Chef Kepla joined us for our first ever Botswana Chow on July 26 & 27.
Beetroots
Keletso remembers taking an agriculture class as a child. Each student had their own plot with beets, which grow well in Botswana. He loved eating the raw beets, which were sweeter than cooked ones. In this dish, Chef Kepla tosses his beets with Mrs HS Ball’s Chutney, a South African kitchen staple since 1917.
Peri Peri Wings
Originally created in Portugal, Peri-Peri sauce was brought to Portugal’s African territories and gained popularity across the Southern African region. The sauce gets its flavor and its heat from African Bird's Eye Chili Pepper, which grows in the intense African heat. Chef Kepla marinates his wings in Peri-Peri sauce before grilling. He serves them with a side of Peri-Peri.
Seswaa and Phaleche
There are more cattle than people in Botswana, so it’s not surprising that the national dish of Botswana is seswaa, a traditional dish made from only three ingredients: beef, salt, and pepper. The beef is stewed, grilled, and then pounded, giving it consistency similar to pulled pork. It’s served with phaleche (aka papa). Made from mielie meal (cornmeal), phaleche is similar to grits, but firmer.
Madombi & Beef Stew
Madombi, another national favorite, is a hearty, steamed dumpling usually eaten with stew. The dumpling is paired with a rich beef and potato stew and served with mashed butternut squash.
Custard with Jelly
Originally, this dessert was served at weddings because it could be prepared in large quantities, but overtime, it became an everyday dessert. Custard is mixed with jelly (similar to our Jell-O).
About the Chef
Chef Keletso Thaga (aka Kepla)
Keletso was not only the oldest of three, but he was also the oldest in his extended family. Realizing it would get him out of doing the dishes, he learned to cook from his mother and aunts.
In 1997, he came to the United States on a scholarship from the Botswana government. He studied Science Technology at Old Dominion in Norfolk, VA. As a condition of his scholarship, he returned to Botswana to work in a government-run hospital after graduation. After a few years back in Botswana, he returned to the U.S. to raise his two kids.
Since 2012, Keletso has been a Radio Frequency Engineer. His work has him traveling around the country designing networks for mobile phone companies. Throughout his life, he worked in restaurants to make money on the side.
In 2020, he and his wife welcomed a little one into their family. With the pandemic, it was hard to find childcare and travel was risky, so he opened Tatso Peri Peri Grilled Chicken, a ghost kitchen in the West End centered around his signature dish, Peri-Peri Chicken.
In 2022, he closed his ghost kitchen, due to the high overhead costs. He’s back working full time as a Radio Frequency Engineer, but he still makes time for his cooking on the side.
Comments