Vetkoek with Bobotie Filling, pairing two South African Dishes! Part 1 of 2.

Today I decided to bring you two different South African dishes and pairing them together. Vetkoek is a deep fried pastry which is enjoyed with several different types of fillings. Some of these fillings include savoury minced meat with peas, potatoes and carrots. You can also find this loved deep fried pastry at the street venders which pair it with "russian sausages", polony  and if you have a sweet tooth you can also get it with apricot jam and butter. And because this addictive pastry is so versatile I've chosen a slightly sweet but savoury filling to go with it. Bobotie is a base of minced meat, enriched by a sweet savoury curry flavour which is topped with a silky smooth egg and cream mixture. Some of the other key ingredients in this dish is the raisins, sultanas  and almonds. But enough about that, lets get to the important part, the recipe and how to make this wonderful dish. I will first be posting the Vetkoek recipe and then later today I will post the Bobotie recipe, so keep an eye out for that. For those who do not know what Vetkoek means, if roughly translated it means "Fat cake". I saw some one that translated it to meaning "fat cook", which is incorrect. 

 Ingredients 

• 1kg flour
• 670g water
• 50g yeast (fresh) 
• 10g oil
• 10g vinegar 
• 8g salt
• 8g sugar

Method

1. Place all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and bring together till you have a dough ball
2. Now start kneading the dough till you have a full gluton development (this should take 5-6 minutes in mixer at medium speed and about double that if doing by hand) The dough should be stretchy with out tearing. 
3. Now place dough into bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to bulk ferment(proof) for 2 hour, degassing at 1 hour intervals.
4. In the mean time heat up your deep frier or pot with thermometer to 170C/338F ( vegetable oil is perfect to use) 
5. Once hour has passed, portion the dough into 80-100g portions (depending on how big you would like to have your vetkoek) and then shape into balls or rectangle( which ever you prefer) 
6. Once proofing is done place portioned dough into hot oil and allow to fry till each side is a deep golden brown. If your oil is too hot you will not be able to cook the whole vetkoek all the way through. If this does happen simply preheat your oven to 180C and finish them off in the oven. If your oil is too cold your vetkoek will absorb a lot of oil and that won't be pleasant to eat. So make sure your oil is at the right temperature. 

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