Unifying fish curry and pap

TimesLIVE

30-06-2025

This month commemorated the June 16 youth killed in 1976 in Soweto while protesting the injustice of one of apartheid's most evil tools of oppression: Bantu education. Enforced in 1953 as a racially segregated and inferior education system for black South Africans, it aimed to destroy minds, imaginations and self-esteem, stripping black people of everything but the need and desire to serve white people, to instil the belief in racial hierarchy and white superiority.
The 1976 Soweto uprisings contributed to the eventual dismantling of apartheid and brought international attention to the injustices of Bantu education and apartheid laws designed to divide and conquer.
I'm enraged by the cruelty and injustice in the country and world now. What can we do to make a difference and create a more united, liberated world around us?
Creating a feeling of home for myself and those I care about is one of my life's missions. Feeling at home is medicine. Food creates a sense of belonging because everyone everywhere eats. It is what makes us human. If we learn to understand people through food and how to touch someone's heart through their taste buds, the world would feel like a softer place. Where people are divided and pitted against each other, food can be a tool to build a sense of value and that every individual is important. Food can send messages that we are loved, seen and worthy and have a right to exist and tell our story.
Fish curry and pap, also called Kali, is a dish eaten in KwaZulu-Natal where people of Indian, Zulu, European and mixed heritage unite and enjoy eating it with their fingers. It is a recipe for love and unity.
Fish curry and pap
Serves 4-6
Fish curry ingredients:
2-3 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 dried red chillies
a handful of curry leaves
2 large cinnamon sticks
1 large onion, sliced
5 tsp medium Packo Masala or similar
5 tsp chilli powder (or less)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 can tomatoes
8-10 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp tamarind paste
1kg kingklip, hake or similar white fish, cubed
Method
Prepare all the ingredients — peel garlic, chop onions, use a blender or food processor to purée tomatoes and set aside.
Add oil to a pot, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, red chillies, curry leaves and cinnamon
Once the mustard seeds start popping, add onion
Once golden brown, adjust to medium heat
Add masala, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander power, cumin powder
Add tomato and garlic, then cook until a chutney
Add tamarind, mix well
Add fish and close the pot without stirring
Allow to cook for 10-15 mins.