SA pilot, official killed in plane crash during Chad rhino monitoring mission
A small aircraft crashed near a village in Chad on Wednesday, killing its South Africanpilot and a passenger who were on a rhinoceros monitoring mission, the country's Civil Aviation Authority said.
The two-seater Savannah S aircraft operated by African Parks Network conservation group went down around 5am GMT during a surveillance flight over Chad's southern Zakouma region, it said in a statement.
The South African pilot and an official from Chad's environment ministry died.
"The Civil Aviation Authority regrets to confirm that, according to information received, the two occupants tragically lost their lives in the accident," it said, adding that an investigation has been launched.
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Biltong is more versatile than we think
Beef or venison. Coriander seeds. Black pepper. Coarse salt. Vinegar. Ah, biltong: proof that the simple things in life are often the best. Everybody in the world seems to have heard of biltong. South Africans abroad crave it, seek it out, sometimes find it – and when they do they often find it lacking. Somehow, it just doesn't taste the same. Like a pint of Guinness drunk in Ireland, and Guinness drunk in London or Johannesburg, it's somehow not quite right. In 1996 we spent two weeks driving from Dublin to Wexford, via Killarney to the Ring of Kerry, then to Galway and back across to Dublin, drinking Guinness in pubs and restaurants, every day. When we arrived back in London, I walked into a pub and ordered a pint of Guinness. Just indefinably not quite there. I've barely touched it since. Is it an indefinable something that characterises perfect biltong? Is it simply the coriander, that crack of a bit of this hard seed here and there as you bite off and chew? Is it the fact that the beef or venison used to make it has been reared on South African soil and grazed on African veld? Is it the vinegar, hardly discernible but undoubtedly adding something to it? The black pepper that adds a pleasing sharpness? And that saltness we love in our billies… And you know you love something, you know that something has a place in your heart, when you give it a diminutive. A pet name. Billies, you beauty. We love you, mwah! There are some rules: The vinegar should be brown, not white (brown vinegar is sometimes called malt vinegar.) Sometimes a 50/50 mixture of brown vinegar and Worcestershire sauce is used. (Some recipes these days call for red wine vinegar or even balsamic vinegar. Nee man! And if a recipe calls for white spirit vinegar, move on.) The salt should be coarse, not fine. The meat: Don't get too fancy. Silverside (beef) is widely used, sometimes topside. Some recipes call for rump; this is not traditional. Some commentators say biltong calls for the finest beef cuts such as fillet or sirloin (even Wikipedia says so). Many traditionalists would disagree. Anyway, wouldn't you rather keep your sirloin, rump or fillet for a steak dinner? The cut: normally the meat is sliced along the grain, not against it. But it is sometimes cut across the grain depending on the cut being used. Some people say 1 cm thickness is ideal, others up to 2 cm or 2.5 cm. Me, I like a thick stukkie billies, nice and rare in the middle. The seasoning traditionally would be ground coriander seeds, black pepper, and salt; sometimes paprika or Cayenne pepper. Worcestershire sauce is often also used. Some recipes call for cloves, allspice, or powdered garlic; most of us would stick to those basic biltong aromatics of salt, black pepper, coriander seeds and brown vinegar. Ageing: The cured meat should be hung to dry in a ventilated space for four to five days or up to seven. 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Sometimes there can be too many gadgets in one's cooking life though. Somehow the Voorktrekkers seemed to manage without them while dragging their wagons across mountains without any roads. Mind you, they had good ventilation. Having said all that, biltong can also be thought of as an ingredient of a dish. So, presuming that you have either made or bought some really good billies, start thinking about dishes in which biltong could be the hero or even one of a number of ingredients of equal status in a recipe. Biltong carpaccio, for instance. For this you'd need very rare, 'young' biltong which, when sliced, is nicely pink and supremely soft, to be dressed with such elements as lemon juice, fresh herbs, cracked peppercorns, capers or caperberries, something sweet such as a scattering of very finely chopped dates, and/or wholegrain mustard. Biltong makes a fabulous soup, and one that can take a hint of liquor such as brandy or sherry. I also make a creamy biltong soup in which I use cream as well as coconut cream, onion, garlic, coriander seeds and coriander leaves. I also sometimes make a biltong and blue cheese soup, and that's a winning combo. Pasta is a vehicle for so many things, and biltong can be among them. Fill pasta parcels with cream cheese mixed with small pieces of soft biltong, and serve with a cream sauce with perhaps some blue cheese crumbled and melted into it, as biltong can take the strength of a strong cheese. A biltong pasta sauce would also need to begin with simmered onions and garlic, of course, and a herb such as thyme would be a good match. Mushrooms pair well with biltong in a sauce. Biltong is also an interesting addition to macaroni cheese; just include some slivers of soft biltong in your sauce before combining it with the noodles and baking it. It also makes a great pâté or dip, such as my recipe for biltong pâté. 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The South African
6 hours ago
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Air India crash: Pilot's final chilling words revealed
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