In her latest cookbook, Dubai-based Cariema Isaacs pays tribute to her mom with a delicious collection of Cape Malay recipes that seamlessly blend the traditional with contemporary
Losing loved ones is always overwhelming – even more so when you live far away from all the familiarities that can help you process thatgrief. In writing Modern Cape Malay Cooking, Cariema Isaacs not only created a range of recipes that capture the flavours and feasts of Cape Malay cuisine, but she was able to celebrate the legacy of her mom and the gifts that she passed on. “Writing about her, I was able to understand that Imodelled so much of my own life on what I saw in hers,” says Cariema. “She was the quintessential Cape Malay Domestic Goddess, from how she cooked and baked to how she laid a table and hosted guests.”
“The book shares that feminine side of me, greatly attributed to my mom. One could see her personality come to life when our table was laid for Eid. She brought the glitz and glam, and just watching her make flaky pastry and rolling out layers of pastry, looked to me as a little girl, like a beautifully choreographed dance.”
Her first cookbook (My Cape Malay Cooking) was created for her dad and based on the traditional Cape Malay dishes that Cariema cooked and baked for him in the last six months of his life (her father was a purist when it came to the cuisine). On the flip side, Modern Cape Malay Cooking focuses on life beyond just cooking, incorporating the shortcuts and modern cooking equipment that can help balance work, life and entertaining.
“At an emotional level, anyone can relate to home cooking and what it feels like to break bread together,” she says. “The love language of the Cape Malays is food and therefore this book is an extension of how we welcome guests and loved ones to our tables.”
When at Home
When she’s visiting Cape Town, Cariema has a long list of restaurants to visit and familiar favourites to eat – a Gatsby from Cosy Corner, vienna and chips parcels at Aneesas, hot dogs and salomies from Wembley Roadhouse and burgers from Izzy Burger.
“I write at the Vineyard Hotel, which means I love having breakfast there and spending the better part of my day just writing whilst taking in the view,” she says. “You’ll also find me having a coffee at The Twelve Apostles hotel in Camps Bay or indulging in their fresh oysters. This visit is usually done during my last few days in Cape Town. I am filled with so much gratitude when I am there, to watch and listen to the sounds of the Atlantic Ocean before returning to the desert sands of the Middle East.”
“On every trip home, I go back to Bo-Kaap and drive down the road I grew up on,” says Cariema. “I am extremely nostalgic when I see the house I was born in and walk on the cobblestoned streets –something I use to do with my beloved father as a child. You’ll also find me at Bo-Kaap Deli, indulging in koesiesters and my morning cuppa. Suffice to say, by the time I leave Cape Town, I have picked up weight and don’t even feel guilty about a single kilo!”
For the Yoghurt Marinade
1 C (250ml) plain yoghurt or buttermilk or amasi
2 Tbsp (30ml) garlic and ginger paste
2 Tbsp (30ml) biryani masala
1 Tbsp (15ml) garam masala
1 tsp (5m) Kashmiri chilli powder or Pakco roasted masala
½ tsp (2.5ml) turmeric
1 Tbsp (15 ml) ground cumin
½ tsp (2.5ml) saffron threads
2 tsp (10ml) salt
1 ripe tomato, skinned and grated
1 fresh green chilli, split lengthwise
Preparing the marinade with the meat
- Dab the leg of lamb with paper towel to remove all the excess moisture. This allows the marinade to adhere to the lamb.
- Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl.
- Add the portions of meat and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
My Instant Pot Biryani
Once I got this recipe down to a T, I realised that I would not want to make biryani and even akni any other way! The potatoes are like little cloud puffs, tender and fluffy and the meat falls off the bone – a result of pressure cooking! This recipe doesn’t even require you to marinate the meat overnight because the flavour permeates throughout all the ingredients, including the meat.
Serves 6–8 | Preparation time 30 minutes | Cooking time 1 hour 15 minutes
For the Biryani
700g shoulder or leg of lamb portions, bone in
½ C (125ml) canola or vegetable oil
3 potatoes, peeled and halved or quartered, patted dry with a kitchen towel
3 onions, thinly sliced
2 cardamom pods, slightly bruised
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
3½ C (875ml) water
2 C (500ml) basmati rice, rinsed until the water runs clear, drained
½ C (125ml) brown lentils, cooked in 2 C (500ml) water for 10 minutes, rinsed and drained, or canned lentils, rinsed and drained
Salt to taste
50g butter
4–6 hard-boiled eggs
10 strands saffron threads, soaked in
2 Tbsp (30ml) warm water
Preparing the Biryani
- You won’t need the lid of the Instant Pot during the first phase of the cooking process. Set the Instant Pot to the Sauté setting on high, which means you’ll press sauté three times.
- Add the oil and then, once the oil is warm, add the potatoes and fry until golden and crisp on the outside but not yet cooked on the inside. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl.
- Add the onions and fry for 15–20 minutes or until the onions are golden. Remove half of the onions with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl.
- Press cancel on the Instant Pot. Add the meat and yoghurt marinade, the cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaves, and ½ C (125 ml) water to the Instant Pot.
- Move the vent to the Sealing Position. Select the pressure cook setting and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes.
- Once done, allow the pressure to release naturally, i.e. wait for the pin to drop.
- When the pressure is released, place the partially fried potatoes in between the meat, then add half the rinsed rice, ensuring that you spread out the rice to cover the meat and potatoes.
- Cover the rice with a layer of brown lentils. At this stage I also sprinkle 1 tsp (5 ml) salt over the lentils.
- Add the remaining rice and spread this out over the lentils.
- Add the remaining 3 C (750 ml) water and secure the lid.
- Move the vent up to Sealing Position. Push Meat/Stew on Medium Pressure and set the timeto 7 minutes.
- Once done, allow the pressure to release naturally, i.e. wait for the pin to drop.
- When the pressure is released, dot the partially cooked breyani with cubes of butter, pushing it down into the rice, ever so gently. Do the same with the hard-boiled eggs. Pour the saffron strands and water over the rice and eggs.
- Secure the lid of the Instant Pot again and move the vent up to Sealing Position. Allow the biryani to rest for about 20 minutes until the rice has puffed up.
- To serve, I remove the inner pot of the Instant Pot and set it down on the kitchen table surface. Place a large serving platter or large bowl over the inner pot and upend it.
- Allow it to stand like this for about 2 minutes, then gently lift the inner pot to expose the different layers of the biryani.
- Remove any leftovers from the inner pot, add it to the rest of the biryani and serve with Tomato and Onion Relish (recipe can be found in Modern Cape Malay Cooking)
Get Connected
Modern Cape Malay Cooking by Cariema Isaacs is published by Penguin Random House and available for purchase at R350.