Koesisters
The perfect combination of sweet and spicy, koesisters are similar to donuts but with spices like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and aniseed mixed into the dough, it's definitely something unique to Cape Town. It's been a long standing tradition in Cape Town, and in particular in the Cape Malay/Coloured community, to have koesisters for breakfast on a Sunday morning.
Bo-Kaap, Cape Town - formerly known as the Malay Quarter
Cape Malay cooking originated from the time of slavery in the Cape, when slaves who were originally from Southeast Asian countries, had to adapt their cooking styles to the palate of their Dutch masters. Substituting the more hot and spicy ingredients for aromatic and fragrant spices, some of which can be found in the many different koesister recipes.
When I was younger, I used to spend holidays and weekends with my grandparents on the Cape Flats (the Cape Flats is the areas where people were forcibly moved to, during apartheid) and every Sunday at about 8 am, my cousin and I would go buy koesisters. We would get a bowl full of koesisters for just R20 ($1,70), enough for the entire family. Of course that was quite a few years ago and prices have increased but it's still good value for money, compared to similar things you would find in most supermarkets.
Koesisters are usually made Saturday evenings, once all the ingredients is mixed into the dough, it's left in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours.
The dough before it has risen - it's then covered with cling wrap and a tablecloth to help it rise a little quicker
The dough is then rolled out to a 5 cm thick coil and then, pieces 2 cm in length, is cut off and shaped into slightly flat donut shapes, it's then fried and left covered overnight. On Sunday morning, the koesisters are boiled in a sugar syrup and then covered in coconut, this is the best time to eat it, while it's still hot.
I myself have started making koesisters and I know I have a long way still to go, before I get it just right.
Cardamom koesisters I made from a family recipe
Sunday morning koesisters are part of the culture of Cape Town and a tradition that's not going anywhere, anytime soon 😊.
Source - Cape Malay cooking
All images are my own unless indicated otherwise
