Pap, creamy white maize porridge
Ground white maize cooked with butter to a thick, silky cream. Eaten across South Africa every morning — with milk, sugar, or just a knob of butter.
Method
01
Bring to the boil.
Bring water and salt to the boil in a medium saucepan.
02
Add the maize meal.
Reduce heat to low. Pour the maize meal in a thin, steady stream into the water, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to prevent lumps. Continue stirring for 2 minutes until incorporated.
03
Cook low and slow.
Cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes, stirring every 3–4 minutes. The pap should thicken to a smooth, creamy consistency. Stir in butter.
Note. Stiff pap is also traditional — cook longer and reduce milk. This recipe makes a soft, breakfast-style pap.
04
Serve.
Spoon into bowls. Pour over warm whole milk and add sugar if desired.
A note. White maize meal (mieliemeel) is not the same as yellow cornmeal. It is white, fine-ground, and produces a silkier, more neutral porridge. Find it at African or Caribbean grocery stores.
Rate this recipe
Join the Club to rate →