Amasi

Ingredients

Soured milk

• 2 litreswhole milk
• 4 tbsplive amasi or plain yoghurt, as starter

To serve

• pap or phutu, hot
• salt or sugar

Directions

1. Warm the milk to about 30°C (86°F) and stir in the starter until evenly mixed.
2. Pour into a calabash, a clay pot or a jar and cover with a cloth rather than a lid so the gas can escape.
3. Leave at warm room temperature for two to three days. It will thicken and separate into a firm white curd sitting above a layer of clear whey — that separation is what amasi is, not a fault.
4. In the traditional Nguni method the whey is drained off through a small hole in the base of the calabash, leaving the thick curd behind. With a jar, pour or spoon most of it off.
5. Keep the whey; it is drunk cold and is called umlaza.
6. Stir the curd smooth and chill thoroughly.
7. Serve cold with hot pap so it half melts into the porridge, with a pinch of salt, or sweetened if drinking it alone.
8. Keep four spoonfuls back to start the next batch — a calabash used continuously carries its own culture and eventually needs no starter.

Technique

• Cover with cloth, never a sealed lid. Trapped gas forces the curd apart unevenly.
• The separation is correct. Stirring to prevent it just breaks the curd.
• The cartons sold in South African supermarkets are the same thing with a standardised culture.

Substitutions

• Buttermilk as the starter, closer in character than yoghurt.
• Goat’s milk, which sours faster and comes out sharper.

Variations

• The Zimbabwean lacto, Swazi emasi and Lesotho mafi are the same preparation.
• Drained through cloth it thickens into a spread.

History

Fermented milk, similar in concept to yoghurt or buttermilk, made by allowing raw milk to sour and thicken naturally at room temperature over one or more days, documented across Southern African Bantu-speaking cattle-herding peoples for many generations, reflecting the deep historical and cultural significance of cattle and dairy across Zulu, Xhosa and related Southern African societies well before European colonization. Its natural fermentation, relying on ambient bacteria rather than a commercially added culture, produces a thick, tangy product traditionally stored in a calabash gourd or clay vessel, and amasi remains a significant everyday food across South African households today, eaten on its own, with maize porridge, or used as an ingredient in other dishes, carrying continued cultural importance well beyond its nutritional role.

Frequently asked questions

What is Amasi?

Amasi is a cheese & dairy from South Africa: thick fermented milk drunk or poured over pap. Fermented milk, similar in concept to yoghurt or buttermilk, made by allowing raw milk to sour and thicken naturally at room temperature over one or more days, documented across Southern African Bantu-speaking cattle-herding peoples for many generations, reflecting the deep historical and cultural significance of cattle and dairy across Zulu, Xhosa and related Southern African societies well before European colonization. Its natural fermentation, relying on ambient bacteria rather than a commercially added culture, produces a thick, tangy product traditionally stored in a calabash gourd or clay vessel, and amasi remains a significant everyday food across South African households today, eaten on its own, with maize porridge, or used as an ingredient in other dishes, carrying continued cultural importance well beyond its nutritional role.

How long does Amasi take to make?

Amasi takes 10 min plus 2 to 3 days souring of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes makes about 1.5 litres. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Amasi?

Yes, within limits. Buttermilk as the starter, closer in character than yoghurt. Goat’s milk, which sours faster and comes out sharper.

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

Pour into a calabash, a clay pot or a jar and cover with a cloth rather than a lid so the gas can escape.