Vetkoek
Vetkoek are easier to make than most people think and are just so delicious as a sweet or savoury dish. Vetkoek is real South African food which I remember as a kid from the accounts clerks at my Dads business. They are fabulous Afrikaans women with a serious passion for traditional South African food.
What you need
1 kg white bread flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 packet instant yeast
1l lukewarm water
Oil for frying
The process
Sift the flour into a large bowl, add the sugar, salt and dry yeast and combine it all well.
Add the water a little at a time stirring constantly until the dough forms and begins to pull from the sides of the bowl. Depending on the brand of flour you will use between 800m and 1Liter so don’t put it all in until you have mixed. What you are looking for is the dough pulling away from the sides of the bowl and a little sticky.
Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and allow it to rise and reach about double the size. This shouldn’t take longer than about 20 minutes in summer bur up to an hour in winter.
Heat oil in a pot, not too hot or the vetkoek will not cook through.
Wet your hands with a little water and shape pieces of the risen dough into balls that fit into your palm easily.
Place in the hot oil and cook until golden and crisp on the outside.
Place them on a wire rack to drain thoroughly, this keeps them crisp.
Smother them in syrup for a sweet tooth or slit them open and fill with a curried mince.
Another really traditional South Africa recipe is Denningvleis, give it a try.
Thank you so much for this, this is a proper magwinya recipe and not those silly baking powder dry balls people pass off as vetkoek:-)
Fantastic Odette,so glad you found us 🙂
Is’nt a cup of sugar too much?
No, this is the way your nanny would make it, propabaly not super healthy but super delicious:-)
Hey Graham my boet …. doesn’t n vetkoek stink?
Hi I love your site and the recipes which I am sharing with many people including cooking with scouting camps. One thing “They are fabulous Afrikaans women with a serious passion for traditional South African food”. should this be “They are made by fabulous Afrikaans women with a serious passion for traditional South African food”??!!
Hi again, haha gotta love Afrikaans south african women, some of them are better cooks than most of us understand and just cook for the love of their friends and family. XX
Hi Graham,
How many does this recipe yield on average? I have small hands so I guess I will end up with smaller tasty morsels 🙂
I’m also wondering if the prepared dough can be frozen? I know it will not be as good as fresh, but time puts pressure on us all at times…
Hi there, I dont imagine the dough can be frozen but perhaps worth a try with a little at the end.
It makes quite a lot, about 12 fairly large ones.
Happy days G
Hi Graham – judging by all your compliments you must be the expert cook regarding vetkoeks – what no on my electric wok should I cook them on?
Hi Vicky, thanks… just a guy who loves to cook and share! Your setting should be a medium to high setting eg: if it goes to 8 set it on 6. Happy days G