Chakalaka
A spicy South African vegetable relish of onion, carrot, pepper, tomato, curry seasoning and beans, cooked briefly and served warm or cold beside pap and grilled meat.
Monkey gland sauce
Monkey gland
A sweet and tangy South African condiment of fruit chutney and tomato sauce, served with grilled meat and steak. It contains no monkey gland.
A name that does not describe the sauce
Monkey gland sauce is a thick, dark, sweet and tangy condiment from South Africa. Its name has nothing to do with its contents. It contains no monkey glands. The name is usually tied to the medical fad of monkey gland grafting promoted by the scientist Serge Voronoff, whose work was well known in the 1920s and 1930s.
The sauce is best understood as a restaurant condiment built from pantry bottles. Chutney and tomato sauce give it its sweetness and body. Onion, garlic, vinegar and Worcestershire sauce supply the savoury and sour notes.
Sources for this section
Competing origin stories
The most cited account places the sauce in the old Carlton Hotel in Johannesburg in the 1930s, with French kitchen staff who added condiments already on the table to their dishes. A second account has an ex-Savoy waiter bring a steak named for Voronoff's experiments to South Africa, where the sauce later took its name.
These stories have not been settled. The Wikipedia article draws on a 2020 Briefly article, and the sources read do not give a primary document for either account. This page presents both as claims.
Sources for this section
On the grill
The sauce is served on grilled steaks and burgers. It is also used as a marinade, a dip for onion rings and chips, and a topping for roasted potatoes. The sources read describe its use on steak and burgers, and do not describe its role in the braai in detail.
Recipes vary in their proportions. Because the base is commercial chutney and tomato sauce, the result tastes sweet first and sour and savoury after, which is why it suits fatty grilled meat.
Sources for this section
History
The sauce is generally traced to the 1930s. The origin accounts differ. One links it to French chefs at the Carlton Hotel in Johannesburg, where diners added chutney, tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce to French dishes. Another links it to an ex-Savoy waiter who brought a monkey gland steak, named after the scientist Serge Voronoff, to South Africa in the 1930s. The article notes that the Voronoff connection and the Savoy renaming are not dated in the source.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
Fruit chutney
Amount not stated
Quantity not given in the sources.Tomato sauce (ketchup)
Amount not stated
Quantity not given in the sources.Worcestershire sauce
Amount not stated
Quantity not given in the sources.Onion
Amount not stated
Garlic
Amount not stated
Vinegar
Amount not stated
Wine vinegar in one listed version.Sugar
Amount not stated
Tabasco (optional)
Amount not stated
Listed in one version only.Method
- Combine the fruit chutney and tomato sauce as the sweet base.
- Add the onion, garlic, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and sugar, and adjust the balance of sweet and sour to taste.
Places
Johannesburg
Historical attestation · Locality evidenceThe sauce is linked to the Carlton Hotel in Johannesburg. The article gives this as the likeliest origin, from the Briefly article it cites, and does not treat it as settled.
South Africa
Documented use · Country evidenceNow a standard condiment in South African restaurants and fast food.
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Sources
WikipediaHistory · Method · Uses
Monkey gland sauceChutney and tomato sauce base with onion, vinegar, garlic and Worcestershire sauce
Carlton Hotel and Savoy origin accounts, both disputed
Contains no monkey glands
Uses on steak, burgers, onion rings and potatoes
Cited in: A name that does not describe the sauce; Competing origin stories; On the grill