Deon Barnard

Pap, for those of you from America and Europe wondering what I’m on about, is a traditional South African staple food. If prepared correctly it tastes great and leaves you with a feeling of being “filled up” and satisfied. You will usually find pap served at a braai (barbeque) with a tomato relish or a chilli vegetable relish called “chakalaka”.

Pap is simply finely ground maize meal (mieliemeal) cooked with water to form a stodgy white malleable mixture that resembles mashed potato. Pap cuts across all racial and cultural boundaries. Traditionally it has been a staple of many black African cultures forever, but the white boer settlers of the 19th century adopted the recipe as their own, adding their own unique interpretation to the cooking process. Having had many years of experience with pap, both in black as well as white communities I have been perfecting my pap-making skills over the past 15 years or so. There are few people who don’t come back for seconds of my special sweetcorn pap recipe. It borders on world-famous.

Having kept this recipe a secret for years I think its time to share it with the world… so here it is. This is how you make pap better than a black man!

Ingredients:

First, you will need to buy a bag of white, grade A maize meal (mieliemeal). I suggest a 2.5 kg bag (you will use about half of this). You will need a large pot, half filled with water and two or three cans of sweetcorn (creamed corn). For the relish you need to get your hands on two cans of tomato and onion mix and one can of mild chakalaka. You can chop tomotoes, onions and vegies if you like, but the cans work just as well. You will also need some soy sauce, braai salt and garlic for flavour. You will also need salt and a large wooden spoon (more like a small branch – I have broken many flimsy wooden spoons making pap).

Preparation:

Bring the pot of water to boil with two teaspoons of salt (at least). Once the water is boiling you need to get the sack of maize meal into one hand and the wooden spoon into the other. Then turn the water down to low (setting 2) and immediately start pouring the maize meal into the hot water while stirring vigorously. Keep doing both until the pap takes on a thick, hard-to-stir consistency (warning, you will need strong wrists and some elbow grease to do this). Then put the bag of maize down and stir your pap firmly ensuring a consistent texture throughout the pot. put the lid on and leave for about 20 minutes on low (very low – don’t burn it). After 20 minutes empty two or three cans of sweetcorn into the pap, juice and all, and stir the whole lot in until you have consistency again. Then put the lid back on for another hour or two (on low heat) stirring every 30 minutes or so. If it needs more salt, go ahead and add.

10 minutes before serving, throw the relish together. Throw the cans of tomato, onion and chakalaka into a saucepan and heat. Throw in some soy sauce and braai salt for flavour. I often add other things to the sauce like baby marrows, garlic and a splash of balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce.

That’s it. Plant a blob of pap on a plate and cover in relish. Yummy!!!!!

This article has made me hungry – think I’ll go make some pap.