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Braai recipe of the week

Lamb potjiekos (slow-cooked layered pot stew)

A cast-iron pot, a few lit coals and an afternoon of doing absolutely nothing. Rich lamb, sweet butternut and soft potatoes, with the rule that nobody stirs.

Serves 6 hungry people

Potjiekos means “small pot food”, and it’s what South Africans make when the weather is bad and there’s a match on. Brown the lamb, add the spices and a splash of liquid, then layer in the vegetables and leave it. Cold, dark and drizzling is the perfect weather for it: the pot is a heat-trap, and the long, gentle cook turns cheap shoulder of lamb into something spoonable. Every ingredient comes from a normal UK supermarket. No cast-iron potjie? A heavy casserole in the oven gives you the same result, and it will stand the Bonfire Night drizzle better than you will.

  • Serves 6 hungry people
  • Prep 25 minutes
  • Cook About 2 hours 15 minutes, mostly hands-off

You’ll need

For the potjie

  • 1.2 kg boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 4 cm chunks (or 1.5 kg bone-in lamb neck slices)
  • 3 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
  • 3 large onions, sliced into thick half-moons
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
  • 1 tbsp mild curry powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 1 x 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 300 ml lamb or beef stock (from a stock cube is fine)
  • 150 ml red wine (or just use extra stock)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp Mrs Ball’s chutney (or another fruity chutney)
  • Salt and black pepper

The layers (do not stir these in)

  • 4 carrots, peeled and cut into thick chunks
  • 700 g waxy potatoes (Charlotte or similar), peeled if you like and halved
  • 500 g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3 cm chunks
  • 200 g green beans, trimmed (optional, for the very top)

Kit

  • A No. 3 cast-iron potjie (about 6 to 8 litres) with a lid, or a large heavy casserole with a lid
  • A braai or fire bed with a bag of good charcoal or briquettes, and a chimney starter
  • A long wooden spoon, and a probe thermometer
  • To serve: crusty bread or pap, and more chutney

Method

  1. Light 20 charcoal briquettes in a chimney starter on a safe, level spot outdoors, well away from fences, sheds and fireworks. Meanwhile, season the lamb well with salt and pepper. When the coals are ashed over, spread about 12 of them under the potjie and keep the rest for topping up. You want a medium heat, not a roaring one.
  2. Heat 3 tbsp of oil in the pot. Brown the lamb in 2 or 3 batches, about 4 to 5 minutes a batch, until it has a good colour on most sides, and lift each batch out onto a plate. Don’t overcrowd it or the meat will stew and go grey.
  3. Add the onions to the pot and cook for about 8 minutes, stirring, until soft and golden. Stir in the garlic and ginger for a minute, then the curry powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric and paprika, and fry for 30 seconds until they smell amazing.
  4. Stir in the tomato purée, tomatoes, stock, wine, bay leaves and chutney, scraping up the sticky bits from the bottom. Return the lamb and its juices to the pot, and bring to a gentle bubble. Put the lid on and reduce the heat by removing a few coals: you want a lazy, gentle simmer, not a rolling boil.
  5. Simmer, lid on, for 1 hour 15 minutes. Peek once or twice at most, and top up with a few fresh coals every 30 minutes or so to keep the heat steady. If it looks dry, add a splash of hot water. The lamb should be starting to turn tender.
  6. Now the layering. Without stirring, place the carrots on top of the meat, then the potatoes, then the butternut. Season each layer lightly. Put the lid back on and keep the gentle simmer going for another 45 to 50 minutes, until the potatoes and butternut are soft when poked with a knife. If you’re using green beans, lay them on top for the last 10 minutes.
  7. Test the lamb: it should be falling apart, and steaming hot all the way through (75°C or above in the middle of the biggest chunk). Take the pot off the heat, take out the bay leaves, and rest it, lid on, for 10 minutes. Stir gently once, only now, and taste for salt. Serve with crusty bread or pap, and a big spoon of chutney.

Food safety, the boring-but-vital bit

Braai outdoors only, in the open air: never in a garage, shed, tent or under a closed-in awning, because charcoal gives off carbon monoxide. Lamb chunks in a stew must be cooked until steaming hot all the way through (75°C at the centre of the biggest piece, or 70°C for 2 minutes). Keep the cooked pot away from small children until it has cooled, as the pot and the stew stay scorching for a long time. Don’t leave the stew out for more than 2 hours: cool leftovers quickly (spread them into a shallow tub), refrigerate within 2 hours, eat within 2 days, and reheat only once until steaming hot throughout. No cast-iron pot? Do it in a heavy casserole in the oven at 160°C (140°C fan, gas mark 3) with the same timings, and keep the lid on.

Goes with: A big bowl of pap or crusty bread to mop up the sauce, a cold drink, a chutney jar on the table, and a spot on the Bok Barometer to argue over who should be packing down at lock now that Eben’s out.

Published 5 November 2026 as part of that week’s Jokes & Braai. Back to all the jokes and recipes. Temperatures follow UK Food Standards Agency guidance.

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