Fail! How I shamed myself with my amagwinyas-of-mass-destruction

The instruction on the front of the amagwinya mix packaging is curt and easy, calling for baking hopefuls to “just add water” (left). The rear instructions clearly call for a baker to separately add yeast to the flour mixture. (Photos: Ray Mahlaka)

By Ray Mahlaka

21 Jun 2024

‘What in the rock of ages are those?’ ‘You accidentally made rusks!’ ‘You cooked rocks!’ Just three of the 800 TikTok comments lampooning my failed attempt to make amagwinya, or vetkoek, a much-treasured food item in South Africa. (That’s not them in the picture by the way.)

More than 800 people flooded my new TikTok account with comments when I shared my (failed) recipe, making fun of my amagwinyas that went awry and worthy of my South African citizenship being revoked.

Instead of turning out golden brown, with a fluffy and bread-like centre, my amagwinyas went in a disastrous direction. They turned out dull, lumpy at the centre, and rock-hard on the outside (seriously, they could injure someone if hurled at them).

At this juncture, I realised that my long-deceased grandmother, Nomalizo, an expert at making amagwinya, was looking down at me with shame. I probably further shamed nanna Nomalizo (and publicly so) as I documented my failed amagwinya-making attempt in a four-minute-long video published on TikTok.

@ray_mahlaka Amagwinya fail ???. #amagwinya #woolworths #vetkoekmix ♬ original sound - ray_mahlaka

One of Nomalizo’s cardinal life lessons imparted to her grandchildren was to never bring public shame to the family or bring the family’s name into disrepute. She’s probably turning in her grave because of my very public video on TikTok.

On a serious note, dear reader, I beg for your sympathy as amagwinyas are personal to me. Growing up in Soweto in the early 90s, amagwinyas were a breakfast staple. They were served hot (still steaming from a pot of cooking oil) with a generous slice of polony and spoonfuls of atchar. To lubricate our throats, the amagwinyas would be accompanied by a cup of tea or Ricoffy instant coffee with Cremora creamer. It would be a perfect hot breakfast for those nippy winter mornings in Jozi.

I grew up in a low-income household with middle-class aspirations and two parents who worked hard to meet the physical and emotional needs of their children. We lived in a formal housing structure and the family’s nutritional needs were met through affordable food bought at spaza shops and from street vendors. To cut household expenses, nanna Nomalizo, who often visited our home and moonlighted as a babysitter while my parents were at work, often baked bread instead of buying it. She did the same with amagwinyas.

I have fond memories of her measuring dry and wet ingredients in her head and not following a recipe, fastidiously kneading the dough, leaving it in the sun to rise, and dipping her finger in the pot of oil to test its temperature before it was ready for frying.

I didn’t pay close attention to her cooking as I was too focused on being book-smart and excelling at school, instead of nurturing my culinary skills. Toxic and patriarchal parenting is also to blame here as I was often told that “boys do not belong in the kitchen”. This parenting has come to haunt me today, as a 30-something-year-old who is a terrible cook and isn’t interested in knowing how to because I’m too ambitious, busy, and career-obsessed.

Amagwinya-making attempt

The official start of winter a few days ago brought in a cold snap across the country. It also brought in an intense craving in me for nanna Nomalizo’s amagwinyas. But Nomalizo is no longer with us and she didn’t document her recipes, which would have been a hearty inheritance. I’m just left with her warmth, everlasting love of me, and memories of her amagwinya. Faced with the predicament of craving amagwinya but not knowing how to make them, I did something that any millennial would do: lean into convenience and Aunty Woolworths.

I recently discovered that Woolworths sells an amagwinya/vetkoek mix, which is formulated to make baking experiences quicker and easier. Perfect for millennials who no longer have a nanna on speed dial! So, I bought the mix to satisfy my cravings. The instruction on the front of the amagwinya mix packaging is curt and easy, calling for baking hopefuls to “just add water” (see pictures below).

Stupidly and without reading the entire instructions, I added lukewarm water to the premix to form a dough, kneaded it on a floured surface, covered it in a bowl with a damp cloth, and left it in the sun for an hour to proof.

Well, the first sign that things would go wrong was that my dough didn’t rise. Without thinking too much, I went on to fry the dough, hoping that it would morph into nanna Nomalizo’s golden amagwinyas. Wishful thinking, as I ended up getting something that resembled inedible fried biscuits or rusks. It’s even disrespectful to equate whatever I fried to biscuits or rusks, which are at least edible.

I went on to record my failed attempt, also unfairly writing off the Woolworths amagwinya mix in the TikTok video.

I now need to embrace a humble pie moment and apologise to Woolworths. The instructions for the amagwinya mix clearly call for a baker to separately add yeast to the flour mixture (see instruction one in the image above), which I failed to do as I found refuge in the “just add water” labelling. This is why my dough didn’t rise and I ended up with hard “weapons of mass destruction”, as one person on TikTok called my amagwinyas.

For the sake of fairness to Woolworths and redeeming my dignity, I had another stab at the recipe mix by adding yeast. The first sign of a positive outcome was the rise in my dough, which ultimately yielded crisp and golden brown amagwinyas. I’m thrilled to share evidence of my second attempt that would make nanna Nomalizo proud.

@ray_mahlaka Second attmept at making amagwinya or vetkoek using a premix from @Woolworths SA. #woolworths #amagwinya #vetkoek ♬ original sound - ray_mahlaka

If I had to nitpick my second attempt; I should have added more water to the dough. It was too stiff and firm. I also should have lowered the oil temperature and cut down the frying time as the amagwinyas were slightly burnt. If you are a busy millennial or culinary inclined, you could easily buy already kneaded and proofed dough at supermarkets or follow Dorah Sitole’s excellent recipe in my colleague Tony Jackman’s accompanying piece.DM

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