Chimodho

Ingredients

Dry

• 400 gmaize meal
• 200 gplain flour
• 3 teaspoonsbaking powder
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 3 tablespoonssugar, optional

Wet

• about 400 ml warm water
• or 400 ml milk
• 3 tablespoonsoil or melted butter
• 1egg, optional

Equipment

• a heavy pot with a tight lid
• or a cake tin and an oven
• wood or charcoal embers
• a little oil, for greasing

Directions

1. Put the maize meal and plain flour in a bowl. Add the baking powder, salt and sugar. Whisk it all together thoroughly. Combining it needs a light hand. Add the oil to the warm water. Beat in the egg if you are using it.
2. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients. Stir it in with a wooden spoon. Stop as soon as it comes together.
3. Let it stand for five minutes and check again. Add more water if it has stiffened. A stiff batter gives a dry brick of a loaf. Grease a heavy pot generously with oil. That dusting stops it sticking entirely.
4. Pour the batter in and level the top. It should fill the pot about halfway. Set the covered pot directly on them. Cover the whole lid with a layer of them.
5. Let it bake for about fifty minutes. The heat must be steady rather than fierce. Heat the oven to 190C before baking. Grease and line a round cake tin. Bake it for about forty-five minutes. Judging when it is done takes a skewer.
6. Let it sit in the pot for fifteen minutes. It is fragile while hot and breaks easily. Let it cool at least to warm before cutting. Serving it is done warm or cold.
7. Cut it into thick even slices. Butter or margarine goes on it. It keeps two days if wrapped well.

Technique

• Rural Zimbabwean kitchens generally have no oven, so a heavy pot with coals underneath and on the lid does the same job.
• Maize meal has no gluten, so a proportion of wheat flour is what holds the loaf together.

Substitutions

• Milk in place of water gives a richer loaf.
• Maize meal alone can be used, giving a much crumblier bread.

Variations

• A sweeter version with more sugar is made for tea.
• Some households add grated pumpkin or banana to the batter.
• Chikondamoyo in Malawi is a closely related pot-baked maize cake.

History

A dense maize-meal bread baked in a pot over coals, made in rural kitchens without an oven.

Frequently asked questions

What is Chimodho?

Chimodho is a bread & pastry from Zimbabwe: rustic baked cornmeal bread, also called mupotohayi. A dense maize-meal bread baked in a pot over coals, made in rural kitchens without an oven.

How long does Chimodho take to make?

Chimodho takes 20 minutes of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes one loaf, 10 slices. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Chimodho?

Yes, within limits. Milk in place of water gives a richer loaf. Maize meal alone can be used, giving a much crumblier bread.

What is the most important thing to get right in Chimodho?

Pour the batter in and level the top. It should fill the pot about halfway. Set the covered pot directly on them. Cover the whole lid with a layer of them.