Ingredients
Porridge
- 300 gmaize meal
- 3 litreswater
To ferment
- 4 tablespoonsmaize meal, raw
- or 100 ml of a previous batch
- or 3 tablespoons wheat bran
To finish
- sugar, to taste
- a pinch of salt
Equipment
- a large pot
- a large covered container
- a cloth
- a sieve
Directions
- Use clean containers and clean utensils. The porridge must be cooked properly first. Cool it before adding the starter. It should smell like yoghurt or sourdough. Mix the maize meal with cold water first.
- Make a smooth thin slurry with no lumps. Adding meal to hot water gives lumps forever. Bring the rest of the water to a boil. Pour the slurry in while stirring hard.
- Keep stirring as it comes back to the boil. Cooking it takes about twenty-five minutes. Stir it regularly with a wooden spoon. It should end up a thin porridge. Add water if it has gone too thick. Take the pot off the heat entirely.
- Let the porridge cool right down. It must come to about body temperature. Stir the raw maize meal into the cooled porridge. Mix it through the porridge thoroughly. Fermenting it takes a day or two. Pour it into a large clean container. Cover it with a cloth rather than a lid.
- Leave it somewhere warm to work. Give it about twenty-four hours. Taste a spoonful after a full day. It should be tangy but not sharp. Warm weather ferments it much faster. Cool weather can take two days. Pour it through a sieve into a jug. Press it through with a spoon.
- Add sugar and stir it until dissolved. Add a good pinch of salt as well. Taste it and adjust the sweetness. It should be gently sweet and tangy.
- Add water if it is too thick to drink. Serving it is done properly cold. Pour it out into cups or bottles. It is drunk cold from a large cup. Keep a cup back to start the next batch.
Technique
- Emahewu is a lactic fermentation rather than an alcoholic one, so it contains very little alcohol and is treated and sold as a soft drink.
- A spoonful of raw maize meal carries the lactic acid bacteria that start the fermentation, and a cup from a previous batch works faster still.
- A good ferment smells pleasantly sour like yoghurt, and any rotten or putrid smell or surface mould means the batch must be discarded.
Substitutions
- Wheat bran or a cup of a previous batch both work as starters in place of raw maize meal.
- Sorghum meal can be used in place of maize.
Variations
- It is known as mageu and amahewu across the wider region.
- Commercial versions are sold in cartons across southern Africa.
- Some households add more sugar and drink it as a sweet drink.
History
Maize porridge fermented for a day into a thin sour drink taken to the fields as refreshment and light food.
Frequently asked questions
What is Emahewu?
Emahewu is a drink from Eswatini: lightly tangy fermented thin maize drink. Maize porridge fermented for a day into a thin sour drink taken to the fields as refreshment and light food.
How long does Emahewu take to make?
Emahewu takes 20 minutes plus fermenting of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 3 litres. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Emahewu?
Yes, within limits. Wheat bran or a cup of a previous batch both work as starters in place of raw maize meal. Sorghum meal can be used in place of maize.
What is the most important thing to get right in Emahewu?
Use clean containers and clean utensils. The porridge must be cooked properly first. Cool it before adding the starter. It should smell like yoghurt or sourdough. Mix the maize meal with cold water first.
