Incwancwa

Ingredients

The ferment

• 500 gmaize meal
• mealie-meal, medium ground
• 1.5 litreswarm water
• a spoonful of an old batch, optional

To cook

• 1 litrewater
• 1 teaspoonsalt

To serve

• sugar, to taste
• milk or sour milk
• or nothing at all

Directions

1. Use clean containers and clean utensils. That works but takes longer and varies more. Put the maize meal in a large bowl or jar. Add the warm water in gradually. Whisk it until completely smooth.
2. Stir in a spoonful of an old batch if you have one. Use a container that is not airtight. Cover it with a cloth rather than a lid. A cloth keeps flies out and lets gas escape.
3. Leave it somewhere warm to work. Stir it through once every day. Judging the ferment takes a smell and a taste.
4. Taste a tiny amount of the liquid. It should be pleasantly sharp. Bring the litre of water to a boil in a pot. Add the salt to the boiling water.
5. Stir the fermented mixture thoroughly first. Whisk hard as you pour it all in. Maize meal lumps instantly in hot water.
6. Pour it in a thin steady stream. Cooking it out takes real attention. Stir it constantly without stopping. Give it about twenty-five minutes. Taste a little to check for rawness. It should taste of cooked grain. Add hot water if it goes too thick.
7. Cook it longer if it is too thin. Serving it is done hot in bowls. Ladle it out into warm deep bowls. Serve sugar for those who want it. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• Wild lactic acid bacteria turn some of the starch into lactic acid, which is what makes it sour and lowers the pH enough to keep spoilage organisms out; that is why the sourness preserves it.
• Fermentation reduces phytic acid in the grain, and since phytic acid binds iron and zinc, reducing it means the body absorbs more of them; the effect is documented for fermented grains.
• The ferment should smell cleanly sour like sourdough or yoghurt; any rotten, putrid or fishy smell, or any pink, black or fuzzy mould, means the batch must be discarded without tasting it.

Substitutions

• A spoonful of a previous batch speeds and steadies the ferment, though wild bacteria work without one.
• Pouring off the separated liquid gives a milder porridge and stirring it back keeps the full sourness.

Variations

• Motoho, ting and similar fermented maize porridges are made across southern Africa.
• Mahewu is the thinner drinkable version of the same ferment.
• It is eaten plain, with sugar, or with milk poured over.

History

Maize meal left to ferment for days before cooking into a sour porridge, the sourness both preserving and flavouring it.

Frequently asked questions

What is Incwancwa?

Incwancwa is a breakfast from Eswatini: sour fermented mealie-meal porridge. Maize meal left to ferment for days before cooking into a sour porridge, the sourness both preserving and flavouring it.

How long does Incwancwa take to make?

Incwancwa takes 15 minutes plus 3 days fermenting of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Incwancwa?

Yes, within limits. A spoonful of a previous batch speeds and steadies the ferment, though wild bacteria work without one. Pouring off the separated liquid gives a milder porridge and stirring it back keeps the full sourness.

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

Stir in a spoonful of an old batch if you have one. Use a container that is not airtight. Cover it with a cloth rather than a lid. A cloth keeps flies out and lets gas escape.