Just Off the Highway | Ep 42 | Iconic South African foods: Kota & Sputnik meets Meals on Wheels
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- Опубликовано: 13 апр 2025
- Special A Kota is a quarter loaf of fresh white bread with any delicious filling you can imagine. Al Prodgers goes Just off the Highway to trace the journey of this authentic South African food from the streets to the suburbs. And meets the dedicated team of Meals on Wheels Johannesburg Food Distribution Services in Yeoville along the way.
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Thank you to everyone who fed us along the way, details as follows:
Gregory's - Linden: 011 782 9659
Meals on Wheels: 011 648 2788 or mealsjohannesburg.co.za
Roasty's Roadhouse: / roastysfourways
Purple House cafe: 067 214 6486
Special thanks to Idea Saints for picking up the food bill.
Idea Saints: www.ideasaints...
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#justoffthehighway #alprodgers #SouthAfrica #storytelling #gauteng
Meals on Wheels are absolute heroes. We've contributed to them since we've had incomes. Good on you for giving them some airtime Al!
@@ekim000 I agree! Good people working so hard. Thanks! 🙏
This is what makes South Africa 🇿🇦 Great 🤞😊.
Agreed. Local and lekker!
My daughter makes the sputnik differently...she replaces the mash with magwinja dough. It's heavenly. Thanx for proudly showcasing our delicious food and reminding us of worthy causes.❤
Thanks for your comment and for adding a variation on the recipe.
Very interesting thanks for sharing 👍👍
My pleasure! Thanks to you too.
Sputnik! Amazing invention - way to go Gregory’s and to Al for your support within the community…
Agreed, it's like a quantum leap in hotdog technology! Can't believe I never heard of it before. Thanks for your kind words.
❤❤❤ So nice to hear God mentioned and that he always makes a way to provide. I will donate to Meals on Wheels.
South Africa and her food is great!!! 😍😍😍
Thank you!
To donate search Facebook or Web for Meals on Wheels Johannesburg Food Distribution Services. Long title but important to reach the group featured in my episode.
Monate wa kota. Ah yes kota grew up enjoying it. In some parts of Johannesburg and all over the vaal and free state province they call it " skhambane ", and then in tshwane they call it " sphatlo" . Nice video
Yes, I believe you're spot on. Thanks!
When I was a piekaneen there was a corner shop nearby, owned by Shorty.
He always called me Malakka and I thought it was complimentary lol. Shorty introduced me to The Sputnik but since 1980(ish) that was the last time I saw one.
I moved to Cape Town in '96 and now live in Melbourne.
Over the years I've met so many people and when talking to people about Bunny Chows and Gatsbys, no one has ever heard of a Sputnik.
I am thrilled that I can finally show my wife (born in Cape Town) that I wasn't making it up haha.
You have a fascinating channel boet. This is what I call proper journalism. Thank you
Thanks very much for your kind comment and for sharing your stories. I only discovered Sputniks when I was speaking to Sean about the kota. Perhaps there's a business opportunity for you selling them in Melbourne?
@JustOfftheHighway This is an excellent idea. My daughter wants to start a cooking channel and wants to tie it to a physical restaurant. Thank you and I'll keep you posted
Love this channel, learning and seeing places I have never seen existing in and around Pretoria and Johannesburg. Thank you so much.❤😅❤
That's such brilliant encouragement. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Oh come on!!!! I need a bunny chow like now!!! Christopher and his team are doing amazing work.🙏
Yes indeed they are! Thanks for your comment.
Great one Al!
Thank you!
A Kota, the first truly South African fast food . Originally made in the townships (Alexandra and Masakeng (Soweto’s original name before segregation) of Johannesburg with the cheapest ingredients available in the late 1800 and early 1900’s.
A food often looked down upon by wealthier members of society and a staple for the poor and the working class who needed food on the go.
It’s evolution has made me smile as it went from being seen a dirty and unclean food source to something that the whole of the city competes about , to a point where we we even have a Kota festival . It has kept me full in my best and my worst days , it has turned neighbourhood corner stores into multimillion rand business.
Abuti ke leboha ho bona dijo tsa rona di hlompiwa ,hobane rea di hlompa and rea di rata.❤️
I wish one day the decolonialised version of the history of Gauteng ,it’s people and it’s food could be told but sadly the most of the people who carry that knowledge are either old or dying .
