Inyama yenhloko

Inyama yenhloko or yentloko or skopo, iskopo or skop is ox lip meat, a traditional Southern African dish.^[1][2]

Inyama yenhloko is traditionally boiled with salt, spices or beef stock and served with uphuthu or pap and umhluzi, a type of soup.^{[citation needed]} The meat is mostly sold at taxi ranks and in townships. Most people enjoy it with chillie powder^{[citation needed]} or chillie sauce.^[3] The dish traditionally is served to men.^[3]

Customs

The word inyama yenhloko means "head meat" in isiZulu. The symbolism behind inyama yenhloko is that since men are the heads of the family, the meat is reserved for them. Traditionally the cows are usually slaughtered for big ceremonies such as weddings and funerals and the men would gather at the kraal and eat the meat placed on a flat big zinc or wood. Women were not allowed in the kraal and could not eat the inyama yenhloko.^[4]

Nowadays most young people including women enjoy the meat and it has been popular in South African and can be bought at kasi or restaurants selling South African cuisine.^{[citation needed]} Taxi drivers commonly buy inyama yenhloko during the day while working at the rank.^[5]

The dish is believed by some men to increase virility.^[2][3] The dish is so popular that in at least one town a small business has been created to prepare the meat for making the dish by removing it from the skull.^[3] Vendors bring their cow's head to the business, which uses knives and axes to remove the meat and return it to the vendors for the next step in the preparation.^[3]

Preparation

Most methods call for salted water and beef stock to be brought to a boil, the cow's head is placed into the broth, covered, and simmered for one or two hours until the meat is tender. Other methods are known.^[5]

Modern variations have been developed, including Inyama yenhloko pie, or cow lip pie.^{[6][better source needed]}

Leftovers from inyama yenhloko are used to make cow's head soup.^[2]

It can be cooked in the style of shisanyama, or "burnt meat", a term also used to mean bringing people together.^[7]

References

1. Marupeng, Promise (27 January 2020). "Graduate makes a killing with iskopo". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
2. Weaver, Caty (3 November 2014). "Cow Head Meat Popular in South Africa". VOA. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
3. "A potent South African culinary myth | DW | 2 October 2014". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
4. Khoza, Amanda (28 September 2018). "We can, like my mother, be feminist and Zulu at the same time". The Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
5. Ntuli, Cebile (4 January 2020). "Cooking up a storm". City Press. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021.
6. "Inyama Yenhloko Pie Recipe (Cow lip pie)". All4Women. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
7. "Shisanyama wouldn't be the same without cow's head". North Coast Courier. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2021.

Further reading

• Inyama yenhloko (cows head): Inyama yenhloko (heads meat) is a famous Mzansi traditional food. Traditionally it was strictly a male food but nowadays everyone eats it and enjoys it.