Umphokoqo

Name: Umphokoqo
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: South African
Ingredients: 2 cups white maize meal; 1.5 cups water; 1 tsp salt; 2 cups amasi (fermented milk) or plain buttermilk, chilled

Umphokoqo/oom-po-KO-ko (with clicks on the 'q')/

Also known as: Krummelpap, Phuthu with Amasi

About this dish

Dry, crumbly maize-meal pap, cooled and eaten mixed with tangy amasi (soured milk).

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Ingredients

🌽2 cups white maize meal

💧1.5 cups water

🧂1 tsp salt

🥛2 cups amasi (fermented milk) or plain buttermilk, chilled

Method

Serves 2

Bring the salted water to the boil in a heavy pot.

Pour in the maize meal all at once without stirring, cover and leave on low heat for 5 minutes.

Stir with a fork to break it into crumbs, then cover and steam on the lowest heat for 20–30 minutes, stirring now and then, until dry and fluffy.

Spread out and let cool completely.

Serve in bowls with plenty of cold amasi poured over.

✓ What Makes it Authentic

Umphokoqo is a Xhosa staple from the Eastern Cape, and is famously said to have been one of Nelson Mandela's favourite meals.

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