Tannie Maria's 'Recipes to Live For'

Meet Sally Andrews, author of four Tannie Maria novels — Recipes for Love and Murder, Tannie Maria & the Satanic Mechanic, Death on the Limpopo and The Milk Tart Murders — and the recently released Recipes To Live For: A Tannie Maria Cookbook.

The Tannie Maria novels are feel-good culinary murder mysteries set in Ladismith, infused with recipes, love, healing humour — and murder. Tannie Maria is a fifty-something agony aunt (and amateur sleuth) who receives letters at the Klein Karoo Gazette's "Love Advice and Recipe Column". She provides down-to-earth advice, but more importantly, a recipe to solve the problem. She is obsessed with food, and also uses her treats to help gather information when she investigates murders.

Each of the novels contains recipes at the back. The cookbook contains the recipes from the four novels, photos of the dishes, the beautiful Karoo, Ladismith, as well as Tannie Maria's unique, wise and kind sayings. 

With Father's Day coming up next Sunday, Tannie Maria's relationship with her dad was very close but it was complicated, and tainted by loss. He was away a lot, an Englishman, journalist and left-wing activist, and conflicted with her mother, who was Afrikaans and politically conservative. He died when she was 18, and in the third novel, Death on the Limpopo, Tannie Maria goes on a journey to the Limpopo River to solve a mystery related to his death.

Of all the recipes in the Tannie Maria cookbook I think she would prepare a lavish three-course feast for her dad on Father's Day and would most likely include Tamatie Bredie and Venus Cake.

Like Tannie Maria, I love my dad a lot. I read a draft of Death on the Limpopo to him when he was on his last legs and he helped me with research. Reghardt's Bobotie is based on the delicious dish my dad often made for us. He was generous with the almonds and apricot jam. 

REGHARDT’S BOBOTIE

serves 4—6

80ml (⅓ cup) seedless raisins or sultanas

15ml (1 tbsp) ground coriander

20ml (4 tsp) ground turmeric

5ml (1 tsp) ground black pepper

7.5ml (1 ½ tsp) ground cumin

2.5ml (½ tsp) ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground fennel seeds

¼ tsp ground fenugreek seeds

¼ t ground black mustard seeds

¼ t cayenne pepper

7.5ml (½ tbsp) salt

A pinch of nutmeg

A pinch of ground cloves

60ml (¼ cup) butter

2 onions, peeled and finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 t chopped fresh ginger

500g mince (lamb, ostrich or game)

1 cup grated carrot

1 slice bread, soaked in 45ml (3 tbsp) milk, lightly squeezed then mashed with a fork

60ml (¼ cup) flaked almonds

60ml (¼ cup) apricot jam 

45ml (3 tbsp) lemon juice or 30ml (2 tbsp) white wine vinegar

1 egg

Custard topping:

3 eggs

250ml (1 cup) milk

250ml (1 cup) cream or sour cream

2.5ml (½ tsp) salt

2.5ml (½ tsp) vinegar

Grated zest of ½ lemon

6 lemon leaves

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C. Soak the raisins or sultanas in hot water and set aside. Put all the ground spices into a small bowl and mix together.

2. Heat the butter in a large pan and gently fry the onions until they just begin to change colour. Now add the garlic, fresh ginger and the mixed spices and cook for a minute or two. Add the minced meat and brown lightly, stirring to break up any lumps. Then add the grated carrot and remove from the heat.

3. Stir in the rest of the ingredients, including the drained raisins or sultanas, adding the egg last so that it does not cook. Taste to check seasoning and then tip the mince mixture into a rectangular ovenproof dish (about 15x25cm and at least 4cm deep).

4. To make the custard topping, beat the eggs and add the milk, cream, salt, vinegar and lemon zest and mix well. Pour over the meat in the dish. Stick the lemon leaves into the bobotie until just the tips show. Bake for 20—25 minutes until golden brown.

Tips:

If you prepare this dish in advance, keep the topping separate and pour it over just before you bake it.

If you like it hot, add extra cayenne pepper, but then serve yoghurt with your bananas to cool things down.

Bobotie is delicious with anything, but is traditionally served with yellow rice (rice cooked with turmeric, raisins and cinnamon, with honey and butter forked in afterwards), fruit chutney, sliced bananas, and a chopped tomato and onion salad.

Recipes to Live For: A Tannie Maria Cookbook contains the recipes from the Tannie Maria novels Recipes For Love and Murder, Tannie Maria and the Satanic Mechanic, Death on the Limpopo and The Milk Tart Murders.

By Sally Andrews

Published by Penguin Books

R400