To be as African as chapati

Today: This newsletter has been stuck on my computer since February while thinking about love and French things like kissing and croissants, as well as Black History month and watching in panic and paralysis as all the madness in the world unfolds. I reflected on a conversation with my foodie writer friend Mary Fawzy who now lives in France. She is known for her immaculate taste buds and global outlook as an Egyptian who was born and raised in Namibia. She studied in Cape Town and married a Mozambican and now lives in Marseille. On a trip back to the city, I had the honour of meeting up with her for breakfast. She refreshed my appreciation for my country’s breakfast options that we take for granted in South Africa. We can literally put anything on croissants here. You can have sausage and egg croissant with avocado. You can add mango atchar or Mrs Balls chutney or Tabasco sauce. Most South Africans have no idea that there is an actual town in Mexico called Tabasco and that is why Tabasco sauce is called Tabasco sauce. And Mexicans probably don’t know it’s a popular staple African condiment now. 

You will never find a full English breakfast with boerewors inside a croissant with Mexican hot sauce, or Indian and Cape Malay chutneys in France. But here, we are versatile. You can even turn croissant into a paratha replacement to mop up a bacon chutney or egg curry. My mouth is watering as I write this. Instead of giving you a full recipe this time, just assemble a croissant with mango atchar and mayonnaise as a spread, a bed of avocado, boerewors, topped with fried egg and cheese. And then let me know what you think…

Language as a bridge between us

On the topic of decolonising my mind, I decided to start learning 11 languages in 11 months (or 11 phrases in 11 months rather). Nine of the languages are connected to South Africa - isiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele, Siswati Sepedi, Setswana, Sesotho, Xitsonga, Tshivenda, and two of them - Tamil and Telegu - connect me to my South Asian ancestors, as they do many of the over 1.5 million people of Indian descent in South Africa.

This month’s phrase is “Long Time No See”. 

By seeing all the translations or pronunciations next to each other you can start to see the connections between some of the South African languages, see how different others are, and learn that Tamil and Telegu are about as different as Zulu and Sotho are to each other. As South Africans I think our goal should be to all speak a South African creole (if you can’t already). I feel like I miss out on most of the vernacular humour that makes a more flavourful South African English. You can see my other reel here on how to say I LIKE YOUR SMILE. (If you notice any mistakes let me know)

YOLO. You only live once.

I’m currently in this era where I feel an urgency to live life to the fullest. You only have one life to live. It’s cliche but now I understand what it means on a deeper level. With everything happening in the world right now - life seems very precarious so I encourage pursuing your hobbies with enthusiasm. To live with some level of safety and to have the privilege to experience joy should not be taken for granted.

This weekend is a long weekend in South Africa, so if you are in Cape Town, come to a party I am hosting with my friends where I will be DJing 90s and 2000s R&B and Hip Hop, for anyone who likes this musical era, a rooftop day party, or if you are just in need of a good shaking of the hips to Kwaito, Dancehall and Afrobeats too. Book your tickets here!

And lastly, I have a few scarves (below) of my Family Tree painting design, printed on silk chiffon in Cape Town. They are 110cm x 140cm, R750 each (with free shipping nationally. International shipping prices vary). Email [email protected] to order.

Have a wonderful weekend and stay safe!

Warmest well wishes from me, Parusha