- 1kg stewing beef
- 500 ml water
- 3 tbsp pure vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp dried/fresh basil
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 small onion
- 1 large tomato
- 1 tbsp tomato soup powder + 50 ml water
So here I was, with this beef, not thinking about doing any recipe in particular so just decided to make a stew to serve with sadza (pap). But as soon as I had put that meat in the pot and it was frying, something in me just nudged me to “experiment” and see how it goes…. it was absolutely fantastic! My family enjoyed every last bit of it 🙂 I used stewing beef for this particular recipe. Update: I recently learnt that you can also use dried basil flowers in this recipe. So this can be white or purple basil. Most people who grow basil at home nip and through away the flowers without realising they can actually be used in recipes.
Quick Instructions
- Wash and cut your meat, trimming off any excess fat. Heat oil (3 tbsp pure vegetable oil) in a good sized pot (do not let the oil over-heat). Add beef (1 kg) and season with salt (1 tsp).
- Add apple cider vinegar (3 tbsp) and 1 tbsp of basil. Fry meat until it begins to brown, stirring occasionally. When meat has browned up, add water, reduce heat and let it simmer gently until the water is finished and the meat is tender.
- Add the remaining tbsp of basil to your meat and onions (1/2 small onion, chopped). Fry until the onions are just about cooked (2 mins). Add tomatoes (1 large, chopped), reduce heat and close pot for another 2 minutes.
- Mix the soup powder and water together and add this to the meat. Simmer gently, close pot and allow the flavours to marry. After 3 minutes, taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly. And you’re done, enjoy!
The great thing about this stew is that it’s pretty simple to do, but the taste is amazing and you can serve it with sadza (pap), rice or even mashed potatoes if you wish. Go ahead and try it out, please let me know how it goes when you do.
