Chakalaka & Pap: A Taste of Lesotho

Chakalaka is not only fun to say, it's a deliciously savoury comfort food from the small African country of Lesotho. The dish is loaded with gently stewed vegetables and beans, cooked with tasty aromatics and lightly seasoned with curry. Serve this bright stew with Pap, a creamy polenta-like cornmeal side dish that soaks up all those delicious flavours. (Skip to recipe.)

This month for our Eat the World recipe challenge, we travel to the tiny country of Lesotho in Africa. I have to admit I had never heard of this little gem of a country before. It is officially known as the 'Kingdom of Lesotho' (formerly Basutoland), having gained its independence from the UK in 1966. This tiny country (30,000 square km and 2 million inhabitants) is completely landlocked by its neighbour, South Africa.

Lesotho is completely mountainous - the whole country lies above 1,000 metres of elevation; it has the highest low point (1,400 metres) of any country in the world. Subsistence agriculture provides much of the food for this relatively poor but very beautiful country, with the main crops being corn, sorghum, wheat, beans, and peas.

The following video gives you a good overview of all that Lesotho has to offer:

The Lesothan cuisine is heavily influenced from the surrounding South African nation and by its previous British colonial rule. Cornmeal porridge (pap, papa, or pap-pap) is a staple (as is motoho, a fermented sorghum porridge), both often served with various vegetable stews.

I chose to showcase the Lesothan dish of Chakalaka with Pap. And I must admit, I chose it as much for the fun of saying its name as for the tasty ingredients included or its absolute simplicity and comfort food status. Just say the word Chakalaka and try not to smile! It's fun, isn't it?

And so simple.

What's in Chakalaka?

It's merely a few handfuls of chopped onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes, a lot of shredded carrots, some minced garlic and ginger, salt, pepper, and curry powder. Sauté it all up in a splash of oil, and stir in a tin of baked beans to add protein, more fiber, and a touch of sweetness. Yum.

The recipes for chakalaka vary according to who cooks them and what ingredients they have handy. Some use green peppers, some add cabbage, some make it without the beans, others omit the garlic and ginger and add oregano or thyme, some make it spicy with chilis while others include no spicy ingredients, some add tomatoes or tomato paste and others don't. The only constant seems to be the carrots and the curry powder.

So you see, you can make your chakalaka however it tastes good for you. It's basically a load of fresh vegetables lightly spiced with curry and fully loaded with flavour. The beans add a hearty sweetness to the dish that makes it extra nutritious and delicious. Go ahead and play with the ingredients, flavourings, and spices, to make a dish that tastes good to you. It's quick and simple - chopping the vegetables is the only part that takes any time, and if you do it with your favourite tribal tunes playing in the background, it's more like therapy than a chore.

Then serve it all over a sumptuous mound of creamy pap - a Lesothan cornmeal porridge that's the perfect foil for the savoury vegetable stew.

Or serve it over rice or mashed potatoes. If you're in a hurry, you can serve your tasty chakalaka over buttered toast or with flatbread on the side. Any which way you make it or serve it, it's a very tasty kind of comfort food dish that will leave you smacking your lips and feeling satisfied.

I'm so glad to have discovered this Lesothan dish.

* * * * *

Kitchen Frau Notes: The amount of spice in this dish can be adjusted to your taste. You can add more or less dried chili flakes or fresh chili pepper as you like it, or omit the chili altogether. If you prefer a mild warmth, just add a pinch of chili flakes or cayenne pepper.

You can omit the ginger and add 1 teaspoon oregano or ½ teaspoon thyme instead, for another authentic Lesothan variation.

You can serve the chakalaka over pap (traditional Lesothan cornmeal, recipe below), buttered toast, rice, or mashed potatoes. If you choose pap, rice, or potatoes, I recommend you start cooking them before you start the chakalaka, as the chakalaka cooks quickly and will be done before they are.

Chakalaka with Pap

gluten free, vegan

• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 large onion (1½ cups, chopped)
• 3 cloves garlic (1 tablespoon, minced)
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon mild curry powder
• 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ - ½ teaspoon dried chili flakes or 1 fresh hot chili, minced - optional
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 yellow or green bell pepper
• 2 large tomatoes (2 cups diced) or 1 can (14 0z/400ml) diced tomatoes
• 4 large carrots (heaping 2 cups shredded)
• 1 can (14 0z/400ml) baked beans in tomato sauce

Prepare all the vegetables: Finely chop the onion, mince or grate the garlic and ginger, finely dice the bell peppers and tomatoes, and shred the carrots.

Heat the oil in a large skillet or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is translucent.

Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder, salt, pepper, and chili (if using). Cook and stir for another 2 minutes.

