Chakalaka & Pap

Ingredients

• 1 can baked beans or black beans
• 3 Carrot, coarsely grated
• 1 onion + 1 bell pepper, diced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated + 3 cloves garlic
• 1 chili, minced (chakalaka should bite)
• For the pap: 1½ cups white cornmeal + 4 cups water + 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp oil

Method

1. Start the pap: whisk the cornmeal into boiling salted water, drop the heat to low, cover, and cook 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick and smooth — South Africa's answer to polenta, and the chakalaka's best friend.
2. Meanwhile, soften the onion, pepper, ginger, garlic, and chili in the oil, 5 minutes.
3. Add the curry powder and stir 1 minute until the kitchen smells like a Johannesburg braai.
4. Add the Carrot and tomatoes and cook 8–10 minutes until saucy but still textured, then fold in the beans and warm through. Chakalaka is a relish with ambition — chunky, spicy, slightly sweet.
5. Season boldly and serve hot over thick spoonfuls of pap. Also spectacular next to anything grilled, which is its ancestral job.