Keeping It Local And Absolutely Lekker!!! … No doubt South Africa in known for their famous braais…well, as for vegetarians there’s just no missing out. I normally use a special tikka sauce which I make for my braais but this time I wanted something light yet tasty with a whole lot of va va voom! So ya…it’s the basting sauce, brinjal skewers and the roosterbrood that I am highlighting here, I’m so into rustic type of breads and just love turning these roosterbroodjies into flatbreads. For me braai days should be fun, flavourful and just relaxing. Recipe to follow:-)
- Preparation time: 30 – 35 minutes
- Braai time: 30 – 45 minutes
- Serves: 3 – 4
Veggie Ingredients
- 20 small baby brinjal (you may remove the stalk or just lightly scape them)
- 4 small zucchinis sliced into 1.5 cm disks
- 10 mini Italian tomatoes
- Few pieces of butternut cut into squares
- 2 medium red peppers cut into 4 pieces – seeds removed
- 1 small onion quartered – take layers apart
- 300g Firm tofu– sliced into 2cm thick pieces (vegetarian option replace with halloumi)
- 1 large red onion sliced into rings
- 4-5 greens chillies sliced lengthwise
- Salt and pepper to season
- 2-3 lemons
- 10-12 stick skewers soaked in water for 30 minutes
Let’s assemble the veg: skewer 1 brinjal followed by an onion layer. Repeat until you have 3 or 4 brinjals in a skewers.
For the Zucchini skewer – spike through a tomato follow by 2 zucchinis, 1 butternut square. Repeat process to the top of the end of the skewer.
V’s Special Basting
- 1 cup fresh coriander leaves (about a handful)
- 1 sprig curry leaves (15 young leaves)
- 10 cloves garlic – peeled
- 2-3 dry red chillies (add more or less according to heat threshold)
- 2 tsp (10ml) coriander powder
- 1 tsp (5ml) cumin power
- ½ tsp salt (adjust accordingly)
- 1 cup olive oil
This is how: add all the ingredients accept the olive oil into a spice grinder and blitz a few times to a semi fine texture. Remove and add to a bowl – stir in the olive oil – give it a good mix and keep aside. Now mix the dough for the roosterbrood. Once the dough is mixed and left to rest you can start the braai.
Let’s Braai 🙂
You can braai these on an open fire or just use an electric grill instead.
Place skewers, peppers, halloumi cheese/ tofu, sliced onion and chilli on the grill. Brush on basting sauce every now and then. As soon as brinjal start to soften, use a fork and puncture some holes in them allowing the flavours to seep through. Season with extra salt and pepper. Remember to turn skewers, halloumi cheese/tofu and veggies so that they cook evenly. Remove and keep warm. Just before serving add a fresh squeeze of lemon juice.
Roosterbrood
- 2 cups self-raising flour
- 1/3 cup (80ml) Vegan yoghurt
- 4 tbsp (60ml) water
- 1 tsp (5ml) white sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
This is how: sift flour in a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together yoghurt, water, sugar, salt and olive oil. Then pour the mixture into the flour. Mix to form a soft but firm dough – 5 minutes. Let it rest for 5-8 minutes. Once rested, divide dough into equal pieces and roll into balls then press and shape into 2 cm thick disks. Grill these on a medium to hot grill/coals for 3-4 minutes on each side
Another great idea is to turn these into flatbreads. Lightly oil the working surface and roll out the dough into 10cm circles about ½ cm thick. Grill these on a medium to hot grill for 2-3 minutes on each side (these are just my favourite)
Note: if you do not have vegan yoghurt. Squeeze the juice of one lemon to a 1 cup of a cup of tepid soy milk. The milk will curdle. (use required amount for recipe)
Top serving tips 😉 on a piece of flatbread add some finely sliced grilled pepper and onions along with some lettuces and a grilled chilli along with a slice of halloumi cheese & grilled brinjals
