KINGDOM OF LESOTHO

Season 2 Episode 19

Lesotho is a country found in the southern part of Africa landlocked inside The Republic of South Africa.

We’d be exploring the culture of this beautiful country for some weeks. Let’s take a look at some of their delicacies.

CHAKALAKA

This is a spicy vegetable dish that is one the staple dishes of the Lesotho people.

Ingredients

• Cooking oil
• FInely chopped onion
• Chili pepper
• Crushed garlic
• Crushed ginger
• Chopped bell pepper
• Black pepper
• Chopped tomatoes and tomato paste
• Cooked or Canned beans
• Curry powder
• Salt
• Water
  

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil inside a pot and add the chopped onion to fry until it is soft.
2. Add the chili pepper, curry powder, crushed garlic and some quantity of the chopped ginger and stir to fry.
3. Add the bell pepper and keep stirring to allow all the ingredients to mix well.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste to the mixture and cook.
5. Add a little water and salt and cook for a few minutes.
6. Put off the heat and add the cooked or canned beans, the remaining ginger, salt and stir.
7. Serve your Chakalaka hot or cold.
   
   

OXTAIL SOUP

This delicious soup is made from the chunks of meat that is cut from the tail of a cow.

Ingredients

• Chunks or cut pieces of oxtail (meat from cow’s tail)
• All purpose flour
• Cooking oil
• Chopped onions
• Tomatoes and tomato paste
• Ground pepper
• Salt
• Bay leaf
• Curry and Thyme
• Diced carrot
• Water
• Chopped celery
• Parsley leaf (Local name: Scent leaf)
• Water
  

Method of Preparation

1. Put the chunks of oxtail inside ½ cup of all purpose flour.
2. Heat the cooking oil inside a cooking pot. Add the chunks of meat into the hot oil and allow to cook till it is brown in colour. 
3. Add the chopped onions into the pot, stir and saute as you reduce the heat for a few minutes.
4. Add some little quantity of water to the mixture and stir. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, ground pepper and salt to the mixture and allow to cook for some time.
5. After a while, add the thyme, curry, parsley leaf, bay, diced celery leaf to the mixture and allow to cook.
6. Allow to cook till the ingredients become tender, add the carrot and allow it to simmer for 10-15 minutes.
7. Your soup is ready.
   
   

Written and edited by Ebenezer Oladokun