Mealie Pap
Overview
Mealie pap is South African maize porridge, made from milled white maize cooked slowly with water into a smooth, thick porridge. It is eaten by everyone and at every age, and it is one of the first solid foods many South African children are given. Sweet or savoury are both standard. With sugar and milk, or golden syrup and butter, it is breakfast. With chopped spring onion and sliced hard egg it becomes something closer to congee. Stiffer versions are eaten with meat and relish as the main starch of a meal, which is where pap en vleis comes from. It has close relatives across the continent, made from the same maize by the same method: ugali in Kenya and Tanzania, sadza in Zimbabwe, nsima in Malawi. Maize itself is not indigenous to Africa. It was brought from South America by the Portuguese and became the dominant staple across much of the continent within a few centuries. Mealie meal comes coarse or fine depending on use, and it is not as fine as cornflour, which is a different product and will not make pap.
AFN Heritage Note
Mealie pap is a South African porridge of milled white maize, with close relatives across the continent including ugali, sadza and nsima. Maize was introduced to Africa from South America by the Portuguese.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Boil the water in a kettle. Add the water and maize meal to a large cast iron or heavy-bottomed pot.
- 2
Heat slowly, bringing it to the boil while stirring continuously with a wooden spoon so no lumps form, for about 10 minutes. It will make small plopping sounds as it thickens.
- 3
Lower the heat, cover the pot and let the porridge cook for 40 minutes, lifting the lid and stirring frequently so it does not catch or burn on the bottom.
- 4
For the optional sauce, heat maple syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat. It will bubble almost immediately, so watch it closely. Once it starts to bubble, take it off the heat, add the butter and stir slowly with a spatula until melted. Set aside.
- 5
The porridge should now be very smooth and thick but not stiff.
- 6
Stir in the milk, adjusting the consistency to your preference.
- 7
Serve hot with a sprinkle of sugar and a drizzle of the maple butter sauce.
Africook’s Notes
Personal notes from Nympha Nzeribe- Stir continuously for the first ten minutes. Lumps form in the first few minutes and cannot be stirred out afterwards.
- Use a heavy-bottomed pot. Thin pans catch on the base, and burnt maize flavours the whole pot.
- Keep lifting the lid and stirring through the forty minute cook. Pap settles and sticks.
- Mealie meal is not cornflour. Cornflour is a refined starch and will not make pap; grits, cornmeal or polenta are the workable substitutes.
- Adjust the milk at the end to the consistency you want. Some prefer it thick enough to hold a spoon, others runnier.
- For a savoury version, leave out the sugar and serve with chopped spring onion and sliced boiled egg.
Reviews
2 reviews
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I was wondering how maple syrup and butter would taste on pap because back home in Kaduna we just use milk and sugar for akamu. Abeg e sweet sha! Only thing is mine took more than 10 mins of continuous stirring to stop lumping and start making those plopping sounds, but after the 40 mins under low heat it was perfect.
Herh, 40 minutes on low heat is the real secret oo. In Ghana we use maize meal for banku or koko, but this South African pap with warm milk and brown sugar is so comforting. My arm was tired stirring with the wooden spoon for those first 10 minutes to clear the lumps, but the texture turned out very smooth paa.