Mains
Cape breyani
Also known as biryani, buriyani
Cooked for Eid and weddings, Cape Malay breyani layers spiced meat with rice, brown lentils, fried potatoes and crisp onions.
- TraditionCape Malay
- Kind of dishMains
- SeasonAll year
- OccasionEid, weddings and other large family occasions.
The story
In the Cape Malay version, chicken, lamb or mutton is marinated in yoghurt or buttermilk with ginger, garlic, cardamom, turmeric, allspice, grated tomato and a little saffron, then layered with parboiled rice, brown lentils, fried potatoes and crisp onions. Boiled eggs often go in too, and the breyani is served with a tomato and onion sambal.
Breyani is the Cape spelling of biryani, a rice dish whose name comes from Persian by way of Urdu, and it is the dish of big occasions. Salwaa Smith, who has published Cape Malay home cooking online since 2011, describes it as food for Eid, weddings and special days. The journalist Gasant Abarder remembers the huge Cape Malay wedding receptions of the past, where guests were served curry and rice or breyani.
Stories
Related reading
Sources
Check out these sources
- breyani, n. · Dictionary of South African English (Rhodes University Dictionary Unit)
- A Guide to Cape Malay Cooking Terms: From Koe'sisters to Mavrou (Robyn Samuels) · Crush Magazine
- Breyani (Cape Malay breyani) · Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights (Salwaa Smith)
- Once upon a time at a traditional Cape Malay wedding (Gasant Abarder) · Cape Town Etc
- South Africa's heritage foods you can still taste on the road (Lee-Ann Steyn) · Getaway
