Pap with chakalaka

Soft maize pap served with a spicy vegetable and bean chakalaka.

Ingredients

• 240 g fine white maize meal for pap, not precooked
• 960 ml water for the pap
• 150 g peeled onion
• 200 g peeled carrots
• 180 g deseeded red pepper
• 400 g canned chopped tomatoes, without added salt
• 240 g canned white beans, rinsed and drained, weighed after draining
• 10 g peeled garlic
• 10 g peeled fresh ginger
• 5 g fresh red chilli, or less according to your tolerance
• 20 ml sunflower oil
• 4 g salt-free curry powder
• 2 g sweet paprika
• 4 g salt in total: 2 g for the pap and 2 g for the chakalaka
• 100 ml water for the chakalaka
• 10 ml lemon juice

Preparation

Allow 20 min for preparation. Wash the vegetables, then finely dice the onion and pepper. Coarsely grate the carrots. Chop the garlic, ginger and chilli separately. Rinse the beans and weigh out 240 g after draining. Measure all the other ingredients before turning on the heat.

Begin the 35 min cooking period using two burners. In a heavy-based saucepan, heat the 960 ml water for the pap with 2 g salt, covered, for about 5 min to bring it to the boil. At the same time, heat the 20 ml oil in a sauté pan and cook the onion for those same 5 min, without browning it.

Gradually pour the maize meal into the boiling water while whisking, then immediately reduce the heat. Stir for 3 min with a sturdy spoon to remove any dry pockets. Cover and cook gently for 27 min, stirring every 5 min and scraping the bottom. The total cooking time for the pap, including heating the water, is therefore 35 min.

During the 3 min when you incorporate the maize meal, add the carrots and pepper to the onion. Continue cooking them for a further 5 min, making 8 min in total. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, curry powder and paprika, then stir for 2 min over moderate heat. The spices should flavour the oil without burning.

Add the tomatoes, the 100 ml water and the remaining 2 g salt to the sauté pan. Stir and simmer uncovered for 12 min, then fold in the beans and continue for 8 min. This cooking period finishes at the end of the pap’s 35 min. Stir both preparations regularly, reducing the heat if they stick.

Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice to the chakalaka. Check that the pap no longer tastes floury or contains hard grains: its texture should be thick, soft and uniform. Divide the pap and all the sauce into 4 equal portions and serve immediately. If a coarser maize meal remains firm, extend cooking according to its packaging; the stated total time will increase.