Thobwa

Ingredients

Base

• 300 gmaize meal, ufa
• 3 litreswater

The souring agent

• 150 gmmera, germinated millet or sorghum flour

To sweeten

• sugar, to taste, if wanted

Equipment

• a large pot
• a clay pot or bucket
• cloth to cover

To serve

• cool, in cups or gourds, at gatherings

Directions

1. Soak millet or sorghum grains overnight, drain them, and keep them damp in a covered basket or on a cloth. Rinse them twice a day and keep them moist but never sitting in water, which makes them rot rather than sprout. Then dry the sprouted grain thoroughly in the sun and grind it to a flour.
2. Mix the maize meal with cold water to a smooth slurry. Mix it cold and whisk it smooth first, because maize meal tipped into hot water lumps instantly and never disperses.
3. Bring the rest of the water to a boil, then whisk in the slurry. Cook it, stirring constantly, for 20 to 30 minutes. Stir without stopping. It should thicken to a thin porridge, about the consistency of single cream. Cook it properly.
4. Take it off the heat and let it cool to about 50 to 60°C, warm rather than hot. Above about 70°C the amylase in the mmera is destroyed and the drink will never sweeten, and cold it works far too slowly.
5. Whisk it in well so it is evenly distributed through the porridge. Cover the pot with a cloth and leave it somewhere warm. Now leave it for a few hours, or overnight.
6. Taste it as it goes, every hour or so. It is ready when it is clearly sweet with a gentle sourness behind it, and it should smell faintly like beer without being alcoholic.
7. Cool it and refrigerate it, which slows everything down. Add sugar only if it needs it, and a well-made thobwa needs very little. Serve it cool, in cups or gourds, stirred well since it settles heavily. It should be cloudy, thick enough to coat the mouth, sweet and faintly tangy.

Technique

• Mmera, germinated grain flour, is sold ready-made in Malawian markets.
• The same enzymatic principle underlies Korean sikhye and Uzbek sumalak.
• It is only lightly fermented and is drunk by everyone including children.

Substitutions

• Ready-made mmera from a market.
• Sorghum flour germinated at home in place of millet.

Variations

• Made thicker, closer to a porridge.
• Left longer for a sourer drink.
• Made with sorghum meal instead of maize.

History

A sweet drink of maize meal soured with germinated millet flour, only lightly fermented and shared at gatherings.

Frequently asked questions

What is Thobwa?

Thobwa is a drink from Malawi: sweet fermented maize and millet drink, cloudy and refreshing. A sweet drink of maize meal soured with germinated millet flour, only lightly fermented and shared at gatherings.

How long does Thobwa take to make?

Thobwa takes 20 min plus 1 to 2 days of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes 3 litres. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Thobwa?

Yes, within limits. Ready-made mmera from a market. Sorghum flour germinated at home in place of millet.

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

Soak millet or sorghum grains overnight, drain them, and keep them damp in a covered basket or on a cloth. Rinse them twice a day and keep them moist but never sitting in water, which makes them rot rather than sprout. Then dry the sprouted grain thoroughly in the sun and grind it to a flour.