Recipe for the day: Vetkoek with curried mince

Vetkoek is a type of fried bread dough and combined with mince, it is a staple of traditional South African cuisine.

With its crispy exterior and soft, chewy interior, this ball of bread dough deep-fried to perfection is a beloved dish in the region.

Vetkoek, a South African staple

When filled with a mouth-watering curry of your choice, it becomes an absolute delight for your taste buds.

Many people may question whether vetkoeks are an unhealthy food option, but the chef has a different opinion.

Healthy or not?

As stated on Foodleclub.com, the frying process doesn’t cause the vetkoeks to absorb an excessive amount of oil.

Instead, it is recommended to use hot oil to fry the dough quickly, which prevents it from absorbing the oil.

The vetkoeks are then cooked gently to achieve a soft, spongy texture with small air pockets. To remove any excess oil, they are immediately placed on kitchen paper after cooking.

Vetkoek with mince

Ingredients for the vetkoek:

• Plain Flour – otherwise known as All Purpose flour. Don’t use self-raising flour, the yeast takes care of the rising.
• Dried instant Yeast – you can buy this in packets in the supermarket, and you just tip it into the mixing bowl with the flour.
• Water – you should use lukewarm water as this will assist in activating the yeast.
• Salt – this is optional, but it does make the vetkoek taste better.
• Sugar – there is an old wives tale that says sugar will assist in the activation of yeast, but this not true. The yeast will activate perfectly well without sugar, so you can omit this if you want to.
• Sunflower oil – this is used to fry the vetkoek, and you need an oil with a high smoke point. Olive oil will not be suitable for this, so you will need to use sunflower or canola.

Ingredients for the curried mince

• Beef Mince (or ground beef if you live in the US) – get a good quality beef mince with a low percentage of fat. I like to buy mince with a 5% fat content.
• Pork Mince (or ground pork) – I use half pork and half beef as I feel the pork adds an additional layer of flavour. It is perfectly fine to substitute the pork with extra beef if you prefer.
• Potatoes – because this curried mince is served inside a vetkoek, the vegetables should all be chopped into small pieces, so that you can pack plenty in. Chop the potatos into small dice, approximately 1cm in size.
• Onions – chopped into 1cm dice.
• Celery – chopped into small dice.
• Carrots – chopped into small dice.
• Fresh Tomatoes– finely chopped.
• Tomato Puree – The chef buys their tomato puree in tubes because you can reseal it and it stays fresh if you keep it in the fridge.
• Chutney – The chef recommends you can use your favourite brand – or make your own homemade chutney.
• Sugar – when cooking with tomatoes I like to add a sall amount of sugar as it brings out the flavour of the tomatoes.
• Frozen petit pois – optional – but they add additional pops of sweetness.
• Salt – optional if you don’t like adding salt to food.
• Beef Stock – The chef recommends if you don’t have any, you can make this with a stock cube and a cup of boiling water.
• Olive Oil – for browning the meat.

The spice mix ingredients:

• Garam Masala
• Curry Powder – you can use the strength you prefer. We like it hot, you could use a medium blend for a milder taste.
• Mustard Seeds
• Fennel Seeds
• Turmeric
• All Spice
• Ground Coriander

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How to knead the dough

• Tip the flour into a nice big mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast on top and give it a bit of a mix. Then add the salt. Don’t let the yeast come into direct contact with the salt.
• Add most of the water, give it a good stir until it all comes together and then knead for 10 to 15 minutes until you have a nice smooth elastic dough.  You can use a food mixer with a dough hook to take all the hard work out of this.
• Don’t worry if you don’t have a food processor, you can just knead the dough by hand. Keep a little extra flour close by in case the dough is too sticky to handle.
• The reason you don’t add all the water is that it all depends on the flour you are using. You might not need all the water, and once you’ve put it in, you can’t take it out again. If you find you do need more water, just add it one tablespoon at a time until the dough is nice and soft. On the other hand, if you have used too much water and the dough is too sticky, you can just knead in an extra tablespoon of flour at a time.
• The ratio of flour to water should be approximately 2 parts flour : 1 part water.

Leave the dough to rise

Once the dough has been kneaded, form it into ball and place in a clean bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film, then cover it with a towel to keep it nice and warm. 

Put it in a warm place to allow the yeast to work its magic. The chef puts their dough on the kitchen window sill. So you must leave yours for about an hour.

The dough should rise up and become spongy. It won’t come to any harm if you leave it longer – you can leave it for up to 2 hours with no problems.

• Once the dough has risen, punch it down into a smooth ball and tip it out on a floured board.
• Break off golf-ball sized pieces of dough and press them into flat rounds. Stretch them a little and place on a floured surface. They should be just less than 1cm or approximately a quarter of and inch thick. You could roll the dough out and cut circles with a pastry cutter if you prefer, but the chef likes the irregular-sized pieces.
• Depending on how large you make them, you should get 10 to 12 vetkoek from this dough recipe.
• If you make the vetkoek too thick they stand the chance of not cooking through completely and may be cripsy on the outside, but still ‘doughy’ on the inside.

Fry the vetkoek

• Take a wok, or a large saucepan, and pour in enough oil to cover the vetkoek. You will probably need at least 5cm oil.
• Allow the oil to heat. The oil will be hot enough when a small piece of dough ‘sizzles’ and rises to the top when you add it. If the dough just sinks to the bottom of the oil, it is not hot enough.
• Carefully add as many vetkoek as will fit in a single layer. Don’t overcrowd the pan, leave enough room so you can turn them easily. The vetkoek will puff up as they fry, so allow enough room for this.
• Deep fry in hot oil, turning occasionally, until nicely puffed and golden. The chef takes between 4 and 5 minutes per batch.
• Tip, don’t let the oil get too hot or you will find the outside burns and the inside is still doughy.
• Cut a vetkoek in half to test whether it is done. It should be cooked through and full of air bubbles. If there is any raw dough in the centre you need to cook for a further few minutes.
• Place the vetkoek on paper towels once they are cooked. Keep warm until you are ready to fill them with the curried mince.

Make the mince curry

• Gently fry the spices in a little olive oil in a large frying pan. This releases all the aromas.
• Add the mince and allow it to brown with the spices. You will have to keep stirring and break up the lumps of mince with a wooden spoon. Keep frying and stirring until the mince is brown and crumbly.
• Next add the onions and celery and fry with the mince until the onion starts to soften. I find that the onions soften nicely if I cover the pan with a lid and leave it on a low heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and tomato puree, the chutney and the sugar and salt. Stir well and continue frying until the tomatoes start to soften.
• Then add the carrots, potatoes and beef stock.
• Leave it to simmer, with the lid on, for 45 to 50 minutes until everything is all cooked through and is nice and juicy.
• If there is too much liquid in the mince, remove the lid for the last 10 minutes or so to allow some of the liquid to evapourate.
• Finally add the frozen peas and stir through. Keep the curry warm while you fry the vetkoek.

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Serving

To serve, the chef suggests you split each vetkoek in half and fill with the curry mixture. There is no need to butter the vetkoek.

For an added burst of flavour, try topping your vetkoek with a spoonful of chutney.

While you could eat it with utensils, it’s highly recommended to grab it with your hands and indulge in it like a juicy hamburger.

Don’t forget to keep plenty of napkins nearby to clean up any delicious juices that may drip down your chin.

This recipe was found on Foodleclub.com.