Proudly African: five unorthodox ways to prepare “pap”

Vhuswa, bogobe, fufu, gauli, gima, isitshwala, phutu, posho, sadza, ubugal, or pap, it doesn’t really matter what you call it, but if you live in Africa, chances are you’ve encountered it as part of your meal.

For many, pap, made of mealie meal, has been a staple diet that accompanies their braai meat or dinner setup.

We decided to explore different ways to prepare maize meal with recipes and tutorials for those kitchen scientists who are always ready to experiment. Here are five different ways to eat this much-loved dish.

1. Cheesy Pap Balls 

Picture: Rhodes Quality

Ingredients:

• 250 ml (1 cup) milk and 500ml (2 cups) water
• 10ml (2 teaspoons) chicken stock powder
• 250ml (1 cup) Maize Meal
• 30ml (2 tablespoons) finely chopped parsley
• 2 eggs beaten
• 250ml (1 cup) dry bread crumbs
• 200g mature cheddar cheese, cut into small blocks
• Oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Bring water, milk, and chicken stock powder to a boil. Slowly whisk the maize meal and turn the heat low. Continue whisking for 5 minutes until the pap is smooth and creamy. Add chopped parsley and stir well.
2. Transfer into a bowl and allow to cool. When completely cool, take a handful of pap, flatten it in the palm of your hand, place a block of cheddar cheese in the centre and form the pap around the cheese to the size of a golf ball.
3. Dip the pap balls into the beaten egg and then into the bread crumbs. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown.
4. Serve immediately with tomato onion gravy or any sauce of your liking

2. Pap-infused cookies 

Picture: A Kitchen In Uganda

Ingredients:

• 125g Margarine or butter
• 500g Sugar
• 3 eggs
• 15ml Robertson’s Bicarbonate of Soda
• 7ml Caramel essence
• 400ml milk
• 1kg maize meal

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius and grease a few baking sheets while waiting for the oven to heat up.
2. Cream the butter, sugar, and eggs together in a bowl. Add the bicarbonate of soda and mix well.
3. Add the caramel essence, and gradually add the milk to the creamed mixture alternately with the mealie meal.
4. Add just enough milk to form a soft dough that can be rolled into balls and placed on the baking sheets.
5. Allow enough room for the cookies to spread while baking
6. Flatten the balls slightly with a fork, Bake for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Cool slightly on the baking sheets, remove carefully and place the cookies on a wire rack to completely cool off.
8. Store in an airtight container
9. The recipe makes about 75 cookies

3. Mealie Meal Roti

Picture: Woolworths Taste

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of water
• 1 Tablespoon of Oil
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 256g maize meal
• 128g flour
• Butter or ghee, for frying

Method:

1. Heat 2 and a half cups of water, oil, and salt in a heavy-based saucepan.
2. When the water starts boiling rapidly, add the maize meal. Stir well.
3. Add the remaining water, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat. The steam will cook the maize meal.
5. Empty into a bowl, then add flour.
6. At this stage, you can use your food processor or beater with a dough hook to make the dough.
7. Break the dough into pieces using your hands and bring it together again into one ball while kneading thoroughly until you get a smooth, velvety dough.
8. Break into 15 equal-sized balls
9. Shape each ball into a disc using your fingers and roll it flat until it is slightly bigger than a side plate
10. Dry-fry in a pan over medium heat, turning once. You can add butter or ghee after dry-frying.

4. Pap Pie 

Picture: Rajah Recipes

Ingredients:

Crust

• 3 cups water
• Pinch of salt
• 2 cups maize meal
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Filling

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon crushed fresh garlic
• 250g streaky bacon
• 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons of Rajah mild and spicy curry powder
• 1 tin x 410g baked beans
• 4 medium-sized eggs
• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup grated cheddar
• 8 cherry tomatoes halved or 6 tomato slices
• teaspoon of salt
• Robertson’s ground pepper to season

Method:

1. To make the crust, grease a 24cm pie dish, and the bottom (the outsides)  of a 22cm dish too
2. Heat the water to a rolling simmer, and stir the mealie meal into the water. Don’t stop stirring, until there are no lumps left
3. Turn the heat down to low, pop a lid on and leave to cook for 20 minutes
4. Add the butter, cheese, and enough seasoning
5. Pour into the prepared pie dish then press the smaller pie dish into the warm pap. Press it down deep enough so that you leave a 1cm thick rim all along the sides
6. Leave the pap to set for an hour or two then carefully pull the inside pie dish out. The sides should stand by themselves
7. While the crust is setting make the filling
8. Fry the onion, garlic, and bacon in a large no-stick pan using the oil until golden brown – about 8 minutes
9. Then add the Rajah Mild and Spicy Curry Powder and cook for another minute
10. Add the beans and season well. Remove from the heat
11. Mix the eggs, cream, and cheese while seasoning with salt and pepper
12. Spoon the bean mixture into pap crust
13. Then top up with the egg mixture
14. Decorate with the tomatoes
15. Bake for 20 minutes or until the eggs have set
16. Remove from oven and wait to cool down before serving while still warm

5. Mealie Meal Mandazi 

Picture: Best Recipes

Ingredients:

• 1 kg self-raising flower
• 1 cup maize meal
• 3 tablespoons of margarine
• 5 tablespoons of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon of cardamom
• 500ml of milk
• 1 pinch of salt

Method:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients, beat the eggs, and continue mixing
2. Add milk little by little until it forms to make a dough. Cover for 30 minutes and let it rest.
3. Roll the dough into a circle and cut it into your desired shape
4. Put into hot cooking oil and let it cook until golden brown
5. Remove once crispy and serve with your favourite drink

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