Another great recipe is on its way! We bet that a lot of you have heard about pap, mieliepap or maize porridge that is made from ground maize or, as it is also known, corn. But have you heard about pap flour tortillas? Today you will learn how to cook pap and how to make flour tortillas!
How to make pap?
Before making pap flour tortillas, we need to learn how to make pap itself. Even though it is quite easy to do, it will take a lot of time. You will need about two free hours because there is a lot of simmering to do.
Pap is great for breakfast – you can eat it with butter, sugar, fruits, berries, and milk. People also serve it with different sauces (like tomato sauce), meat or vegetables. Pap is served both hot or cooled. Sometimes it can even be fried. A lot of options for a simple dish, right? No wonder a lot of Nigerians love it. If you are looking for “pap recipe south Africa” then you are at the right place.
What ingredients do we need to prepare pap?
In order to make pap, you will need the following ingredients:
– From 2 to 2 ½ cups of water;
– From 2 to 3 cups of maize meal (grits and cornmeal);
– One teaspoon of salt;
– Butter or margarine (optional);
Prepare your tools in advance. You will need:
– Aluminum pot;
– Measuring cups;
– Big wooden spoon;
– Lid.
Let’s get started, shall we?
How to prepare pap?
Cooking pap is very simple, and we are sure that you will remember how to do it for the rest of your life. In order to make it, follow the steps below:
1. Place your aluminum pot on a stove top. Turn on the heat up to medium.
Important note: You can also use a steel or a copper pot. If you are using an electric stove, then the heat should be mid-high. If gas then mid-low.
2. Take the water and pour it into the pot and let the water sit until small bubbles come out. Add the salt.
3. Take the maize meal and add it to the boiling water. Stir a little to mix the maize and the salt. Place the lid and turn the heat down to medium, if your stove is electric, or keep the heat at medium.
4. Let the maize simmer for 5-7 minutes. Then remove the lid and stir the maize. Add the butter or margarine if you want to have more flavor in your pap. You will need about 2 teaspoons. Stir the maize again and put back the lid. Reduce the heat to low.
5. Leave the maize for half an hour. Don’t forget to stir it once or twice during this time. After stirring, put the lid back. Check the pot and make sure that maize is not burning.
READ ALSO: How to make cabbage swallow with Ogbono?
Important note: If the consistency of your pap is too thick then add butter.
6. When the maize is ready, take it off the burner and leave it to cool down. Remove the lid only when you are ready to serve the maize. If you remove it right away, then your maize will dry out.
7. Serve the maize with sauce, meat or vegetables. Enjoy!
Now you know how to cook pap! Wasn’t that hard, was it?
How to make tortillas?
Ah, fresh, tasty, chewy corn tortillas, what can be better for taco fillings? The best part about corn tortillas is that they are made only with two ingredients – masa harina and water. Masa harina is made from the corn kernels that were soaked in lime water. It is similar to the ground maize that is used in pap so technically speaking, we are going to make tortillas from pap flour!
Important note: even though they are similar, don’t use cornmeal instead of masa harina – it will make your tortillas brittle.
Ingredients for flour tortillas
With the following ingredients, you will get about 20 tortillas that are 16 cm in diameter:
– 1 ½ cups of hot water;
– ½ cups of salt;
– 2 cups of masa harina.
You will also need the following tools:
– A big bowl;
– Measuring cups;
– Spoons;
– Clean kitchen towels
Optional:
– Tortilla press;
– Thick plastic;
How to make flour tortillas?
Before doing anything, let’s answer an important question – Do you have a tortilla press? It is okay if you don’t. You can use a rolling pin to roll the tortillas. They may have some cracks on the edges. If you want to get perfect circles, then you can roll as much dough as you can, take a plate, put it on the dough and cut the circle out of it. Yes, we all have our ways! And there is your answer to “how to make flour tortillas by hand”.
Now follow the steps below to make flour tortillas:
1. Take a big bowl and mix the masa harina and salt.
2. Take the water, pour it into the mix and stir.
3. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes in the bowl. The dough has to be smooth and un-sticky.
Important note: if you added 1 ½ cups of water but the dough is still dry, then add a tablespoon of water and knead the dough again. Add a tablespoon at a time until the dough has the right consistency.
On the other hand, if the dough is too sticky or gummy, add masa harina just like you would add water.
4. Form the dough into a ball and put it in the bowl where you mixed the ingredients. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and leave the dough. It should rest for about 30 minutes. It will make the texture of your future tortillas better.
Important note: it’s advised to leave your dough to rest. However, if you don’t have time, you may skip this step. Just remember that the texture won’t be as good as it could be.
5. Take your dough ball and pinch off pieces of dough. You need to pinch enough in order to form a ball that is about the size of a ping-pong ball. The tortilla will be about 16 cm in diameter. If you want to make smaller or bigger tortillas, then adjust the size of the balls.
Next steps are for those who have a tortilla press. If you don’t have it, roll the tortilla balls with a rolling pin and go to step 10.
6. Take the tortilla press and put a thick layer of plastic on it. You can use a zip-top bag.
7. Take one of the balls of dough and place it in the middle of the press. Take the other side of the plastic bag and fold it over the top of the ball.
8. Press the dough with a handle and flatten your dough until it’s 3 millimeters thick.
Important note: if you want to make your tortilla thinner or it just came out not thin enough, then rotate the tortilla in the plastic bag and press again.
9. Peel your tortilla away from the plastic and continue pressing the rest of your tortillas.
10. When all of your tortillas are ready, it is time to cook them! Take a large, flat skillet and heat it over medium-high heat.
Important note: Check if the skillet is hot enough by flicking a few drops of water onto the surface. They should sizzle right away. You can also check the heat by putting your hand for 3cm above the surface. It’s ready when you can’t hold your hand for more than few seconds.
11. Once the skillet is hot enough, place as many tortillas as you can. There has to be enough space for each of them, without any overlapping. It will take 1 to 2 minutes to cook them. Check the edges – if they are starting to curl up, then flip the tortilla. Cook it for 1 to 2 minutes.
Important note: the tortillas have to be dry on both sides. They should also have toasted brown spots, but it may be hard to get those at the first try.
12. When all of your tortillas are ready, stack them on a clean kitchen towel and wrap them in. If you want the tortillas to be brittle and dry, then don’t wrap them.
Important note: remember to leave them covered in a clean kitchen towel after cooking – they will continue to steam, and eventually the tortillas will be soft enough to form tacos. If you like some crunchy tortillas, then form a tortilla for the taco and put it in a microwave until the tortilla is dry enough.
13. Serve the tortillas right away or cool and refrigerate. They can stay in a refrigerator for up to 3 days.
14. If you want to reheat the tortillas, then wrap them in a paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds for a few bursts.
15. Eat your tortillas!
The last important tip: sometimes there may be some leftover tortillas (crazy, right?). They are stale, dry, and nobody wants to eat them! What should you do? You can make tortilla chips by breaking the big tortilla and frying or baking the pieces. Dump them in a tasty sauce, and you will have a snack to eat while you are watching your favorite TV show.
There you have it – you know how to cook flour tortillas. As you can see, making flour tortillas won’t take a lot of effort and ingredients. You can eat them as they are or fill them and form delicious tacos! Add vegetables, beans, meat – anything you like. They can be a delicious snack or even a dinner for a taco night!
READ ALSO: How to make Kuli Kuli?
0naze
No comments:
Post a Comment