Chakalaka from Lesotho and South Africa is a savory relish or side dish filled with vegetables and beans. Take your taste buds on an adventure with this delicious dish!
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Chakalaka is a little bit of everything perfect for anything. Filled with vegetables, beans, and plenty of spices, this dish is considered by some to be a side dish, a relish, or even a main course if served just right.
Whatever you consider it, I would count Chakalaka as delicious.
It’s a flavorful dish with carrots, peppers, tomatoes, and baked beans. All these textures and flavors melt together with curry and paprika to form a dish that is filling, colorful, and the perfect complement for just about any protein.
Looking to switch up the flavors on your dinner table? Chakalaka is a versatile bean dish with a savory flavor you are sure to love! For other bean dishes, you might love Baleadas, Instant Pot Cuban Black Beans, or Red Beans and Plantains.
Recipe Origin
The word “Chakalaka” in the Zulu language means “put it all together” which is really how this dish came to be in the first place.
The story goes that workers in the gold mines in townships of Johannesburg put together any vegetables they could find, along with beans and spices, to form a meal that would provide balance to starchy sides.
The dish has become a staple throughout South Africa, often served at African barbeques and special occasions.
Of course, there are many variations of Chakalaka in different parts of the African continent, and like most African cuisine, this dish has influences from all over the world. Some versions are very mild while others like to bring in a lot of spice. Some versions may include cauliflower, ginger, or a wide variety of peppers.
In some households chakalaka is served as a relish, some as a side dish, and some eat it alone as a stew or chili. It is enjoyed both hot and cold and can be enjoyed for several days in a row as the flavors deepen with time.
This versatility and powerful flavor are the reason chakalaka has become a staple in Lesotho and the surrounding areas.
Why Make This Recipe
- One Pot Meal: Chakalaka comes together in just one pot making the preparation and cleanup easy!
- Versatile Dish: It’s always nice when you can make one recipe and reuse it in so many ways. Enjoy it on day one as a chili, then save the leftovers as a side dish or relish for the rest of the week. It’s an easy way to sneak some veggies and extra flavor into your meals.
- Taste of Lesotho and South Africa: This is one of those dishes that’s easy to put together from just about anything you have on hand but Chakalaka brings so much flavor and culture to so many meals!
What Do You Need to Make This Recipe
Ingredients
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Produce: White onion, Garlic, Yellow bell pepper, Red bell pepper, Green bell pepper
- Seasonings: Curry Powder, Paprika, Oregano
- Complete Seasoning: Complete seasoning is an all-purpose seasoning that contains salt, black pepper, cumin, and many other spices. If you do not have complete seasoning you can easily mix up your own or use a different all-purpose seasoning. There are so many variations of this dish that you can’t go wrong!
- Grated Carrots: Make sure to grate your carrots as they will have a much better texture than store-bought matchstick carrots.
- Baked Beans: You could substitute a can of pinto beans or white beans but the baked beans add a touch of sweetness and brown sugar that is delicious and really a key part of this recipe.
- Sweet Chili Sauce: Some recipes use this while others do not. It is up to you!
Tools
- Medium Pot
How to Make This Recipe
Step One: Prep the veggies
In a medium pot, heat the vegetable oil until warm.
Add the white onion and the garlic and stir until it starts to become translucent, about 3 minutes.
Add the diced peppers (red, yellow, and green) into the pot and continue to saute for a few minutes until the vegetables soften.
Step Two: Add Your Spices
Add the curry powder, paprika, oregano and complete seasoning. Stir to combine.
Add the shredded carrots and saute for 1-2 minutes
Step Three: Add the Beans
Add the baked beans into the pan along with the Sweet Chili Sauce. Stir the contents of the pan until everything is warmed through. Salt or season the Chakalaka to taste.
Serve with Pap and enjoy!
