Sadza
Zimbabwe's staple: white-maize meal cooked with water into a stiff glossy porridge. Eaten with the right hand, rolled into a ball and used to scoop stew.
Overview
Cold water and a slurry of maize meal go into the pot first; the pot comes to a boil and thickens to a loose porridge (rapoko / first thickening). More dry meal is added in handfuls, stirred hard with a wooden mugoti (paddle), until the mixture is too thick to stir easily and pulls cleanly from the sides of the pot. The pot is covered and steamed for 5 minutes to finish.
Ingredients
- 500 g white maize meal (mealie meal)
- 1.2 litres water
- ¼ teaspoon salt (optional)
Method
Stage 1 - Slurry
- In a heavy-bottomed pot, whisk 150 g of the maize meal with 400 ml of the water to a smooth slurry (no lumps).
- Add the remaining 800 ml water; bring to a steady boil over medium-high heat, stirring often.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low; stir constantly for 4-5 minutes until you have a thick, loose porridge (this is the first cook, sometimes eaten as porridge for breakfast).
Stage 2 - Build to sadza
- Begin adding the remaining maize meal a small handful at a time, stirring hard with a wooden spoon or paddle between each addition.
- After each handful the porridge stiffens; keep going until you've added about 300 g more (you may not use it all) and the sadza pulls clean from the sides when stirred and forms a smooth, dense mass.
Stage 3 - Steam
- Smooth the top; reduce heat to the lowest setting; cover tightly.
- Cook 5 minutes - the steam finishes the inside and removes any raw-meal taste.
- Stir once more to bring it together; turn out onto a wooden board or plate.
Stage 4 - Serve
- Cut into wedges or scoop into balls with a wet hand. Eat warm, scooping stew, dovi or muriwo.
Notes
- The slurry trick: Whisking the cold meal with cold water first prevents lumps. Tossing dry meal into boiling water guarantees them.
- Stir hard: Sadza is built by stirring, not heat. Underworked sadza is sticky and pale; well-worked sadza is glossy and pulls in clean ribbons.
- Mugoti: A flat wooden paddle is the right tool. A wooden spoon works if the handle is sturdy.
Storage
- Best fresh. Eats well cold (rolled into balls and fried in oil for breakfast the next day).
- Don't refrigerate longer than 24 hours - it dries out and reheats badly.
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