Bredie (Cape Mutton Stew)
by George Car

George lived in Africa for a decade. Much of the African cooking is characterized by ground coriander seeds and vinegar as the central flavor (as in Boere-wars spiced sausage) and Bredie (Cape Mutton Stew). They also prize mutton a lot.

Below is George's recipe for Bredie or Cape stew. Great for the Crock pot (slow-cooker), although it should really be cooked in a poitjie (cast iron three-legged pot) on the coals of a fire. Coals are adjusted so the food just bubbles slowly for a few hours. Bredie fits into the general class of African poitjie-kos cooking. Thanks for sharing George! 

Ingredients:
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Mutton chops 1Kg
1 large onion (sliced)
6 tomatoes sliced (or 200gram tomato paste)
1/2 cup raisins, or dried, diced apricots
2 sweet potatoes (cassava or yams) or 2 large 
       potatoes + 4 large carrots, all sliced
1 liter cider (or beer, or water)
2 Tbsp ground coriander seed
1/2 tsp chilli powder
80 ml vinegar
salt, fresh black pepper, flour
oil - about 1 Tbsp

Method:
-------
Use fatty chops (traditionally) although these days it's usual to cut off most 
of the fat.  Roll in flour, season well with salt & pepper.  Brown in oil 
(in the bottom of poitjie (or in a pan then place in slow cooker).  Cover with 
sliced onions, sprinkle on coriander, chilli, pour on vinegar, then tomato paste.
Now put the raisins (or apricots) on, then cover with sweet potato (or potato 
& carrots) slices.  Put on the cider (best) or beer (good) or water/stock 
(OK) to almost cover the potato.  Do NOT stir at any stage--if it catches 
(burns) on the bottom, it's been too hot!  Let it bubble in the slow-cooker for 
6 hours or more.  Serve on top of rice or just by itself.

Again, DO NOT STIR at any time!

This recipe is a good balance of savory and sweet (dried fruit etc.), and as the 
South Africans say, it is "Lekker".

Purists say it is supposed to have "waterbloometjies" place on top of the potato, 
then cooked.  George says, "I've never had them, and I never came across 
waterblommetjies in Australia.  Probably the same in Canada/USA".

A recent email from Gordon Wales explains the following: 
Tony - You asked if anyone could give you information on the South African dish 
'Bredie' in reference to the suggestion that purists say it should have 
"waterbloomtjies" in it.  Well this may help.  
According to the South African cook book author, Sarah Shaban, in her book 
'Bread and Peacocks', giving a recipe, one of a number for Bredie, the ingredient 
is "wateruintjie, a species of water lily that grows only in the Cape in South 
Africa.  You probably know  that the translation for "waterbloomtjies" would be 
'little water flowers".  In her recipe she says: Pick the flowers of the uintjie 
when they are open.  Remove the stalks and soak the flowers in water. Take a leg 
of lamb, cut it up in small cubes, cut up a few onions, brown the onions in heavy 
pot with butter or fat, add  the meat and a few cups of water and allow to simmer 
gently until the meat is partly cooked.  Add the wateruintjies, salt, pepper and 
a few cut up chilli peppers.  Simmer gently add a few handfuls of chopped sorrel 
leaves and the juice of 1 lemon.  Simmer all the ingredients together until 
cooked.  She calls this - Wateruintjie Bredie.  Makes sense.  
Maybe this information will be of help.  Sincerely, Gordon Wales. Thanks Gordon!

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