Potjiekos

“Potjiekos” is a traditional Afrikaner dish hailing from South Africa.The difference between a “potjie” ('little pot') and a stew is that a “potjie” is never stirred during the cooking process and always cooked slowly  over hot coals in a cast iron pan (cauldron). There very much potjiekos recipes in South Africa depeding on  choice of ingredients.

Traditionally, the recipe includes meat, vegetables like carrots, cabbage, cauliflower or pumpkin, starches like rice or potatoes, all slow-cooked with Dutch-Malay spices, the distinctive spicing of South Africa's early culinary melting pot. Other common ingredients include fruits and flour-based products like pasta. Potjiekos originated with the Voortrekkers, evolving as a stew made of venison and vegetables (if available), cooked in the potjie. As trekkers (pioneers) shot wild game, it was added to the pot. The large bones were included to thicken the dish.

The dish is normally prepared in layers and never stirred once the lid is put on. The first layer is normally that of meat. The meat can be sea food, poultry, pork, game, red meat, anything really. Next would normally be the vegetables, then the starch and lastly the sauce would be added on the top.

A "potjie" is a very informal way of cooking food. Today's "potjie" is not 'traditional' in the sense that the cooking processl not be using an open fire, outside on the ground neither will  be using traditional ingredients like game meat.