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Koesister

Alternative names	Koe'sister
Type	Pastry
Course	Dessert
Place of origin	South Africa
Main ingredients	Dough, sugar syrup, desiccated coconut, spices

A koesister or koe'sister is a traditional Cape Malay pastry often described as a spicy dumpling with a cake-like texture, finished off with a sprinkling of coconut.

The inaugural World Koesister Day was celebrated on Sunday, 1 September 2019 at an event hosted at the Radisson RED Hotel V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa, in partnership with Vannie Kaap. World Koesister Day is celebrated on the first Sunday in September.

Cape Malay koe'sisters are prepared from balls of dough including yeast and flavoured with cinnamon, aniseed, ginger, cardamom and dried tangerine skin powder, deep-frying in oil, allowing to cool, then cooking for a minute in boiling syrup and rolling in desiccated coconut.

The frying of dough strips in this manner is of Malay/Indonesian origin, possibly with Indian influence, originally eaten as an unsweetened breakfast savoury brought to South Africa with Malay slaves, among whom they were known as koe'sisters, apparently suggesting polite gossiping among spinsters.

Cape Malay koe'sisters are different from the Afrikaner version called koeksister, which is a crisp and syrupy twisted or plaited doughnut.

References

• Coetzee, Renata (2012). Spys en Drank.
• Gerber, Hilda (1959). Traditional cookery of the Cape Malays.

1. "How To Make Traditional Cape Malay Koeksisters". The Cape Grocer. 2021-02-08. Retrieved 2021-04-09.
2. "Cape Malay Koesisters". Gateway Magazine.
3. Duckitt, Hildagonda J (1891). "KOESISTERS". Hilda's "where is it?" of recipes. London: Chapman and Hall.
4. Green, Lawrence (1949). "Chapter 4 - Country Hospitality". In the Land Of Afternoon. Howard Timmins.
5. "Koeksisters". Huisgenoot Wenresepte. Archived from the original on 16 August 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.

See also

• List of African dishes

v t e Doughnuts, fritters and other fried-dough foods
Sweet	Africa and Asia Adhirasam Awameh Bambalouni Bamiyeh Binangkal Boortsog Buñuelo Çäkçäk Cascaron Chebakia Chiroti Chin chin Churro Gorgoria Gosh-e Fil Gulab jamun Gwaramari Imarti Jalebi Koe'sister/Koeksister Kevum Kumukunsi Lokma Lokot-lokot Maejap-gwa Mahua Maruya Mochi donuts Panyalam Pilipit Pinakufu Puff-puff Qottab Sata andagi Sel roti Sfenj Sfinz Shakoy Shankarpali Shuangbaotai Sufganiyah Sweet shells Tulumba Vetkoek Zalabiyeh Americas Bear claw Bolinho de chuva Boston cream Brown Bobby Buñuelo Churro Cider doughnut Coconut doughnut Cronut Cruller Dutchie Fried Coke Funnel cake Jelly doughnut Long John Maple bacon donut Maple bar Old-fashioned doughnut Persian Picarones Potato doughnut Sopaipilla Sour cream doughnut Tiger tail donut Timbits Touton Wonut Europe Angel wings Beignet Berliner Bombolone Buñuelo Churro Diples Fánk Fartura Fasnacht Fazuelos Filhós Fritule Fudge doughnut Klenät Knieküchle Krofne Malassada Mekitsa Oliebol Pączki Papanași Pastisset Pestiños Prusurate Rosette Schenkele Smultring Uštipci Zeppole
Savory	Africa and Asia Balep korkun Bhaji Bhatoora Burmese fritters Ham chim peng Javanese doughnut Khuushuur Luchi Mee Siput Muar Mücver Murukku Okoy Ox-tongue pastry Pakora Papri chaat Pişi Puri Qutab Samosa Sha phaley Shelpek Vada Vetkoek Youtiao Europe and the Americas Chebureki Fleischkuekle Fritelli Frybread Funnel cake Haliva Lángos Lihapiirakka Lörtsy Pampushka Panzerotti Pastel Pasztecik szczeciński Peremech Pirozhki
Companies	BeaverTails Dunkin' Donuts Krispy Kreme Mister Donut Shipley Do-Nuts Tim Hortons
Lists	List of doughnut varieties List of fried dough foods List of deep fried foods List of doughnut shops
See also	National Doughnut Day Coffee and doughnuts Superior Donuts play TV series
Category: Doughnuts

• South African pastries