Main Meals

Isjingi

6
Easy
15 minutes
30 minutes

“Can there be one ultimate way to prepare something as simple as isjingi? I gave it a try. While this recipe normally calls for the pumpkin to be boiled, I’ve roasted it to add some caramelised sweetness. I also spooned over nuts fried in brown butter to add richness.” – Khanya Mzongwana

Wine/Spirit Pairing
De Wetshof Limestone Hill Chardonnay

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Ingredients

Method
  • 500 g pumpkin, peeled and diced
  • 4 T canola oil
  • 4 T honey
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 cups water
  • 300 g maize meal
  • 200 g butter
  • 100 g hazelnuts, roughly chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the pumpkin on a baking tray, drizzle over the oil and honey and season. Roast for 10–12 minutes or until cooked through and caramelised. Place in a blender and purée.

2. Bring the water and salt to taste to the boil in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the maize meal until there are no lumps. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the maize meal is cooked, stir in the pumpkin purée. Set aside and keep warm.

3. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once the butter has melted, allow it to gently bubble, stirring occasionally. Once the butter starts to turn brown and smell nutty, add the nuts and fry gently for a few minutes.

4. To serve, spoon the isjingi onto a platter, drizzle with the brown butter and sprinkle over the hazelnuts.

Find more South African recipes here.

Photograph: Toby Murphy
Production: Khanya Mzongwana
Food assistant: Ellah Maepa and Leila-ann Mokotedi

Khanya Mzongwana

Recipe by: Khanya Mzongwana

If you're anything like our deputy food editor Khanya Mzongwana, you're obsessed with uniqueness and food with feeling. Cook her family-tested favourites, midweek winners and her mouth-wateringly fresh takes on plant-based eating.

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