Winter recipe
To warm your heart and home
As the cold sets in, there’s something comforting about gathering around a hearty, home-cooked meal. For this winter edition of XXplore, we’re sharing two favourites guaranteed to bring warmth and flavour to your kitchen. Enjoy the homestyle goodness of a proudly South African classic – Amadombolo with braised oxtail and end on a sweet note with a familiar favourite that comes with a twist: warm chocolate malva pudding.
Did you know?
Amadombolo, also known as dumplings, are a much-loved staple in South African homes. Traditionally steamed rather than baked, they’re soft, fluffy, and ideal for one-pot cooking. In this recipe, they’re perfect for soaking up the rich, meaty, slow-cooked oxtail stew – a dish that’s not only comforting but also packed with nutritional value. The oxtail is rich in high-quality protein, iron, and collagen, while the dumplings offer a great source of energy.
Amadombolo with braised oxtail (View recipe)
Ingredients
Amadombolo
- 512g flour
- 10g instant yeast
- 5ml white sugar
- 10ml Salt
- 375ml lukewarm water
Oxtail
- 1kg oxtail
- 2 diced onions
- 2 diced carrots
- 100ml flour
- 2 diced celery stalks
- 250ml red wine (optional)
- 15ml oil
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 6 tomatoes chopped
- 1.5L beef stock
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 10ml barbeque spice
Method
Braised oxtails
- Coat the oxtail with flour.
- In a large pot add oil to the pot and brown your meat.
- Remove the oxtail and add the onions, carrots and celery stalks and sauté, add the tomato paste and stir.
- Add chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper.
- Add the meat back once the tomatoes are cooked.
- Add the barbeque spice and Worcestershire sauce.
- Cook for 10 minutes and add the red wine, beef stock and bay leaves.
- Cook for 3 hours on low heat until very soft.
Amadombolo
- In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
- Add lukewarm water to form a soft dough.
- Knead the dough until elastic and smooth.
- Cover with greased plastic and let it double in size.
- Divide the dough in half and make 25g balls.
- Roll into balls and leave the dough to rise.
Soak it up
- Add the dumplings on top of the oxtail pot while still cooking.
- Leave to cook for 1 hour 30 minutes. Don’t open the lid.
- Once the dumplings are cooked serve them immediately.
Chocolate Malva Pudding (View recipe)
Ingredients
Pudding
- 2 XL eggs
- 180 g castor sugar
- 15 ml apricot jam
- 15 ml butter
- 5 ml vinegar
- 80 ml milk
- 50 g cocoa
- 100 g cake flour
- 5 ml bicarbonate of soda
The sauce
- 200 ml cream
- 100 g butter
- 120 g castor sugar
- 80 ml hot water
- 10 ml vanilla essence
- 60 ml cocoa
Method
Pudding
- Preheat the oven to 180˚C.
- Grease a medium ovenproof dish.
- Beat the eggs and castor sugar until thick and creamy.
- Beat in the apricot jam.
- Melt the butter and add to the vinegar and milk.
- Sift the dry ingredients together.
- Combine the three mixtures to form a smooth batter.
- Combine the three mixtures to form a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the ovenproof dish and bake uncovered for 45 minutes.
Sauce
- While the pudding is in the oven, melt the sauce ingredients together. Pour the sauce over the pudding as soon as it is removed from the oven.
- Note: Before pouring over the sauce, check that the pudding is cooked by inserting a skewer or cake tester – if it comes out clean, it is ready.
- Serve warm.
Cooked up some comfort?
We’d love to know how your Amadombolo and Malva Pudding turned out. Share your thoughts (or even a photo)!
