10 POTJIE FACTS AND TIPS

DEUR ERRIEDA DU TOIT

Potjie is one of a handful of traditional dishes named after the vessels they are made in, like tagine from North Africa and paella from Spain.

Who makes the best potjie? The South Africans or the Irish? The first-ranked rugby nation also makes its famous Irish stew in a three-legged pot – their version is known as a bastible.

France, the host country, makes a traditional potjie too. It is known as pot-au-feu, which literally means “pot over the fire”.

The three-legged pot with its round belly made its debut in the 19th century. Before that, flat-bottomed pots were hung from chains above the kitchen fire or rested on iron triangles.

A champion tip for preventing watery results when adding cabbage to your potjie: First pour boiling water over the cabbage, then squeeze out the water before you add it to the pot.

Forget about expensive meat cuts when you make a potjie – this method is especially suitable for slowcooking tougher cuts that are packed with flavour.

May you stir a potjie or not? This rule is not cast in iron (ha!). Follow your instinct, but do not stir a potjie too much, or it will turn mushy and resemble baby food.

The round-bellied shape of a potjie is ideal because it distributes heat evenly and keeps moisture at the bottom so that it forms a sauce. The smaller bottom also makes it possible to use less meat and more vegetables.

Mark Maingard, CEO of the charity organisation Outside the Bowl Africa, recently set an impressive potjie record in the Boland town of Wellington when he singlehandedly kept 100 potjies simmering simultaneously to feed 10 000 people.

The rings around a potjie are an indication of how many people you can feed from the pot. Multiply the size of the pot with the number of rings – from a no. 3 pot with four rings, for example, you’d be able to serve 12 guests, or you could fill the pot up to the second ring for six guests.