Ingredients
Flour
- 400 gfine white maize flour
Water
- 1 litrewater
- a pinch of salt, optional
To serve
- sombe, cassava leaves
- beans
- fish or meat stew
- with the right hand
Equipment
- a heavy pot and a sturdy wooden spoon or paddle
Directions
- Use fine white maize flour, sold as maize meal, mealie meal or ugali flour. Bukari is stiff, far stiffer than a porridge, firm enough to be pinched off and rolled into a ball in the hand. Bring the water to a full rolling boil before any flour goes in. Water that has gone off the boil gives lumpy, gritty bukari that never comes together properly.
- Whisk a couple of handfuls of the flour into the boiling water and let it cook for a few minutes into a thin porridge. Sprinkle the remaining flour in gradually with one hand while stirring hard with the other.
- Add it in a slow steady stream rather than tipping it in, since dumped flour forms lumps instantly. This genuinely needs both hands and it is easier with someone helping. Use a sturdy wooden spoon or a flat paddle rather than a whisk. Press the mixture against the side of the pot and fold it back on itself, over and over.
- Turn it firmly and continuously, working the whole mass rather than stirring in circles. Break any lumps against the side of the pot as you find them, since an unbroken lump stays a lump.
- Keep turning it over a low heat for a further ten minutes after it has come together. That continued cooking removes the raw floury taste, which is otherwise noticeable and unpleasant.
- Add a splash of boiling water if it is too stiff, and more flour if it is too soft. Adjust it a little at a time, since it goes from stiff to sloppy very quickly. Cover the pot and let it steam over the lowest heat for two or three minutes, then turn it once more. Wet a bowl and scoop portions out, turning them to give smooth rounds.
- Work quickly while it is hot, since it stiffens rapidly as it cools. Turn each portion out onto a plate. Serve it immediately, since it hardens noticeably within twenty minutes.
Technique
- It is the eastern Congolese name for what is called ugali in Swahili.
- The water must be at a full rolling boil throughout.
- It must cook on for ten minutes after coming together to lose the raw taste.
Substitutions
- Any fine white maize meal.
- Cassava flour mixed with maize, which is common in the region.
Variations
- Made with a mixture of cassava and maize flour.
- Made softer, closer to a porridge.
- Made with millet or sorghum flour.
History
The eastern Congolese name for the maize staple known as ugali in Swahili East Africa, reflecting Kivu’s ties to the Great Lakes.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bukari?
Bukari is a main from DR Congo: stiff maize-meal mash of the east, eaten by hand with sombe and beans. The eastern Congolese name for the maize staple known as ugali in Swahili East Africa, reflecting Kivu’s ties to the Great Lakes.
How long does Bukari take to make?
Bukari takes 5 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Bukari?
Yes, within limits. Any fine white maize meal. Cassava flour mixed with maize, which is common in the region.
What is the most important thing to get right in Bukari?
Use fine white maize flour, sold as maize meal, mealie meal or ugali flour. Bukari is stiff, far stiffer than a porridge, firm enough to be pinched off and rolled into a ball in the hand. Bring the water to a full rolling boil before any flour goes in. Water that has gone off the boil gives lumpy, gritty bukari that never comes together properly.
