Bota

Ingredients

Porridge

• 150 gwhite maize meal
• 1 litrewater
• ½ tspsalt

To stir in

• 3 tbsppeanut butter
• 2 tbspsugar, or to taste
• a knob of butter, optional

To serve

• milk

Directions

1. Whisk the maize meal into 250 ml of the cold water until completely smooth. Meal tipped into hot water seizes into lumps the moment it lands and they will not stir out.
2. Bring the remaining 750 ml of water to the boil with the salt.
3. Pour in the slurry in a steady stream, stirring hard, and bring it back to the boil.
4. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Bota is a soft, loose porridge rather than a stiff one, which is why it takes so much less meal and so much less time than sadza made from exactly the same bag.
5. It is ready when there is no raw grain smell left and the porridge coats a spoon but slides off it easily.
6. Take it off the heat before beating in the peanut butter, working it until it has dissolved completely and the porridge has turned an even pale tan. Stirred into a boiling pot the peanut butter can split and sit in oily streaks on top.
7. Sweeten to taste and add the butter if you are using it.
8. Serve hot in mugs or deep bowls with cold milk poured over the top.

Technique

• Consistency is the whole distinction. Bota and sadza are the same meal and the same pot; what separates them is how much water goes in and how long it cooks.
• Peanut butter goes in off the heat. This is the one place the recipe usually goes wrong.
• It thickens fast as it stands, so make it looser than you think you want it.

Substitutions

• Finger millet meal for bota rezviyo, which is darker, more mineral and considered the better breakfast.
• Pearl millet meal, mhunga, in the drier regions.
• Jam or honey in place of peanut butter, which is common with children.

Variations

• Bota rezviyo, made with finger millet.
• With soured milk stirred in instead of fresh.
• Unsweetened and eaten with a savoury relish, which is how it was eaten before sugar was cheap.

History

Loose maize porridge stirred with peanut butter and sometimes sugar, the standard Zimbabwean breakfast.

Frequently asked questions

What is Bota?

Bota is a breakfast from Zimbabwe: soft morning porridge stirred with peanut butter or jam. Loose maize porridge stirred with peanut butter and sometimes sugar, the standard Zimbabwean breakfast.

How long does Bota take to make?

Bota takes 5 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Bota?

Yes, within limits. Finger millet meal for bota rezviyo, which is darker, more mineral and considered the better breakfast. Pearl millet meal, mhunga, in the drier regions. Jam or honey in place of peanut butter, which is common with children.

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

Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Bota is a soft, loose porridge rather than a stiff one, which is why it takes so much less meal and so much less time than sadza made from exactly the same bag.