But what do I know I’m just a uni student 😅.
Thanks for that detailed input. Good luck decolonizing something that is claimed by so many different cultures.
Amen!
Indeed.
those sputniks look amazing!!!well done al!
They are! I have never had them before. Thanks Rory.
We've been going to Gregory's regularly for slap chips since your episode on chips. Saw Sputniks on the menu board there a couple of days ago and wondered what they were. Looked it up and here I am again 😁 I'll try one next time!
Excellent feedback! Thanks. Enjoy!
Now I am hungry and supper is hours away! Gregory's is up the road from me, so guess where I will be tomorrow for lunch.
Enjoy! Well worth the visit. And the slap chips are still the finest.
Here in Phalaborwa we get the spatlo 1/4 white bread with polony with atchar slap chips and sauce of Mayonnaise tomato sauce and mustard delicious love it
👍😋
Excellent video, so interesting. What about similar traditional foodies and their history from the Western & Eastern Cape 👍
Good idea! I'd love to. Both W and E Cape are full of fascinating stories.Hopefully a sponsor will help me get there to make some episodes.
Firstly made by Durbanites from Durban early days . We called it bunny chow .It's a very nice quick street food .eaten more than 2 people or more . DURBAN BUNNIES it was called those days😅😅😅 My favourite Mutton bunny .even l make home .
Thanks for sharing
Al, I have sadly never had one of these - too much bread, but my loss. I have always wondered though what it had to do with bunnies. 😄
The food from the bania man became the chow from the bunny man which was shortened to bunny man chow or bunny chow! I found that fascinating.
Infact in Durban we called it bunny chow . You get bunny chow in quarter bunny , half bunny , full bunny .You used to get them in Mutton bunny , Chicken bunny .Beef bunny .Beans bunny .It used to be made in Durban first .Then Joburg and other places came to know about it .Best bunnies still made best in Durban .l am 72 yrs we used to enjoy this in Durban .The curries must be really tasty with spices then only ca U enjoy a bunny chow .also with melting potatoes in curries .But Kota and sputnik l am seeing in this programme .Bunny chow is the actual name😅 Everybody used to say best bunnies comes from Durban .Infact it's a street food when U Hungary and moving with friends .Just sit neat place in a street and have the bunny with salads😅😅😅
The Durban vs Joburg rivalry is strong! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Thou shall not call a Bunny chow a Kota!
At last, a commandment about the Durban vs Joburg Bunny/Kota rivalry!
Didn’t know about a Sputnik (although it doesn’t have the shape - love the pun!) - will have to go there and test them ☺️
Yep. They're lekker!
Love it ❤🎉
Thank you so much for your support and encouragement on more than one episode. Really appreciate it!
man I miss proper food. Well done with another great video Al.
Thanks! Especially on a winter day like we're having in Joburg. Glad you enjoyed it
Thank you Al , I love that kota's change the fillings where you go,I believe they're regional I've had a Kota from Mpumalanga and from East Gauteng with polony and chips
Yep, the rule of thumb seems to be "fill to the brim with whatever's tasty and available". Cheers!
@@JustOfftheHighway and it's always delicious
I think the main difference is a bunny chow is about the curry that goes into it. The kota is about the chips , polony ,sauces etc
That's the best way of describing the difference. Thanks!
In Limpopo we used to call these a "Katkop". Slapchips and tomato sauce was the filling. With some imagenation you know why it was called so.😂
I hadn't heard that one. Vivid! Thanks for adding.
Yes some one in Jhb told me that they also called it that but couldn't remember why.
No man, now I’m hungry… 🤤
You should make it an international dish. Worth a fortune. Thanks, Ruari!
And while googling, I’ve just seen NikNaks have a Cheese Kota flavour now…
Would love to see you eat a Kota in Soweto or Alex
My personal recommendation Goodhope fast food in Alex
SAW_CY , chillipepper , Kota king in Soweto.
A Kota/skhambane/Sphatlo are all synonymous words , it’s just that different neighborhoods in gauteng name it differently but it’s all the same.
You should also try a dawgwood.
