Beef stew Bredie

Beef stew Bredie  is a traditional South African meal, and is good winter fare. Bredie is an old Cape name for a dish of meat and vegetables stewed together so that the flavors intermingle. The gravy is rich, thick and full-bodied, and is obtained by using meat with a fair amount of bone and fat, rolling it in flour and browning it before the vegetables are added. The flavor improves if left a day or two before eating. Nice with brown rice.

Bredie isan Afrikaans word meaning “stew”. Traditional Bredie is made with mutton, but beef oxtails or even pork are also popular ingredients. The most popular are green bean bredie, tomato bredie and cabbage bredie.

The recipe for a basic bredie  consists typicallly of mutton, potatoes and a vegetable. How to make variations using different vegetables is up to to the cook or house wifes.

This form of  bredie cooking was first introduced to the Cape by Malays, who were brought to the colony many tasty dishes.