Recipe researched using Patricia Thabile Nyathi, Ardie’s Kitchen, Liziwe Matloha, Tintswalomore1, Mphos_Kitchen
Expert Tips
- This chakalaka recipe is easily adaptable. You can make it vegetarian by making sure your baked beans are vegetarian. Many recipes call for cayenne pepper or chili pepper flakes for added spice or tomato sauce for extra broth. Feel free to play around with what you add to make it your own.
How to Store this Chakalaka Recipe
This is one of those recipes that is even better the next day and the day after, as the flavors have time to sit and melt into each other.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. You can serve chakalaka warm or cold the next day so it’s up to you if you reheat!
You can also freeze this Chakalaka Recipe for up to two months.
How to Serve Chakalaka
Serving this dish is easy because it goes with so many things! Chakalaka can be served as a side dish, a relish or condiment, or a soup or salad.
How you serve it depends on how you prepare it. If you prepare it with more vegetables, you may consider it more of a salad. If you prepare it with added tomato sauce, you may consider it a soup. Many home chefs add plenty of spice and chili peppers to their recipes and serve it as a spicy bean relish.
This recipe for chakalaka is made with baked beans which I found goes great as a main dish with a starchy side like pap.
Chakalaka lends the perfect flavor boost to just about any dish, but it is most commonly served alongside something else rather than eaten alone.
Try this Chakalaka Recipe With
- Crusty Bread
- Crackers
- Pap
- Barbecued meat or seafood
- Stew
- Porridge
- Rice
- Hot dogs
- Chicken tenders
Is Chakalaka Spicy?
It is not uncommon for chakalaka to be spicy, but this version of chakalaka is not a Spicy Chakalaka Recipe. You can definitely make it spicier by adding more chili pepper flakes or other chili peppers or reduce the spice even further by leaving out some of the chili sauce.
Did you enjoy this Chakala Recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
- Feijoada (Black Bean Stew) from Brazil
- Fagioli Soup from Italy
- Chifrijo from Costa Rica
Chakalaka Recipe
Equipment
- Medium Pot
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
- ½ white onion, diced
- 2 tsp Garlic, minced
- ½ yellow bell pepper, diced
- ½ red bell pepper, diced
- ½ green bell pepper, diced
- 2 tsp Curry Powder
- ½ tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 2 tsp Complete Seasoning
- 4 cups carrots, grated, about 4-5 Large carrots
- 28 oz Baked Beans
- 2 Tbsp Sweet Chili sauce
Instructions
- In a medium pot, heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil until warm.
- Add ½ white onion, diced and 2 tsp minced garlic and stir until it starts to become translucent, about 3 minutes.
- Add the diced peppers (½ cup red, ½ cup yellow, and ½ cup green) into the pot and continue to saute for a few minutes until the vegetables soften.
- Add the 2 tsp curry powder, ½ tsp paprika, 1 tsp oregano, and 2 tsp complete seasoning. Stir to combine.
- Add the 4 cups shredded carrots and saute for 1-2 minutes
- Add the 28 oz baked beans into the pan along with the 2 tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce. Stir the contents of the pan until everything is warmed through. Salt or season to taste.
- Serve with Pap and enjoy!
Notes
- Produce: White onion, Garlic, Yellow bell pepper, Red bell pepper, Green bell pepper
- Seasonings: Curry Powder, Paprika, Oregano
- Complete Seasoning: Complete seasoning is an all-purpose seasoning that contains salt, black pepper, cumin, and many other spices. If you do not have complete seasoning you can easily mix up your own or use a different all-purpose seasoning. There are so many variations of this dish that you can’t go wrong!
- Grated Carrots: Make sure to grate your carrots as they will have a much better texture than store-bought matchstick carrots.
Baked Beans: You could substitute a can of pinto beans or white beans but the baked beans add a touch of sweetness and brown sugar that is delicious and really a key part of this recipe. - Sweet Chili Sauce: Some recipes use this while others do not. It is up to you!
- This recipe is easily adaptable. You can make it vegetarian by making sure your baked beans are vegetarian. Many recipes call for cayenne pepper or chili pepper flakes for added spice or tomato sauce for extra broth. Feel free to play around with what you add to make it your own.
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