Page 121 - Through the eyes of an African chef

Utshwala besiZulu – Zulu beer
Zulu beer is an alcoholic beverage that is traditionally brewed mainly by women, over a three-day period. Zulu beer is made for funerals, weddings, feasts and other traditional occasions. It is a refreshing, nutritious drink. Brewing is usually done in drums, as it needs to serve many people. It also differs according to the ceremony being observed.
INSTRUCTIONS
Day 1 – Ukuthona (Zulu beer starter)
Pour the maize meal and maize malt into a clean 5l plastic drum. First add cold water, just enough to form a paste as you mix with your clean hands. Add boiling water to half the depth of the drum and, using a wooden spoon (iphini), stir well as you pour. Add 1kg sorghum malt and mix using washed hands. (Using your hands ensures there are no granules of dry maize or malt in the mixture.) Leave the lid slightly ajar and allow foam to form as it ferments overnight.
Day 2 – Ukubilisa (to ferment from starter into beer)
Have your fire going and the 3-legged pot clean and ready. Bring to the boil 3⁄4 of the cold water, gradually adding the fermented mixture. Cook to a smooth porridge consistency and let cool. Mix in the remaining 3kg of sorghum malt and leave overnight.
Day 3
The beer should be fermented by the afternoon of day 3, with a thick, foamy layer that overflows in the drum. Rinse ivovo (woven, grass sieve), or an empty orange sack and a beverage drum / food bucket. Place the sieve or sack inside the drum and hold with one hand, then use a jug to pour 3/4 of the beer contents into the sieve; twist the beer through the sieve and discard the grains (izinsipho) into a separate tray / bucket. Repeat this step with the remaining beer contents. The ‘filtered’ beer is then poured into a clean drum, ready for serving.
TO SERVE
These days, people serve Zulu beer in jugs and glasses, but for an authentic experience, serve the beverage in a clay pot (ukhamba).
INGREDIENTS
1kg mielie meal
1kg maize malt (umthombo wombila)
Boiling water
4kg sorghum malt (umthombo wamabele)
1.25l cold water
THROUGH THE EYES OF AN AFRICAN CHEF
SERVES 10
FERMENT 21⁄2 DAYS PREPARATION TIME 10–15 MINS COOKING TIME 10–15 MINS
[ chapter eight ] PRESERVES AND FERMENTED bEVERAGES 119