The pursuit of pap perfection

Pap is an amazing, rubbery mush of finely ground kernels of corn. If made in Europe, it is called polenta, but in Africa it is the cheap food of the masses and it is named, with beautiful simplicity, "pap" (pronounced "pop"). When properly prepared, it can be molded in one's hands to make bit-sized bowls for scooping thick African stews into one's mouth.

I watched Zandi make a monstrous batch of pap awhile ago for an SAEP feast and I decided it was one of the best things ever. And, I thought, it couldn't be simpler: mealie mix plus boiling water, mix and enjoy... just like making my oats in the morning...

= my total underestimation of the graceful and careful process of pap production

My first attempt yielded a gray, slimy batch of goop that tasted like watery bread dough except more disgusting by a factor of approximately three. I thought I had bought the wrong mealie mix but I hadn't. So about a zillion attempts later, during which every time Patrick or I came across anything rubbery we would point it out to each other and say, "see, this is how the pap texture was supposed to turn out," and through numerous of Zandi's lectures on proper method, finally I got it: Perfect pap.

Here it is in it's pre-cooled and pre-hardened form. Still only two ingredients: mealie mix and water, but here's the secret: 2 cups pap to 1 L boiling water, the patience for simmering, the addition of one cup of cold water 50 minutes into the simmering process, and more patience and more simmering. And then patience for setting.

It requires lots of patience. I'd like to think that pap production yielded some spiritual lessons for me in that regard.

:)

P.S. Pap aficionados would say that one can't call pap "perfect" if it has lumps in it. But I really like lumps because they add intensity and eccentricity - so I must grant that this victory has its caveats.