Kick off your Africa Day festivities by sampling mouthwatering delicacies our continent has on offer

On Saturday, we will celebrate Africa Day, marking the annual anniversary honouring the diverse cultures, history and achievements. 

What better way to commemorate being African than our shared passion and love for food?

From Nigeria’s egusi soup to tasty Ghanaian okra stew and Mzansi’s homegrown mogodu, kick off your Africa Day festivities by sampling the mouthwatering delicacies that our continent has on offer.  

“When people say that they have been away travelling for months with work or they have been studying outside the country, when they land at OR Tambo International Airport all they are thinking of is going to drop off their bags and go straight to Vilakazi Street, where I can have our South African food,” says foundering owner of Sakhumzi restaurant, Sakhumzi Maqubela.  

“What has been selling out on our menu is our samp with sugar beans and lamb tripe. They always brag about it.” the 53-year-old restaurateur adds in regards to the establishment’s signature dish that keeps homesick travellers coming back for more.  

With over two decades, Sakhumzi is a sought-after tourist attraction and eatery in the iconic precinct of Vilakazi Street in Orlando West, Soweto. In March, the establishment opened a second restaurant in another popular Johannesburg location.

“We had been chasing Zoo Lake city park, Parkview for the past four years and it was tight negotiations with the City of Joburg. The city’s parks are going down and are dilapidated. This cannot be for the most beautiful African city in the southern hemisphere,” he says.

Sakhumzi Zoo Lake has laid down roots in the vacant hideaway space previously occupied by Moyo’s restaurant. The city park has been overrun by theft, vandalism and other acts of criminality.   

“We have been working together with the City to fix this problem as we cannot rely solely on government to solve this,” says Maqubela. 

“Sakhumzi Zoo Lake has a big kitchen which will give us room to expand our menu to include other African foods soon. We need to open our doors not only to SA to explore their food but also for Africans so from next month we will include dishes on our menu from countries Ghana, Nigeria and Mozambique.”  

What’s on the menu come Africa Day?   

“We have buffets and starters that includes pap that Sowetans like; samp and beans which is umngqusho, ting ya mabele [fermented sorghum], pork trotters, our signature mogodu dish and umleqwa [hard body/free range chicken],” he says  

“I am proud to be African because there is no other country like ours. After travelling to other countries, I have realised that our people are friendly, authentic and forgiving. We have the best people and live in a peaceful and stable country,” he says. 

Sakhumzi signature tripe with samp and beans (serves 10) 

Ingredients

• 3 cups of samp  
• 2 cups sugar beans  
• ¼ cup of oil  
• 1 onion, chopped  
• 250g butter  
• 2 teaspoon of crushed garlic  
• 1 tablespoon of Rajah curry powder (your choice) 
• 1 beef stock  
• 2 tablespoons of Aromat  
• 5 kg of lamb tripe and intestines  
• 3l of water  
• teaspoon of white pepper  
• 2 tablespoons of cream of mushroom powder mix  

 Method 

• Add the samp, sugar beans and oil into a deep saucepan and boil for 2 hours 
• In a separate saucepan, fry together half chopped onion, butter, one teaspoon of crushed garlic, curry power, beef stock and Aromat until golden brown. 
• Mix paste into softened samp and beans until you get a brown colour. Leave to simmer for about 1 minute.  
• In a deep saucepan, bring to boil the tripe for 2 hours.  
• Once cooked and soft, dice into bitesize pieces.  
• Add into the mixture the reminder of the chopped onion, white pepper, one teaspoon of crushed garlic and Aromat to enhance flavour. 
• Leave to simmer for 10 minutes.  
• Add cream of mushroom power mix with cold water into saucepan. 
• Mix until it’s thickened. Simmer for a further 3 mins and serve.  

Chefs tip: Lamb mogodu cooks quicker than beef mogodu. This normally takes about 2 hour