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Kapana
Grilled beef strips with chilli salt
Kapana: Windhoek's Single Quarters market beef strips grilled over coals with chilli salt
Walk into the Single Quarters market in Katutura on a Friday afternoon and the smoke hits you first: rows of braai stands, butchers cutting beef into small pieces straight onto the grill, and customers standing around eating with their fingers. The meat is charred and salty outside, juicy within, dipped into a pile of red chilli salt and topped with a raw tomato, onion and chilli relish. Kapana means roughly 'small pieces', and it is eaten on the spot, with fat cakes (vetkoek) or just more relish. Cook the beef right through until no pink remains, as the market grills do, and let it rest a moment. Chef's tip: cut the strips small and thin so they char quickly; the common mistake is cutting them chunky, so the outside burns before the middle is done.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the beef
- 1 ½ lb beef rump or sirloin steakwith some fat left on
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 tsp coarse salt
For the chilli salt
- 2 tsp dried chilli flakes
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 ½ tsp fine salt
For the relish
- 3 ripe tomatoesfinely diced
- 1 red onionfinely diced
- 1 green chillifinely chopped
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- ¼ tsp salt
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What you'll need
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Light a charcoal grill and let the coals burn down to a hot, grey-white glow, or heat a ridged griddle pan over a high heat.
15 minStep 2: Mix the 2 tsp dried chilli flakes, 1 tsp sweet paprika, ½ tsp garlic powder, ½ tsp ground coriander and 1 ½ tsp fine salt in a small bowl and tip into a little heap on a plate.
Step 3: Stir together the 3 ripe tomatoes, 1 red onion, 1 green chilli, 1 tbsp white vinegar and ¼ tsp salt for the relish and set aside.
Step 4: Cut the 1 ½ lb beef rump or sirloin steak into strips about 1 cm thick and 5 cm long, keeping a little fat on each, and toss with the 1 tbsp sunflower oil and 1 tsp coarse salt.
Step 5: Grill the strips in a single layer, turning with tongs, until well browned and charred at the edges and cooked through with no pink in the centre when you cut the thickest piece.
7 minStep 6: Pile onto a board and rest for 2 minutes. Eat with your fingers, dipping each piece into the chilli salt and spooning relish on top.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 310 kcal
- Protein
- 38 g
- Carbs
- 6 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kapana take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of sweet paprika?
- Smoked paprika, half the amount.
- What can I use instead of ground coriander?
- Coriander seeds, toasted and ground.
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