South African street sandwich made good

SOUTH AFRICA’S kota ( right) is a tasty, inexpensive and uniquely homegrown street sandwich created out of the bitterness of apartheid.

Its name is pidgin for quarter – in this case, a quarter of a loaf of bread, which forms the base of the sandwich that can be found along most streets in Johannesburg’s township of Soweto.

The quarter loaf is hollowed out and then filled with layers of all sorts – potato fries, fried egg, baloney, Frankfurter, and spicy pickles.

Recently, hundreds of people thronged a Soweto township square to pay homage to this celebrated snack.

“We are here to celebrate township food,” said festival organiser Sidwell Tshingilane. “Kota is born in the township. We grew up eating kota. It’s one of the street foods that is popular like a burger in America. We normally call it our local burger.

“It’s affordable, people in townships sometimes can’t afford those fancy foods. So instead of going to McDonald’s, they go to a kota outlet.”

Nthabiseng Matlhare, a 30-year-old tour consultant, added: “This is our tradition, we grew up with this vibe,” as she tucked into a kota filled with chicken strips, chips, spinach and topped with stewed chicken feet.

Chef Mogau Tabane of Rocktown Deli explains that the kota has since evolved, with new and uncommon ingredients such as mushroom and strawberry now finding their way into the mix.

“It’s one of our heritage products. It’s South Africa’s favourite. From children to adults, everybody eats kota,” he said.

The kota actually comes in various names and fillings depending on location but is believed to have originated in the 1960s as non-white South Africans tried to get around the rigours of apartheid.

Food anthropologist Anna Trapido believes its origin is steeped in the history of the country where non-whites were not allowed in restaurants or were forbidden from using plates or forks and knives.

“There was need to find a vehicle in which to take away food,” said Trapido, emerging as a “uniquely South African solution to a uniquely South African issue”.

South Africa Tourism Deputy Minister Elizabeth Thabethe suggested the “typical township” food could help promote tourism because it offers “a peculiar taste”.

“Fine dining, they (tourists) can experience in their own countries, but this (kota) they cannot get in their own countries.” – AFPRelaxnews