Cheesy Pap Fries with Chakalaka Dip

4 People
40 min.
easy

Here’s an interesting way to serve pap as a snack or side dish: make crisp, cheesy ‘fries’ and serve them with a glorious brick-red chakalaka dip. You can blend the dip to a silky smooth texture, or leave it slightly chunky – the choice is yours.

Ingredients

For the Pap Fries

250 ml boiling water
2.5 ml salt
250 ml quick-cooking cornmeal (maize meal)
250 ml sour milk (amasi or maas)
1 ml white pepper
125 ml grated Gouda cheese
10 ml chopped fresh parsley
125 ml milk
250 ml fine breadcrumbs
250 ml vegetable oil for frying

For the Chakalaka Dip

15 ml vegetable oil
½ an onion, peeled and chopped
½ a green pepper chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
45 ml Knorr Chakalaka soup powder
90 ml water for mixing
60 ml tomato paste
1 Knorrox chicken stock cube

Cooking Method

Put the water and salt into a big pot and turn up the heat.
In a separate bowl, make a paste with the quick-cooking maize meal and amasi, then whisk this into the boiling water.
Cook the pap, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes, or until you have a stiff porridge.
Add the Robertsons white pepper, grated cheese and parsley and stir until the cheese has melted.
Transfer the cooked pap to a lightly greased oven dish or roasting pan. Using the back of a spoon, pat and flatten the pap into a layer about 2 cm thick. Set aside to cool completely.
Using a sharp knife, sliced the cold pap into strips about 2 cm wide. Dip the slices in the milk, and then roll them in the breadcrumbs so they are completely coated.
Heat the oil in a pan and shallow-fry the pap slices on both sides until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels and keep hot.
To make the dip, heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion and green pepper for 5 minutes, or until soft. Add the tomatoes and cook over a medium heat for a further 5 minutes.
In a separate bowl, mix 45ml (3 Tbsp) Knorr Chakalaka Soup powder with 90ml water to form a smooth paste. Add this to the pan along with the tomato paste and a crumbled Knorrox Chicken Stock Cube.
Cook over a medium-low heat for about 4 minutes, until the stock cube has dissolved and the sauce has thickened. If the mixture seems too thick, add a little water to thin it.
Using a stick blender, whizz the sauce to a smooth texture – or you can leave it slightly chunky.
Arrange the pap fries on a platter and serve hot with the chakalaka dipping sauce.