Talk about a niche recipe! This unique recipe for Moringa Roosterkoek takes the classic South African bread cooked over coals and gives it a little twist.

Moringa is a leafy superfood that is high in a bunch of important vitamins and minerals. It has as much potassium as a banana and as much vitamin C as an orange.

This recipe shows you how you can take a grilled lump of white bread and transform it into a grilled lump of white bread with insanely healthy green speckles. Delicious!

In this recipe, I used fresh Moringa leaves from the tree in our garden. I know not everyone has a Moringa tree chilling in their garden, but you can make a plan. Moringa powder is widely available – it’s a crushed, dried version of the Moringa leaves. If you don’t have access to fresh Moringa leaves, I would substitute the cup of leaves with about one tablespoon of powder.

For whatever reason, adding moringa powder causes the cooked bread to be a little bit doughy, so it’s important that you ‘braai’ the bread over low coals. This way, it can cook slowly and have time to release its moisture.

It’s hard to find a recipe that doesn’t exist anywhere else on the internet, which, from my brief search, applies to this recipe. I have to give credit to my dad for this one. I was stuck on what to make for my food blog, and this was his innovative idea. What a creative thinker.

How To Make the Moringa Roosterkoek

Good roosterkoek is 100% reliant on a good ‘braai’, or barbeque. It makes a great side dish to a pile of grilled meat, and fresh salads. You cook the roosterkoek towards the end of your fire’s life when it can puff up slowly without burning. So your first step is to get that fire burning.

Next, you’re going to have to head into the great outdoors and retrieve yourself some Moringa leaves. About a cup worth of them.

No stress if you don’t have a Moringa tree. Simply substitute the fresh leaves for a heaped tablespoon of dried Moringa powder.

For the fresh Moringa route, wash the leaves well, then chop them up as finely as possible. Mix together the chopped-up leaves, sugar, salt, and boiling water and let it steep for a few minutes. Now, mix in the cold water.

Add flour, oil, and yeast to the Moringa mixture and knead it for 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and lightly dust it with flour. Place it in a large bowl and cover it with a tea towel. Let the dough rise for an hour in a warm place, or until doubled in size.

Cut the dough into 6 pieces and flatten them so that they’re about 1.5cm thick. Place them on a lightly floured tray, cover them with a tea towel, and let them rise for about 30 minutes. 

Once your fire has burnt down to coals, place the dough onto your grid, preferably away from direct heat. You want the roosterkoek to bake fairly slowly. Once they’re light brown on one side, turn them over and cook them on the other side. 

The exact time will depend on how hot your braai is, mine took about 20 minutes in total. Check to see if they’re cooked inside by cutting one of them open. They should be crispy and brown on the outside, and crumby and airy on the inside.

Serving the Roosterkoek

Please eat these as soon as they come off the fire for the best experience.

The Moringa roosterkoek make a delicious and pretty addition to any braai/barbeque. Stuff them with some boerewors (South African grilled sausage), or sliced steak, or use it to mop up the yummy juices left on your plate. 

For any vegetarians out there, you’re in luck. My favourite roosterkoek toppings are 100% vegetarian. Any combination of butter, apricot jam, and cheese is sure to be amazing. The cheese melts in the fresh, warm bread and it pairs perfectly with the jam for a little sweet and salty moment.

Lastly, if you make these around breakfast time, you simply cannot miss with a combo of grilled bacon, egg, and grilled tomato.

Enjoy, and feel free to go crazy with the toppings!

Print Recipe

Moringa Roosterkoek

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Serves: 4-6

Prep Time: 1 hour 50 minutes (inludes rising time) – Cooking Time: 20 minutes – Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes (inludes rising time)

This unique recipe uses the superfood moringa to bring a healthy twist to a South African classic, roosterkoek.

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh moringa leaves
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup boiling water
• ½ cup cold water
• 3¼ cups white bread flour
• 1T sunflower oil
• 10g sachet instant yeast

Instructions

1

Wash the moringa leaves well, then chop up as finely as possible. Mix together the chopped up leaves, sugar, salt, and boiling water and let it steep for a few minutes. Mix in the cold water.

2

Mix together the moringa mixture, flour, oil, and yeast. Knead for 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and lightly dust it with flour. Place it in a large bowl and cover it with a tea towel. Let the dough rise for an hour in a warm place, or until doubled in size.

3

Cut the dough into 6 pieces and flatten them so that they’re about 1.5cm thick. Place them on a lightly floured tray, cover them with a tea towel, and let them rise for about 30 minutes.

4

Once your fire has burnt down to coals, place the dough onto your grid, preferably away from direct heat. You want the roosterkoek to bake fairly slowly. Once they’re light brown on one side, turn them over and cook them on the other side. The exact time will depend on how hot your braai is, mine took about 20 minutes in total. Check to see if they’re cooked inside by cutting one of them open.

Notes

You could sustitute the fresh Moringa for about 1T of dried powder. I haven't tried it in roosterkoek before, so let me know how it turns out! Enjoy the roosterkoek fresh and warm off the fire. There are topping suggestions within the blog post above.