The name itself tells a story: it’s from the Dutch colonisers, and it means “to grill meat on an open fire”.
The dish has travelled through history, from colonisation through Apartheid, and into the Rainbow Nation. Today it is recognised as one of South Africa’s best-loved party dishes. A braai generally includes a variety of grilled meats, as well as a delicious sweet and smoky sauce that we call monkey gland sauce, which, I must say right away, does not include any monkey glands. It usually includes marinated lamb chops and chicken wings, and is commonly served with grilled butter corn, pap, and chakalaka.
Serves
4 – 6
Preparation time:
20 minutes, plus overnight marinating
Cooking time
55 minutes
Ingredients
FOR THE MONKEY GLAND SAUCE
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, grated
- 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 ripe tomatoes, grated
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste (puree)
- ¼ cup (60ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 3½ tablespoons (50ml) balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup (240ml) barbecue sauce
- (use your favourite)
- 5 tablespoons apricot jam salt and pepper, to taste
FOR THE MEAT
- 1 kg lamb chops
- 1 kg chicken wings
Directions
For the monkey gland sauce, put the oil in a large pot over medium– high heat. Add the onion and cook for 5–7 minutes, to give it some colour. As soon as it’s brown, add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes.
Once the garlic and onions are brown and sweated off, add the coriander, bay leaves, brown sugar, smoked paprika, grated tomatoes, and tomato paste (puree). Let it cook for 3 minutes and then stir in the Worcestershire sauce, generous ¾ cup (200ml) of water, and the balsamic vinegar to deglaze, then let simmer for 5 minutes.
Add the barbecue sauce and apricot jam and let simmer for a further 5 minutes. Finally, add salt to balance off the sweetness.
To prepare the meat, marinate the lamb chops and chicken overnight in half of the monkey gland sauce. Preheat a barbecue grill or braai to high (220°C).
Bring the marinated meat to room temperature 20 minutes before cooking. Season with salt and black pepper.
Grill the lamb chops for 4 minutes on each side, then place the lamb on the side of the grill or braai where the heat is lower for 5 minutes. About 30 seconds before removing the lamb from the grill/braai, glaze it with a little of the remaining monkey gland sauce and place it on a tray.
Lower the heat to 180°C, add the chicken wings and cook for 8 minutes on each side, or until browned and cooked through.
Drizzle the remaining monkey gland sauce on top of the meat and serve hot.
Recipe extracted from The Contemporary African Kitchen
by Alexander Smalls published by Phaidon, RRP $75.
On sale from 8 October.