I'd love to try one in Alex. Don't know it well enough. I've had Dagwoods. They're great!
Hahaha i never been sold to so good...
Go on, admit it, you're hungry now.
Hei
I love your car the original. My Kota atchaar as base cheese, chips , machagane wors that's lekker. I don't know what happened to machagane wors they are scarce nowadays. Please let me know where I can get them.
Thanks for the compliment about the car. She's a beaut! I'm afraid I've never heard of machagane wors. Perhaps other viewers can help out?
Go to any Roots Butchery
I've never had a Kota, I know the Bunny Chow. I've seen a Kota advertised, it wouldn't surprise me if it could be a Heart attack on a pice of bread. when I am feeling flush I think I need to try a Kota. I am looking forward to your next episode, I am convinced that to show Capetown as a tourist destination you don't kneed a brain, any moron can do that. But to show Johannesburg now that is a challenge.
Hi, thanks for your comment. Enjoyed your description of "a heart attack on a piece of bread. Yes, it's not a slimmer's meal.😋 I hope you'll enjoy the road trip with me. There's a wide variety of material in the various episodes.
Sorry guys - but the Durban bunny chow is the original, the kota came much much later as a variation in the townships - hence the regional names and variety of ingredients depending on mood and pantry cupboard. Regardless of where you are in SA a bunny chow remains a bunny chow, even in the townships - and Im old enough to know - there just wasnt scope for kota ingredients way back when.
Hard to argue with that.
Shouldn't have watched, now I'm so hungry 😭
If you're in SA, I'm pretty sure there's a kota on sale nearby. Thanks for the comment.
THIS IS THE REALLY INDIAN BUNNY CHOW
At Akhalwaya's in Mayfair,Joburg you can buy an AK47 Sub,it's not exactly a Kota but it's Magic.Six people won't finish it but it's a bit expensive.
Thanks, it sounds like this is the one to try next!
@@JustOfftheHighway Chips,Colony,Russian,Salads,mystery Sauces and secret spices all in one pile,you won't regret anything
WHERE DO THEY GET THE NAME OF KOTA ?
A "quarter"loaf.
Something from the Department of Useless Information: 🤣
1) The origin of the name "kota" derives from the pronunciation of "quarter" by (most) township residents.
2) In Durban (can't speak for elsewhere in the country) only persons unfamiliar with Bunny Chow "culture" (haha) or visitors to Durban would order a "Bunny Chow" by name. The correct nomenclature for ordering a Bunny and avoiding a potential look of distain, is: "quarter mutton", "quarter beans", "quarter veg", etc.
For larger Bunnies, the order would would be: "half mutton" or "full mutton", or whatever other filling is preferred.
Hi, that's excellent! Thanks for adding that detail. Hopefully some viewers/tourists to Durbs will blend in better when ordering. I have a vague memory of a small place near the old amusement park that was famous for Bunny Chow, but unfortunately I can't remember the name.
This is an original Indian dish from Durban called bunny chow, get it right
Nope a quarter (Kota) is older than a bunny chow , infact it existed before indentured labor came to South Africa in the late 1800’s .
Do not try to rewrite history inaccurately .
Spicy! Like a good kota.
@@mohaumokhethi8625Never, the types of ingredients that make up a kota were just not freely available in the townships when the Indians created the bunny chow. The kota is a township variation of the original bunny chow.
Gotta be the best heart attack food....butcwhi gives a F😆😆👍
Like the man said: "Breakfast of champions" ! 😋
So no gloves while handling the food 😒
A little ray of sunshine.
I've been eating food prepared with no gloves from the corner shop and the street carts for the past xx years and never once did I get sick. Fast forward to me now eating the fancy food prepped by machines and with gloves and I can get sick with one swallow. We need those germs to build up immunity 😂
@@TheSaBohemian Agreed!
See here my cuzzy, ya'll must came to Richards Bay and visit The Magic Pot at the ZCBF and try the BEST bunny chow I won't bluff you 'ksê! If I speak one word of lie you can take my mouth and throw it RIGHT!!
😆😀😉
BUNNY CHOWS WERE INVENTED IN DURBAN.
Thanks for EMPHASISING that point already made in the video.
@@JustOfftheHighway its a pleasure.👿