Traditional South African Remedies and Recipes

[XXPANTHAXX]

Compiled by Peter H Thomas
No of Pages: 474
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A unique collection of traditional South African home remedies and traditional recipes.

These traditional South African home remedies have been collected over the years, mainly to preserve an old tradition. Some are very funny but some actually work and have been in use since the 1800's when doctors were not easy to come by and people had to make do with what they had.

Here are a few of the hundreds of remedies:

ABSCESS/BOILS…Add 1 tablespoon of Epsom salts to 2 bottles of water. Allow to boil for a while then strain through a clean cloth. Leave to cool and then pour into a bottle and cork. Take a wineglassful first thing each morning. It will cleanse your system and you will no longer have problems with boils and abscesses.

ACNE…Mix 3 tablespoons honey with 2 teaspoons cinnamon till it forms a paste. Apply to the acne or pimples at bedtime. Next morning wash your face in lukewarm water. If you do this regularly for 2 weeks the acne or pimples will be removed…roots and all.

ARTERIAL SCLEROSIS…(Hardening of the arteries) Buy 6 red roots from a Herbalist and cut or grate and add to 1 bottle Cane Spirits. Leave to brew and drink a little every evening. If you get hooked on the Cane Spirits…use the remedy for alcohol dependence.

ARTHRITIS…Arthritis patients may daily…morning and night…take one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of
cinnamon powder. If drunk regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured.

ATHLETE’S FOOT…(Fungous disease of the foot)…This remedy is verygood for children in boarding school. Firstly rub methylated spirits into the foot…(it burns a lot though)….then Friars Balsam…(it also burns a lot)…then put baby powder on…it helps for the stickiness. This remedy works quicker than anything bought at a Pharmacy or shop.
NB: NOT SUITABLE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE ALLERGIC TOSEAFOOD…(IODINE) .

BABIES…Powder baby’s bottom thickly with corn flour instead of baby powder when baby has a sore…burnt bottom. Use at each nappy change until baby’s bottom is healed.

BACKACHE…Crush aloe till fine and mix with a little honey. Roll the mixture into aspirin sized balls and take 1 of these each evening with a glass of water at bedtime.

BACKACHE…Cut your toenails and fingernails and also a little piece of your hair from the crown of your head and tie it all in a piece of old cloth. Make a hole in a tree and push the cloth into the hole and cover the hole again with the bark that you removed. Your backache will get better…but it must be a tree that does not bear fruit.

BLOOD…Low Blood Pressure…Take plain strings of black licorice and eat as much as you want…whenever you want. It must be plain black licorice….because the other licorice has sugar in it….and sugar will lower your blood pressure.

EARS...If you get a tick in your ear just get someone to blow some pipe smoke into your ear.

HAIR…For natural highlights in your hair try lemon juice in place of gel or hairspray. On a warm day apply lemon juice to wet hair and sit outside in the sun. After doing this a couple of times…you will have natural highlights that will last and last.

JAUNDICE…This is a very old remedy and I cannot confirm that it works. Take 7 grains of barley and put into the baby’s nappy. As soon as the baby has wet the nappy remove the grains and feed to a fowl. As the barley grains are digested…the jaundice will gradually disappear.

MOSQUITO BITES…Make a paste of bicarbonate of soda and water and apply to the mosquito bites for quick relief.

OSTEOPOROSIS…For people from the age of 50 upwards…it is advisable to take at least 1 teaspoon of honey daily…it will stimulate the intake of calcium and aid in the prevention of osteoporosis.

SKIN…If your skin is tender after shaving…mix 1 tablespoons of mentholated spirits and 3 tablespoons of cow’s milk. Shake well to mix and use as an after-shave lotion.

And a recipe or two from the hundreds:

Cinnamon Dumplings (Souskluitjies)
This traditional dish was introduced by the Dutch settlers and has been around for decades. Especially nice on a cold winter's evening...

120 g cake flour
5 ml baking powder
1 ml salt
60 ml butter
2 large eggs
15 ml white sugar
500 ml water
pinch of salt
butter
Cinnamon sugar

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Rub in the butter. Beat the eggs and sugar together until light and mix with the flour mixture to make a thick batter. Bring the water and salt to the boil in a large shallow saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Dip a teaspoon in the boiling water to heat it, then scoop up a spoonful of batter and drop it into the boiling water. Repeat this, dipping the spoon into the water each time, until all the batter has been used. Do not cook too many dumplings at once, they should not touch one another. Cover the saucepan and simmer the dumplings over low heat for about 10-15 minutes. The secret of obtaining light dumplings is to ensure that they are not completely covered when steaming. Remove the dumplings with a slotted spoonand place them in a warmed dish. Dot them with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Serve immedately.

For a variation serve the dumplings with a spicy cinnamon and butter sauce. Add 15 ml butter and a little cinnamon sugar to the water in which the dumplings were cooked and simmer till the butter has melted. Pour over the hot dumplings and serve.

Lamb Neck and Cabbage Potjie

This requires some explanation first, a few years ago the "Potjie" craze took over in South Africa as an alternative to the traditional BBQ. A "Potjie" is a 3 legged round bottomed cast iron pot where you put your ingredients in, and it simmers merrily over coals while everyone sits around it chatting away. And sipping you know what.. It's much more sociable than a BBQ where the men usually gather round the fire and the women are usually busy in the kitchen, but don't get me wrong, this is strictly a male domain and the women are only required to do the side dishes.

Everyone usually has his own "secret" ingredients and "Potjie" competitions are very popular at fairs. I am not sure if you can buy "Potjies" outside of South Africa, butany large pot with a thick base and a lid should do.....

INGREDIENTS
2 tbs cooking oil
2 large onions, chopped
14 lamb neck chops
250g bacon, diced
16 small potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 small cabbage, cut in 8 pieces
dash of lemon juice with 500ml water
dash of mixed herbs
salt and black pepper to taste

METHOD
1. Heat the oil in a medium-size potjie, then fry the onions, bacon and lamb chops
for about ½ hour, stirring from time to time. Cover with lid and leave to cook for
about 45 minutes.
2. Open pot, stir, then add layer of potatoes, finishing off with the cabbage. Add
the water/lemon juice mixture, herbs and spices. (Don't stir yet)
3. Cover with lid and cook for about another 2 hours slowly over medium coals ;
check if there's enough water after a while, and add more if necessary.
4. Stir through ; the meat should fall off the bones.
5. Serve with brown rice and sweet mashed cinnamon pumpkin.