These cast-iron pots retained heat well and could be kept simmering over a few embers. Rounded, potbellied pots were used for cooking tender roasts and stews as they allowed steam to circulate instead of escape through the lid.

What sets potjiekos apart from these traditional cooking methods, is the fact that it is cooked outside. When the pot was moved from the kitchen hearth to a fire in the open bush, it became a potjie and part of the South African cooking heritage.

Potjiekos is uniquely South African, and is a friendly food, to be enjoyed by rich or poor, young and old, city-dwellers and country folk, needing only one's imagination when it comes to selecting the ingredients. Potjiekos is traditionally made around an open fire, preferably in the company of good friends.

This is a huge collection of 250 tried and tested recipes that have been enjoyed and shared on the world's biggest potjiekos website, Potjiekosworld.