As Muslims around the world mark the holy month of Ramadan – a time of prayer, fasting and gathering together over food at the sunset iftar – who better to create a few special dishes for Time Out Market Cape Town than Anwar Abdullatief, the award-winning pioneer of Halaal fine-dining in the Mother City.
But this delicious new Market offering is certainly no solo project.
The three new dishes unveiled at Time Out Market Cape Town for the month of Ramadaan are a true collaboration between Abdullatief and his friend – and fellow Time Out Market chef – Eugene Smith of YARD.
And while Abdullatief champions the flavours of Cape Malay cuisine at Barakat, YARD is known for turning out some of the best pizzas in Cape Town.
‘Chefs always eat on the run, and I can put anything onto bread, a roti or a pizza base,’ says Abdullatief with a laugh. ‘I love real pizza, and the pizza at YARD is unbelievable. So of course I wanted the chance to work with Eugene and put my toppings on YARD’s pizza bases.’
Together the duo has created a trio of special pizzas for the month of Ramadan, tapping into the intersection of their culinary skills. On offer will be:
- Bobotie Pizza: Italian tomato sauce base, Barakat Bobotie and fior di latte cheese, drizzled with olive oil and Barakat Blatjang. Served with sambals, garlic and chilli (R190)
- Butter Chicken Pizza: Curry sauce base, Barakat curried shredded chicken and fior di late cheese, topped with fresh coriander. Served with Sambals, garlic and chilli (R240)
- Prawn Curry Pizza: Curry sauce base, Barakat Prawns and fior di latte cheese, topped with fresh coriander. Served with sambals, garlic and chilli (R260)
The Bobotie pizza is flavour-packed expression of this traditional Cape Malay dish, but if curry seems like a curious combo with pizza, for these two talented chefs it made perfect sense.
‘My prawn curry and butter chicken curry are two of the most popular dishes at Barakat, and are both made off a tomato base, as you would use for a pizza,’ explains Abdullatief. ‘But with mine, we char the tomatoes under a salamander grill and then blend it with more fresh tomato, tomato paste, onion and spices. As a sauce it’s mind-blowing!”
‘And we’re doing these three pizzas with our authentic Neapolitan-style dough,” adds Smith. ‘Traditional Neapolitan pizzas are known to be quite saucy, and that beautiful puffy crust helps to keep the sauce and ingredients all in the middle.’
Smith also uses creamy fior di latte cheese, not your typical grated mozzarella, to bring a subtle creaminess to the pizzas. Baked in the fiery wood-burning oven that takes pride of place in the YARD kitchen, it’s a delicious taste of the culinary melting pot that is the Time Out Market Cape Town.
The Barakat x YARD limited edition pizzas will be available at Time Out Market Cape Town for the month of Ramadan until the festival of Eid-al-Fitr, which is expected to fall around April 8, 2024.
During this time a dedicated dining space opposite Barakat will also be made available for Muslim guests to enjoy Iftar – the evening meal that breaks the daily fast after sunset – with dates and water.
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