South Africa: Samp and Beans [vegan]

This week, we make our first stop in Southern Africa as we visit South Africa. We cook a South African vegan dish which is a real classic comfort food: samp and beans (isistambu in Zulu and umngqusho in Xhosa). Rich and creamy and seasoned with fried onion and curry powder, what is not to love?

Brief history of South Africa

South Africa is often called the Rainbow Nation as a reference to the large number of peoples living there ​[1]​. In fact, the country has 11 official languages. The country has a very long history of human occupation and has some of the richest paleontological sites of early homoinds (ancesotrs to modern humans). Some cites are even dubbed The Cradle of Humankind and is included on UNESCO’s World Heritage sites list ​[2]​ (though we think that modern humans arose on the horn of Africa). The original hunter-gatherers (Khoisan) living in South Africa were largely displaced by Bantu speaking farmers from West Africa during multiple migration waves over the past millenia (colelctively known as the Bantu expansion) ​[3]​. The modern Xhosa and Zulu peoples, among others, are descendent from these West African peoples.

In the 17th century, the Dutch established Cape Town as a refuelling depot for their trade missions to the Dutch East Indies. To support this staging point, they imported slaves from primarily Indonesia and East Africa. In addition to the city, many Dutch colonizers arrived and spread inland (adpoting the name Boer), warring with the Xhosa and Zulu to gain land. At the end of the 18th century, the British took over Cape Town “to protect it from Napoleon” and a new wave of immigration ensued. The discovery of gold and diamonds in the 2nd half the 19th century non-surprisingly increased immigration. After decades of gradually increased independence, the country finally became independent in 1931.

South African cuisine

The centuries of migration, colonization and immigration (forced and voluntary) has had a major impact on the cuisine of South Africa.

Precolonial cuisine in the region relied heavily on sorghum, millet, foraged fruits and nuts and different fermented milk products and meat (cattle). Beer, fermented from local grains like sorghum, had great imporatnce, both as a nutritional source and for ceremonial purposes. With the contact with the New World, corn came to dominated over sorghum and millet as the grain of choice. Immigration from Indonesia, Malaysia and India brought a wealth of spices while the Dutch and British brought European influences and dishes.

Today, you can find a plethora of dishes from the centuries of culinary fusion ​[4]–[6]​. The African staple ugali, a fluffy, somewhat solid porridge made from corn flour or sorghum, is of course found on the South African menu where it is calle pap or mieliepap ​[7]​. Sometimes pap is fermented and diluted to create a (non-alcoholic) drink called mageu. Another more recent South African dish is chakalaka, which likely originated from South African miners ​[8]​. What vegetables you have at hand are cooked with onion, curry and baked beans. Can be served as a side, in a salad or on a sandwich.

Other interesting dishes include bunny chow – an indian veggie curry served in a hollowed out bread (the kind of really white, cheap bread used for toast); vetkoek (lit. fat cake) – fried dough with savoury or sweet toppings; and koeksisters – a sweet, braided deep fired pastry.

Samp and beans – a South African vegan classic

Samp and beans, also known as isistambu in Zulu and umngqusho among the Xhosa, is a popular Bantu side dish in South Africa. Often considered a comfort food, it is said to be former South African president Nelson Mandela’s favourite dish ​[9]​ and is described as a fond childhood memrory by many bloggers whose recipes I used for this post ​[10], [11]​. It can even be bought canned, ready to reheat.

While it can be eaten on its own, it is more commonly eaten alongside one or more main dishes such as a stew or a BBQ. It is a quite simple dish where samp and beans are simmered together and seasoned with fried onion, curry, and (optional) chili ​[9], [12]–[15]​. Some recipes include potatoes, bell ppers and/or tomatoes (fresh or canned) ​[9], [13]–[15]​. Some even simpler recipes simply simmer the samp and beans in water and salt ​[16], [17]​. Instead of curry powder, some recipes use cumin seeds ​[10]​ or warm spices like allspice, cloves and nutmeg ​[18]​. Some cooks add a knob of butter or some pieces of meat but that seems to be an exception rather than a rule.

Samp – nixtamalized corn

Samp are crushed, deskinned corn kernels prepared using lye. The method originates from the native peoples of the Americas and was spread to the English via the Narragansett tribe (in modern day Rhode Island) who called it nasàump ​[19]–[21]​. To prepare nasàump/samp, dry corn kernels are boiled in an alkaline solution (high pH solution, such as limewater, lye, water with baking soda, water and tree ash among others) and then crushed and the skins are removed. If using caustic, corrosive solutions to prepare your food seems strange, recall how pretzels are made by dipping them in lye.

This process is called nixtamalization and has been used to prepare corn at least seince 1200 BCE ​[22]​. In addition to removing the skins, it kills of most mold and fungal toxins that might be present on the corn. nixtamalization is also used to prepare hominy, whole grains of corn which are popular in Central American countries like Mexico ​[23]​. In addition, the alkaline processing disrupts the corn proteins which allows them to cling together, just like how low pH is used in tofu making. In samp and hominy, this might not matter much but when grinding the nixtamalized corn into flour, masa harina, it is crucial. This is what allows the treated corn flour to cling together so you can make cornt otrillas, tamales and Guatemalan chuchitos.

Conclusion

I was very happy with how the samp and beans turned out. Very creamy texture and nice, mild but interesting flavours. I can see why this is a comfort food people growing up on it recall fondly. One thing surprised me about the samp. Having read about the processing, I thought it would taste more similar to masa harina with its perfumy notes but it did not. Maybe it was the brand I bought or maybe the masa harina flavour comes from something else. The samp did not taste like adding fresh corn kernels either (far from it). They had a completely different texture from corn and no corn flavour. The texture was more reminiscent of little dough pieces, like mini dumplings or pearl couscous.

I served the samp and beans with chakalaka (recipe from Foods from Africa). This is another side dish or relish consisting of fried vegetables with baked beans. It was not the best pairing, both of the dishes being side dishes. Next time I will serve the samp and beans with something else, like stewed greens or a vegetable curry. Or better yet, bring to a potluck. I hope yo will give this South African vegan dish a go. It is well worth a try if you can find some samp.

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Samp and beans

Samp and beans are a traditional South African side dish served alongside other dishes like stewed greens and curries. The dish is also known as umngqusho or isistambu among the Xhosa and Zulu peoples respectively.

Course dinner, Side Dish

Cuisine South African

Keyword beans, corn

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Soaking 8 hours hours

Total Time 9 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 250 mL samp 1 cup
• 250 mL sugar beans (pinto beans) 1 cup
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• dried red chilis (or flakes, or powder) To your spice level
• 1 cube vegetable stock or powder
• salt
• oil

Instructions

• Soak samp and beans in plenty of lightly salted water for 8 h or overnight.
• Discard soaking water and put samp and beans in a pot. Cover with water and bring to a simmer.
• Let simmer for ~1 h, until soft. Check texture and water level continously, refill water if needed. Don't add too much water at a time to make it easier to control the final texture.
• Meanwhile, fry the sliced onions in oil on medium heat until they start to brown. Add the minced garlic, curry powder, and dried chili (whole, flakes or powder). Stir until fragrant.

  Add the chopped tomatoes and the stock cube (or powder).
• When the samp and beans are done, remove the lid and let the water evaporate until your desired texture is reached. It should be quite thick.

  Stir in the onion and tomato sauce.
• Serve with a main dish of your choice, such asa vegetable curry or stewed greens.