After visiting my girlfriend the other day, I had an experience from hell. I’m we have all heard of the phrase ‘the way to a man’s heart is through food or is through his tummy’. If this was the case, I would have run to the nearest available person without even looking back. Let me put it this way, Motswana wa batho oa pallwa mo dipitseng! Me being the person that I am, I love my pap! Poor girl tried to impress me with pap but couldn’t tell if I was eating motogo ka nama (soft porridge with meat) (Imagine) I had to use spoon throughout the meal. See, where I come from, you should be able eat pap using your hand without it slipping through your fingers (and trust me, I am not talking about styf pap). One of the reasons why I refrain from buying pap from any other outlet is for that reason that in most cases you can’t tell if you are eating pap or motogo. Being from a family of boys only, Mom made sure we all knew how to cook and do all the domestic chores. During school holidays, mom made sure that our helper took leave as well, making us do all the chores. Enough about that, back to the issue at hand, my experience with my girlfriend fuelled me to start a cooking blog. First lesson is how to cook pap.
Here is how I prepare my pap
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1. Boil water in the pot
2. While the water is boiling, stir in maize meal and stir thoroughly so that it doesn’t make those bumps (in most cases people tend to soak maize meal in water and pour the water and maize mix to the boiling water as if they making pap)
3. Allow it to simmer for a good 10 to 15 minutes and then gooi in maize meal bit by bit whilst stirring bit by bit until it becomes harder
4. Put the lid back on and leave it there for 7 to 10 minutes…….and after that ladies and gentlemen you have pap! One that Jamie Oliver can’t touch!
Let us bear in mind that while we still keep to our traditional food and how we prepare, food has evolved in the way that we prepare it. While still talking about pap, just the other day somebody brought pap that had cheese and bacon on top (pizza style)- apparently it is called pap tert.
What’s your one favourite meal to prepare? How do you prepare it? What is the worst food that you have ever tasted? Lets share!