Phala

Ingredients

Porridge

• 150 gfine maize meal, or millet flour
• 1.2 litreswater
• 1/4 tspsalt

To enrich

• 3 tbspgroundnut flour, or smooth peanut butter

To sweeten

• sugar, to taste
• or a little honey

Sometimes added

• 1 tbspbutter
• 200 mlmilk
• a squeeze of lemon

To serve

• tea
• as a first food for a small child

Directions

1. Put the meal into a mixing bowl. Add about a third of the water, cold. Whisk it until it is completely smooth. There should be no lumps and no dry pockets.
2. Bring the remaining water to the boil in a heavy pan. Add the salt to the boiling water. Pour the slurry in while whisking hard.
3. Keep whisking for the first two minutes. Simmer it for about twenty minutes. Stir it every couple of minutes with a wooden spoon.
4. Taste a little: there should be no raw floury flavour. Loosen the groundnut flour or peanut butter with hot porridge first. Whisk it into a smooth paste in a separate bowl. Adding it dry to the pot makes lumps that never disperse.
5. Stir the loosened paste into the porridge. Simmer it for another five minutes. For an adult it should be thin enough to drink from a cup.
6. Add hot water if it has gone stiffer than you want. Sweetening it is done at the end. Stir in the sugar until it dissolves. Taste it and adjust, since preferences vary widely. Serving it is done piping hot.
7. Pour it into warm cups or bowls. It is made fresh each morning and does not keep well.

Technique

• Whisk the meal into cold water first, since adding it to boiling water lumps every time.
• Loosen the groundnut paste with hot porridge before it goes in, or it will lump.
• It thickens considerably as it cools, so leave it looser than you want.

Substitutions

• Millet or sorghum flour in place of maize meal.
• Smooth peanut butter in place of groundnut flour.

Variations

• With groundnut flour, which is the more nourishing version.
• Made very thin and lightly sweetened for a small child.
• With milk and butter stirred through.

History

Thin maize or millet porridge, the standard breakfast and the first solid food given to children.

Frequently asked questions

What is Phala?

Phala is a breakfast from Malawi: soft maize porridge, sometimes enriched with groundnuts or sugar. Thin maize or millet porridge, the standard breakfast and the first solid food given to children.

How long does Phala take to make?

Phala takes 5 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Phala?

Yes, within limits. Millet or sorghum flour in place of maize meal. Smooth peanut butter in place of groundnut flour.

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

Taste a little: there should be no raw floury flavour. Loosen the groundnut flour or peanut butter with hot porridge first. Whisk it into a smooth paste in a separate bowl. Adding it dry to the pot makes lumps that never disperse.