While everyone is busy doing their Christmas shopping some of us get to cook, mingle, nibble, drink and eat our hearts out……..

Oh, you might wonder what EYHO Food Jams is.  Eat Your Heart Out (EYHO) Food Jams is an initiative started by a young and vibrant music student, the lovely Jade de Waal.  It’s about hanging out with creative and free spirited individuals who have interest in food, wine and interacting with other people. One might not be skilled in the cooking department, but with will and eagerness to practise, some become good cooks.

EYHO food jams‘ aim is to encourage young people, more especially students to cook and eat healthy meals and enjoy doing that.  Besides, EYHO provides an opportunity to meet interesting people from different backgrounds and to try out a different dish from a different culture.  What happens at the food jams?  Cool, young people get together and mingle and cook up a storm.

Each individual is asked to submit a recipe before hand.  At the day of the jam, each person is assigned to a different recipe then the cooking begins.  Recipes, ingredients and equipment are set out for each person.  I also became privileged to submit a Zimbabwean peanut butter and chicken stew recipe called Dovi.   In a laid back, relaxed environment, one gets to sip on wine while preparing one’s dish.  The following dishes were prepared:

•  Spicy Indian Dosa
• Green Pepper, Tomato & Cumin Bread Salad
• Sweet Potato Fritters with Bacon & Crème Fraiche
• Dovi ~Peanut Butter & Chicken Stew

After all the food preparation, everyone got to sit around the table, dine and wine.  I prepared the Spicy Indian Dosa, but here I am sharing the Dovi recipe.  See more photos here

Dovi Recipe

Serves: 6-8

30ml (2tbsp) olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 green peppers, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 green chillies, finely chopped

2.5 ml peri-peri (optional)

2.5ml (½ tsp) salt

250ml (1cup) boiling water

1 chicken stock cube

1 chicken, cut into small pieces

3 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

3-4 sprigs thyme, chopped

120ml (8tbsp) smooth peanut butter

300g spinach, shredded

2.5ml cornstarch (optional)

 Method:

1.  Heat a saucepan and add olive oil.  Sauté the onions and green peppers and fry onion but not to brown.  Add garlic, chillies and salt.

2.  Melt the stock cute in the boiling water and add to the pot.  Add chicken, tomatoes, carrots and thyme.

3.   Close lid and let simmer at medium heat for 10 minutes.

4.  Add a few tablespoons of broth from the pot to the peanut butter and stir until it dissolves.

5.  Add spinach and the peanut butter mixture to the pot and continue cooking for aboutr 5 minutes or until the spinach is tender.

6.  If necessary, make a paste with 5ml cold water and cornstarch and add to the pot to thicken the gravy.

7.  Dovi is traditionally eaten from the pot and served with sadza/rice/mashed potatoes and veggies.

Author Info

Thuli

Thuli Gogela is a Food Technologist with 8 years of experience developing products in food manufacturing. She is dedicated to discovering wholesome traditional dishes and recipes with a distinctive taste from different parts of the African continent. Thuli is well known for her food blog, Mzansi Style Cuisine which was established in 2010. She saw a gap in the traditional food market that people were hungry for. From there, it didn’t take long to build her brand. In 2013, she started writing a recipe column for the Cape Times for and has collaborated with some of the biggest brands in South Africa namely, Knorr, Nedeburg Wines, First Choice and Spekko rice. Not only does Thuli feature traditional African dishes, she’s also open to developing recipes, food consultations and brand collaborations.