COPPERIncwancwa recipe
Swazi incwancwa is a maize porridge whose batter is left to ferment for days before cooking, which gives it its sour taste.
Ingredients
- 300 g maize meal
- 1500 ml water
- 1 pinch salt
How to make Incwancwa
- In a bowl or clay pot, mix 300 g of maize meal with 1500 ml of lukewarm water into a smooth, runny batter.
- Cover with a cloth and leave at warm room temperature for a few days, until it smells and tastes clearly sour. This fermentation cannot be skipped or rushed: without it you just have plain maize porridge.
- Bring 1500 ml of water to the boil in a heavy pot.
- Pour in the fermented batter while stirring constantly with a wooden spoon so no lumps form.
- Lower the heat and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring often, until thick and the raw flour taste is gone. Add a pinch of salt.
- Serve warm, with meat, or with milk and sugar as is done with the Tswana ting.
What is Incwancwa?
Incwancwa is a traditional dish from Eswatini, boiled, and takes about 2 days and 1 hour from start to finish. It is built around maize meal. The recipe below uses 3 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Incwancwa take?
At 2920 minutes it is slower than 97% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. Copper's atlas has 4 dishes built on maize meal. The method runs to 6 steps, the longest being 30 minutes.
Any tips for making Incwancwa?
Let the batter ferment until it is clearly sour before cooking, then pour it into boiling water while stirring constantly.
How Incwancwa compares
At 2 days and 1 hour, Incwancwa is among the 20 longest of the 586 dishes Copper documents.
Copper documents Eswatini alongside 197 other countries. Every recipe is free to read, with the full ingredient list and every step.