Tanzanian recipe
How to make Ugali
All of Tanzania and much of East and Southern Africa
Maize flour cooked in boiling water until it becomes a firm, smooth dough. It is served in a mound, and pieces are pulled off with the right hand, rolled into a ball and used to scoop up beans, greens, fish or stew. It is the everyday staple of the mainland.
Ingredients
- 1 litre water
- About 300 g white maize flour (maize meal)
- A pinch of salt (optional)
Method
- Bring the water to the boil in a heavy pan and add the salt if you like.
- Add a third of the flour and stir well with a wooden spoon until smooth, then let it bubble for a minute.
- Add the rest of the flour a little at a time, pressing and stirring firmly against the side of the pan, until the mixture is thick, pulls away from the sides and no dry flour remains. Take care: it can spit.
- Turn the heat down, cover and leave for 3 to 5 minutes, then turn it once more.
- Tip it out onto a plate and shape it into a mound with a wet spoon. Serve hot with beans, greens or a stew.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
Maize came to Africa from the Americas. Before it, East Africans made similar porridges from sorghum and millet.
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