S.Africa's Soweto township celebrates iconic street snack
South Africa's kota is a tasty, inexpensive and uniquely homegrown
street sandwich created out of the bitterness of apartheid and which
still has a special place in the hearts of many.
Its name is pidgin for quarter -- this case, a quarter of a loaf of
bread, which forms the base of the sandwich that can be found along most
streets in Johannesburg's township of Soweto.
The quarter loaf is hollowed out and then filled with layers of all
sorts -- potato fries, fried egg, baloney, Frankfurter, and spicy
pickles.
Under the warm spring sun, hundreds of people thronged a Soweto township
square at the weekend to pay homage to the celebrated snack.
"We are here to celebrate township food," said festival organiser
Sidwell Tshingilane, standing by dozens of stalls where chefs stood
behind piles of fillings as patient customers queued up for the snack.
"Kota is born in the township. We grew up eating kota. It's one of the
street foods that is popular like a burger in America. We normally call
it our local burger," Tshingilane said.
"Some people say it's popular like the brand Madiba," he said, referring
to the country's much-loved anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela.
"It's affordable, people in townships sometimes don't afford those fancy
foods. So instead of going to McDonald’s, they go to a kota outlet."
- Affordable and delicious -
The two-day kota festival was held in the same Soweto square where the
Freedom Charter -- a document demanding equal rights to education, work,
wealth and a decent living -- was adopted by anti-apartheid groups in
1955.
The second annual festival came just days after the country was cleared
of a listeria outbreak which claimed 216 lives and sickened more than
1,000 since early 2017.
The listeriosis bacteria contaminated a popular range of meats including the sausages often used in the kota filling.
Kota vendors recorded a drop in sales of up to 40 percent during the
outbreak, which the United Nations believed was the largest ever
worldwide.
But for some, the outbreak made little difference.
"Listeriosis did not exist in our world, we continued eating," said Nthabiseng Matlhare, a 30-year-old tour consultant.
"This is our tradition, we grew up with this vibe," she said, tucking
into a kota filled with chicken strips, chips, spinach and topped with
stewed chicken feet.
A few steps away chef Mogau Tabane of Rocktown Deli explains the
evolution of the kota, with new and uncommon ingredients such as
mushroom and strawberry now finding their way into the mix.
"It's one of our heritage products. It’s South Africa’s favourite. From children to adults, everybody eats kota," he said.
- 'Unique solution to a unique issue' -
The kota actually comes in various names and fillings depending on
location but is believed to have originated in the 1960s as non-white
South Africans tried to get around the rigours of apartheid.
Food anthropologist Anna Trapido believes its origin is steeped in the
history of the country where non-whites were not allowed in restaurants
or were forbidden from using plates or forks and knives.
"There was need to find a vehicle in which to take away food," said
Trapido, emerging as a "uniquely South African solution to a uniquely
South African issue".
Traditionally high in carbohydrates and with most of the filling
prepared in oil, the snack has doctors worrying over obesity and related
illnesses.
"We're seeing more children with Type 2 diabetes... more children with
high blood pressure. And when they go untreated then they end up with
kidney diseases," said dietician Mpho Tshukudu.
Health concerns aside, the kota is seen as a worthy entrant to the list of South African cuisine.
Deputy Tourism Minister Elizabeth Thabethe suggested the "typical
township" food could help promote tourism because it offers "a peculiar
taste".
"Fine dining, they (tourists) can experience in their own countries, but
this (kota) they cannot get in their own countries," she told AFP after
trying the fare on offer at the festival.
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