Antega South Africa · Recipes
Pregnancy-safe meals for every stage, written for South Africa.
Ingredients are shown in metric measures by default, and you can switch between metric and US cups and ounces on any recipe page. Each recipe includes allergen information, food-safety notes, storage guidance and approximate nutrition per portion.
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Evening meal
Lean stewing beef cooked slowly with carrots, potato and butternut until tender. Made in a potjie over coals or in a heavy pot on the stove — both are common, and neither is more correct than the other.
Evening meal
Dombolo is steamed bread, known by different names around the country, served with a saucy stew. Here it accompanies braised chicken with plenty of vegetables.
Evening mealPregnancy
Cooked morogo with onion and tomato, served with butternut and soft pap. A familiar plate made with well-washed, thoroughly cooked greens.
50 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
A slow, gentle pot of lentils, butternut and tomato. It reheats well, freezes well and costs little to make.
60 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Lean beef mince cooked with tomato and spinach, served with samp. Cooked right through, with vitamin C-containing vegetables alongside.
75 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Hake fillets baked with sweet potato, tomato and peppers in one tray. Little washing up and nothing to watch on the stove.
50 min total
SoupsPregnancy
A gentle, mild soup of butternut and red lentils. Easy on a queasy day and simple to carry to work in a flask.
40 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Samp and beans cooked slowly with chicken pieces, onion, carrot and tomato. One pot, generous portions and good the next day.
95 min total
SoupsPregnancy
A thick, gentle soup of shredded chicken and soft samp with carrot, celery and parsley. Useful when appetite is small or when you want a hot meal that reheats well the next day.
90 min total
SnacksPregnancy
Pampoenkoekies are usually shallow-fried and served with cinnamon sugar or caramel. These are baked instead of fried and sweetened lightly, so they suit an everyday snack rather than a special-occasion pudding.
40 min total
DessertsPregnancy
The filling of a melktert, baked in small ramekins without the pastry. Fully cooked, made with pasteurised milk and dusted with cinnamon — a small pudding that also adds some calcium and protein to the day.
45 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Fishcakes made with fresh hake, potato and parsley, baked rather than fried. Tinned pilchards or hake offcuts work just as well and cost less.
55 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Frikkadels — South African meatballs — browned and then simmered in a tomato and onion sauce. Some households bake them plain, others serve them in gravy; this version uses tomato so it goes further with pap or rice.
55 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
A mild everyday curry of cabbage, carrot and split lentils in the Indian South African home-cooking style, finished with curry leaves. Cheap, filling and gentle on the stomach.
50 min total
Batch cookingPregnancy
A moist sweetcorn loaf with spinach folded through, baked in a loaf tin. Good with soup, sliced into a lunch box, or eaten warm as a snack.
60 min total
BreakfastPregnancy
Mabele, the fermented-tasting sorghum porridge many South Africans grew up on, cooked soft and served with milk and fresh fruit. Naturally gluten-free when made with pure sorghum meal.
25 min total
DessertsPregnancy
Pears gently poached in rooibos with cinnamon and a little honey, served warm or cold with plain yoghurt. A light pudding that uses fruit rather than pastry, and no caffeine.
35 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Tomatobredie is a slow stew where onions and tomato cook right down into the sauce. Recipes vary between households; this one uses lean stewing beef and adds carrots and potato so the pot is not meat alone.
140 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Marinated skewers with a Cape Malay-influenced apricot and curry marinade, cooked right through and served with roasted vegetables rather than a braai salad of raw sides.
60 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Breyani is a cornerstone of Indian South African cooking, especially in Durban, and families layer it in their own way. This version steams spiced chicken, potato and carrot under turmeric rice.
95 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
A meat-free pot of sweet potato, chickpeas and spinach in a mild tomato sauce. It uses store-cupboard tins and cooks in one pot.
50 min total
BreakfastPregnancy
Isijingi is a soft porridge of pumpkin cooked into maize meal, long made in rural Southern African kitchens. It is gentle to eat and inexpensive to make.
45 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
A green-bean bredie: lamb, green beans and potato cooked slowly until the sauce turns rich and brown. Quantities of meat can be kept modest, with the beans and potato carrying the pot.
130 min total
SoupsPregnancy
A thick winter soup of split peas, barley and vegetables, lightly spiced in a Cape Malay style. It is filling, cheap to make and freezes well.
85 min total
Smoothies & drinksPregnancy
Boeber is a warm, lightly spiced milk drink associated with Cape Malay households, especially during Ramadaan. This everyday version keeps the sugar low and uses pasteurised milk.
25 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Trinchado, a Portuguese-influenced dish widely eaten in South Africa, is usually cubed beef in a rich sauce. This version leaves out the wine, uses lean beef and adds peppers and onion.
75 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Sweet pumpkin cooked down with sugar beans, onion and tomato until thick. A gentle, mild pot for days when heavier food is unappealing, and it costs very little to make.
50 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Firm white fish such as hake poached in a mild Cape Malay-style curry sauce of onion, tomato and warm spices, served with brown rice.
45 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
A tomato-based chicken curry with potato, in the Durban style. Traditionally fiery — the masala here is kept moderate so you can add heat to your own taste.
70 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Hake fillets baked in a spiced tomato sauce with spinach folded through. A weeknight oven dish that leaves you with one pan to wash.
45 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Fresh or frozen pilchards grilled until the skin crisps, with a cooked tomato and onion relish and stiff pap. An inexpensive way to eat oily fish.
50 min total
Evening mealPregnancy
Tinned pilchards mashed with sweet potato and spring onion, shaped into cakes and baked rather than deep-fried. A cheap store-cupboard supper that children usually eat too.
60 min total
LunchPregnancy
A crustless bake of eggs, milk, spinach and pasteurised feta. Good hot for supper and equally good cold the next day, sliced into a lunch box.
50 min total
LunchPregnancy
The braai sandwich: bread, cheddar, tomato, onion and a little chutney, toasted until the cheese melts. Made here in a pan or under the grill so it works indoors as well as on the coals.
20 min total
BreakfastPregnancy
Brown bread topped with mashed avocado, tomato and pasteurised cottage cheese. No cooking at all, which makes it a practical breakfast or light lunch when the power is off.
10 min total
BreakfastPregnancy
Lightly sweetened muffins made with oats, mashed banana and brown flour. Batch-bake at the weekend so there is something ready on a morning when cooking is impossible.
40 min total
