Twins Tebo and Lebo Ndala, down-to-earth Mamelodi girls, turned their passion into their profession with the launch of Food Stories, a collection of their favourite recipes from their maternal grandmother Koko’s kitchen to working at a flatbread stand as culinary students.
Dipping into Food Stories, it’s clear the twins make every recipe their own – it’s filled with tastes that we as South Africans know and love, but with different spins inspired by Tebo and Lebo’s travels…
After matriculating, the sisters moved to the USA – Tebo to Newton, a small town in the heart of Massachusetts, and Lebo to Raritan, New Jersey. Having experienced their first-ever Thanksgiving, peanut butter-filled everything and Hershey’s Kisses (a staple in American homes), the twins knew their cookbook wouldn’t be complete without some South African-American flavours. Think boerewors corn dogs, buttermilk deep-fried chicken and truffle shrimp and grits, to name a few.
There’s also an ode to Thailand, where the twins went on their first-ever international trip. A busy scheduled filled with lots and lots of Thai food is the main reason they fell in love with Thai cuisine. We’re quite intrigued by the recipe for steamed chicken in banana leaves, a fresh, simple dish often shared among family and friends.
Lebo, who lived with a Nigerian family in New Jersey, was introduced to traditional Nigerian cooking. Whilst intimidating at first, Lebo eventually conquered these flavour combinations and recipes, and put her own spin on a Nigerian favourite, jollof rice. We’re pretty excited about this chapter as traditional African food gets our own hearts racing.
Even their kind-sorta healthy recipes – which range from zucchini bolognaise to gluten-free banana-split pancakes – contain a fun twist, most often with Asian, American or Italian influences.
And no cookbook would be complete without a chapter dedicated to sweet treats. Paging through, our mouths were watering, imagining a lazy afternoon with friends, pumpkin spice truffles with caramel glaze and a glass or two of lemon green-tea mojitos. The ideal way to spill the tea.
Food Stories is fun, it’s lekker and it’s local food made easy, all with love from the twins, of course.
Written by Imka Webb
WIN! We’re giving 5 lucky readers the chance to win a copy of Food Stories (valued at R350 each). To enter, simply complete the entry form below. Terms and conditions apply. Competition ends 17 November 2019.
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Imka Webb is a freelance digital marketing expert and the digital editor of Food & Home Entertaining magazine. www.imkawebb.com
