As some of my friends will know, I have been working part-time for a company here in Brisbane as a charity fund-raiser. My workmates include people from many different countries and today we celebrated our different cultures by bringing dishes from our respective lands to share at lunchtime.
I decided to spice things up by bringing a taste of South Africa to the table, in the form of boerewors and mielie pap and Mrs Ball’s chutney!
For those not in the know, mielie pap is a quintessential South African dish made from maize meal. Think of it as the cousin of polenta, but with a lot more sass! (To keep this story on point, I will leave it to you to google boerewors and Mrs Ball’s chutney, if you don’t already know!)
Now, let me tell you about my adventure with mielie pap...
First off, let me confess, this was my maiden voyage into the world of mielie pap.
Yep, never made it before. But hey, how hard could it be, right? Famous last words!
Armed with nothing but my wits and a trusty internet connection, I dove headfirst into the world of online recipes and YouTube tutorials. The experts made it look so easy... emphasis on "look"!
First attempt? Let's just say, I ended up with something resembling a maize-flavoured rock weighing 2.5 kg sitting in the largest pot. Turns out, "too little water" is not just a cooking myth, folks.
Undeterred, I kept on track towards my objective by utilizing every other pot in the kitchen, creating a beautiful mess that Picasso would have been proud of.
But hey, perseverance pays off, my friends!
After a few trials, tribulations, and a lot of head-shaking at myself, I finally cracked the code! The mielie pap emerged from the chaos, steaming white and perfect in consistency. And to top it all off, my manager, hailing all the way from Zimbabwe, gave it the ultimate seal of approval!
So there you have it, folks. A tale of triumph over maize meal madness. If at first, you don't succeed, just add more water and keep on stirring!
The moral of this story? “If at first you don’t succeed …..” (well, you know the rest).
#MielieMagic #CulturalCuisine #KitchenAdventures
Corporate Director of Communications at Auro Hotels
2 周It was the most fun! I loved DJ SHA, bringing the JAM to the Yam Jam.