I just love… love maize meal.  It has been ages since I made pap or meilie meal porridge or meilie meal roti for that matter.  Now just how versatile is this humble ingredient. When I made the pap for this recipe I added two huge knobs of butter …that’s just the way I like it 😉 buttery and soft but still firm which perfectly pairs with my kinda chutney. This chutney is so quick and easy to cook.  All you have to do is chuck all the ingredients in a pot – cover with a lid and cook and voila! … 😉 Now don’t be fooled by the simplicity of this dish.  It has good clean fresh flavours that seduces the palate and tastefully captivates the taste buds.   Pap & Chutney with Butter Beans, Peppers and Olives by Videhi

Preparation: 10 – 15 minutes   Cooking time:  55 minutes incl. Pap & Chutney   Serves:  3-4

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups Maize Meal
  • 4 ¼ cups (1125ml) boiling water
  • ½ tsp (2.5ml) salt
  • 2 knobs or more vegan margarine or butter
  • 2 tbsp (30ml) olive oil
  • ½ tsp (2.5ml) mustard seeds
  • ½ tsp (2.5ml) cumin seeds
  • ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
  • ¼ tsp whole black peppercorns
  • ½ tsp (2.5ml) yellow asafoetida
  • 15- 20 tender curry leaves
  • 1 small onion (½ cup) roughly chopped into squares pieces
  • 6 small cloves garlic peeled and halved
  • 5-6 green chillies – slit down the centre lengthwise (remove seeds for less heat)
  • 1 small green pepper roughly chopped into square pieces
  • 1 can butter beans (rinsed and strained) or boil 1/2 cup(125ml) dry butter beans until soft
  • 1 tsp (5ml) salt
  • ½ tsp (2.5ml) turmeric powder
  • 8-10 pitted calamata olives
  • 1 can chopped Italian tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp (30ml) tomato paste
  • ¾ cup water
  • Fresh coriander leaves to garnish (about a ¼ cup)

Let’s Cook 🙂

To cook the pap, add 4 ½ cups of boiling water to a pot and bring to a boil.  Add the maize meal and stir with the back end of a long strong spoon or fork until the mixture starts to thicken.  Add the butter and cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat to medium and steam for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.

To cook the chutney – heat the oil in a pot.  Toss in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, black peppercorns, asafoetida and curry leaves.  The mustard seeds should pop and the curry leaves should splatter.

Toss in the onions, garlic, chillies, green peppers, butter beans, salt, turmeric powder, olives and canned tomatoes.   Give this a good mix and cook for 5 minutes.

Spoon in the tomato paste – cook for a minute

Pour in the water, add the olives and cook for 10-15 minutes until the peppers are soft and the tomatoes are cooked through.  (for more gravy, add more water)

Garnish with the coriander leaves

This meal is best served with pap