Add the bell peppers and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes (if using canned tomatoes, include the juices), carrots, and baked beans (with their liquid). Cook for 2 more minutes until the mixture is bubbling.

Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the carrots are tender.

Serve with pap (see recipe below), rice, buttered toast, flatbread, or mashed potatoes.

Serves 4.

 

Pap 

• 1½ cups (260gms) fine cornmeal (or polenta or grits), white or yellow
• 4 cups (960ml) water, divided
• 2 tablespoons butter, optional (omit or use coconut oil or butter substitute for vegan)
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Stir together the cornmeal and 1 cup (240ml) of the water in a small bowl.

Bring the remaining 3 cups (720ml) water, the butter (if using), and the salt to a boil in a large (2 or 3 quart) saucepan to a boil.

Add the cornstarch and water mixture and return the mixture to a boil.

Reduce the heat to medium and cook the pap for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.  When it starts to plop and spatter, cover with a splatter screen or the lid set slightly ajar to allow steam to escape.

Cook the pap until it is thickened to your liking (it needs at least 20 minutes to fully cook the cornmeal grains). If you prefer it firmer, cook it a bit longer. If you prefer it softer, cook it until it is the texture of pudding. It will continue to thicken as it cools. If it is too thick, stir in a bit of boiling water; if it is too runny, cook it a bit longer.

Serves 4.

Guten Appetit!

 

Check out all the wonderful Lesotho dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us!

Pandemonium Noshery: Butha Buthe - Spinach and Tangerine Soup
Palatable Pastime: Lesotho Likhobe
Magical Ingredients: Lesothan Chakalaka With Papa
Making Miracles: Lekhotloane
Sneha’s Recipe: Chakalaka With Pap-Pap/A Vegan & Gluten Free Stew With Cornmeal
Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Borotho - Bread from Lesotho
A Day in the Life on the Farm: Makoenva
Cultureatz: Butha-Buthe, a Spinach and Tangerine Soup
Kitchen Frau: Chakalaka with Pap (Vegetable-Bean Stew with Cornmeal Porridge)

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Check out my past ‘Eat the World’ Recipe Challenge posts:

(in alphabetical order)

• Argentina: Red Chimichurri Sauce
• Bangladesh: Chingri Masala (Shrimp Curry)
• Bulgaria: Patatnik (Savoury Potato and Cheese Pie)
• Cambodia: Noum Kong (Cambodian Rice Flour Doughnuts)
• China: Kung Pao Chicken
• Colombia: Pan de Yuca (Warm Cheese Buns)
• Egypt: Fava Beans and Feta
• England: Gluten Free Fish and Chips and Mushy Peas
• Ethiopia: Four Ethiopian Recipes for a Fantastic Feast
• Fiji: Spiced Sweet Potato and Banana Salad
• Finland: Lohikeitto (Creamy Salmon, Potato, and Dill Soup)
• France: Axoa d’Espelette (A Simple Stew from the Basque Country)
• Georgia: Charkhlis Chogi (Beets with Sour Cherry Sauce)
• Hungary: Túrós Csusza (Pasta Scraps with Cottage Cheese)
• India: Kerala Upma (Fluffy, Kerala Style Breakfast Upma Recipe)
• Iraq: Tepsi Baytinijan (Eggplant & Meatball Casserole)
• Ireland: Dublin Coddle (A tasty Sausage and Potato Stew)
• Israel: Cucumber, Feta, and Watermelon Salad
• Jamaica: Rice and Peas (Coconut Rice and Red Beans)
• Kenya: Maharagwe with Ugali (Red Beans with Cornmeal Slice)
• Laos: Ping Gai (Lao Grilled Chicken Wings)
• Luxembourg: Stäerzelen (Buckwheat Dumplings)
• Mexico: Cochinita Pibil Tacos (Pit Barbecued Pig to Make in Your Oven)
• Netherlands: Boerenkool Stamppot (Kale-Potato Mash with Sausages & Pears)
• New Zealand: Classic Pavlova
• Poland: Polish Honey Cake
• Portugal: Tuna and Sardine Pâtés
• Puerto Rico: Piña Colada Cocktail
• Senegal: Mafé (Beef and Peanut Stew)
• Sudan: Peanut Butter Creamed Spinach & Peanut Meringue Cookies
• Sweden: Swedish Meatballs with Cream Gravy
• Switzerland (Christmas): Basler Leckerli Cookies
• Thailand: Shrimp Laksa (Khung)
• Trinidad & Tobago: Peanut Butter Prunes
• Ukraine: Buckwheat Kasha with Beef
• United States (Soul Food): Smothered Pork Chops
• Uruguay: Torta de Fiambre (Baked Ham & Cheese Sandwiches)
• Vietnam: Caramelized Pork Rice Bowls