Kota

Ingredients

Base

• 1unsliced white sandwich loaf, cut into quarters
• 800 gpotatoes, cut into thick chips
• 1 litresunflower oil, for deep frying
• 1 tspfine salt
• 1 tspbarbecue spice or chip seasoning

Fillings

• 200 gpolony, cut into 5 mm slices
• 2russian sausages, split lengthways
• 4 slicesprocessed cheese
• 4eggs
• 4 tbspmango atchar
• 2tomatoes, sliced
• 1onion, sliced
• 1 handfulshredded lettuce (optional)

Sauces

• 4 tbsptomato sauce
• 2 tbspchilli sauce or peri-peri
• 2 tbspmayonnaise
• 1 tbspmustard

To wrap

• greaseproof paper or newspaper, and a plastic bag

Directions

1. Cut the loaf into four equal quarters. Slice off the top of each quarter to make a lid and pull out most of the soft crumb, leaving 1.5 cm walls. Keep the crumb: it is stuffed back in at the end.
2. Heat the oil to 150°C (300°F) and blanch the chips for 5–6 minutes until soft but pale, then lift out and drain. Raise the oil to 190°C (375°F).
3. Fry the chips again for 3–4 minutes until deep gold and rigid, drain, then toss immediately with salt and barbecue spice while still glistening.
4. Fry the russian sausages in a hot pan for 4 minutes a side until blistered and split, and the polony slices for 1 minute a side until the edges curl and colour.
5. Fry the eggs in the same pan, keeping the yolks runny; a broken yolk running into the chips is the point.
6. Line the hollowed loaf: a smear of mango atchar on the base, then a slice of cheese so the residual heat melts it against the bread.
7. Pack in the chips first and press down hard, then layer the polony, russian, tomato, onion and the fried egg on top. Squeeze over tomato sauce, chilli sauce and mayonnaise in stripes.
8. Cap with the reserved lid, wrap tightly in paper so the whole thing compresses, and eat immediately with your hands while the chips are still crisp.

Technique

• Kota is township food from Soweto and Alexandra, named after the quarter loaf it is built in, and it is deliberately built to order: every spaza counter has its own list of add-ons priced individually.
• Double-frying the chips is what stops the kota turning to sludge. Single-fried chips shed steam inside the sealed loaf and collapse the bread within minutes.
• The atchar smeared on the base is functional as well as flavour: its oil waterproofs the bread against the sauces.

Substitutions

• No russian sausage: use any smoked frankfurter or vienna, split and charred hard.
• Polony can be swapped for slices of fried bologna or a thick slice of ham-style luncheon meat.
• For a meat-free kota, load the loaf with chips, cheese, fried egg, atchar and grilled onion, which is a common cheap order.

Variations

• Sphatlo or spatlho, the same food under its Pretoria and North West name.
• The all-in kota, with chips, polony, russian, vienna, cheese, egg and liver added on top.
• A dagwood, the oversized full-loaf version made to share.

History

A Soweto invention named from quarter; each township stand has its own build, and the bread shell doubles as the wrapper.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kota?

Kota is a street food from South Africa: quarter loaf hollowed and packed with chips, polony, cheese and atchar. A Soweto invention named from quarter; each township stand has its own build, and the bread shell doubles as the wrapper.

How long does Kota take to make?

Kota takes 25 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 kotas. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Kota?

Yes, within limits. No russian sausage: use any smoked frankfurter or vienna, split and charred hard. Polony can be swapped for slices of fried bologna or a thick slice of ham-style luncheon meat. For a meat-free kota, load the loaf with chips, cheese, fried egg, atchar and grilled onion, which is a common cheap order.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kota?

Fry the eggs in the same pan, keeping the yolks runny; a broken yolk running into the chips is the point.