

(source: http://www.mzansistylecuisine.co.za/dithlakwana-cow-heels-with-butter-beans-pumpkin-seed-curry-sauce/ )