The Fireplace Warrior

The last two weeks have been nothing short of a nightmare for my family and I, as we had to say goodbye to a beloved niece and friend who unfortunately lost her battle with colon cancer at the age of 32.

She was a warrior at heart. She waged a short but intense battle, and didn’t go down without a fight.

I hate cancer. And too many young people are losing their lives to it.

There are many ways in which different cultures go through the process of mourning, and for most, food is at the centre of it.

It’s all about how we can ensure that everyone, and usually we are talking hundreds upon hundreds, on the final day are well catered for.

In Setswana culture, mostly, from the day the death is announced until the burial, we have evening prayers. That’s over a week of constantly churning out food to guests who visit the family on a daily basis, and to say it is exhausting would be an understatement. This is where the community and family kick in.

At such times, we turn to the one kitchen implement that has graced many fires across this nation and across borders.

This implement does not get tired, it does not falter. It holds with it recipes and ancient secrets, often passed on from generation to generation.

Cultural significance

This warrior has faced everything from raging fires to warm embers, all while producing meal after meal.

The iconic African three-legged pot is more than a must in everyone’s kitchen.

We have a 30-litre, a 20-litre, a nine-litre and even a three-litre three-legged pot.

But for the task at hand, we went around to family and friends and collected a few more, and with three beasts to dispatch into hungry stomachs, no fewer than 12 big 20-litre and a few 30-litre pots were in action.

I remember writing about the perfect potjie and indicating that this is the pot that achieves that goal for you, along of course with the perfect recipe, handed down over generations.

The men are responsible for cooking the meat, as it is an arduous task of slaughtering, butchering, cleaning and eventually cooking. It is a great initiation for young men in the family to find their roots in cultural practices disappearing due to caterers and so forth. They have their place, but some practices cannot be replaced by convenience.

Buckets of Flavour

I’m not sure if it is because you cook in one of these and then when it’s washed traces of the last meal cooked in it are left, piling up over generations (of course you cook it clean), but there is a particular flavour produced by these pots that comes from both the fire and the type of pot itself.

It’s like the difference between a stainless steel pan and a cast-iron pan. The flavour is not the same. This pot gives you something richer, fuller and, well, more homey. Your management of the fire is what separates you from being a fire minder to being a proficient family chef.

Do your job too well, as was the case with me, and you, by default, are the one everyone turns to in such times to ensure everyone is fed.

After we filled eight pots with meats, we cooked it through and added our veggies and gravy, so they absorb all the leftover flavours, and, oh my, what a lunch those veggies carried.

Make the purchase

Without being the poster child for any one retailer, I believe this is not just a random purchase one makes – it is truly an investment. You might not have a huge yard, but your apartment has a fireplace for a braai – that in itself is more than enough to cater for the smaller version of this pot, and trust me, you need one.

I have two, and bring them out mainly in winter or when a particular nostalgic need arises.

Ranging from as little as N$500 for the smaller enamel-coated versions to about N$7 000 for the bigger cast-iron versions, you can definitely find one that fits your budget and your particular lifestyle, and with Easter here, it’s a great time to break one in.

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