It is one of the best dishes I have tasted in Eswatini, and it reminds me of home in many ways.
Pap is often cooked to share. Traditionally, it is placed at the center of the table, and everyone eats from it together. It is highly tactile: you break off a piece with your hands, form it into a ball, and scoop up some stew or greens. You wouldn’t see this dish at fancy restaurants, but you would find it at local places like the hot food aisle at the grocery store or at the roadside food shops called spaza shops. These shops sell snacks to people traveling and act as a stopping point for a quick lunch along the way. Surprisingly, pap is even sold at fast food places like KFC.
Locally, the stew is often cooked bland so the meat itself can be the center of the flavor. My co-workers and I once shared this dish from a local spaza shop, with cow head stew and some spices. It was amazing! I told them we call this dish ubugali in Rwanda. One of my co-workers said she loves pap and eats it for breakfast religiously. It’s just what she needs before starting a long day at work.
Nostalgia is what I felt when I tasted pap. It reminded me of home and of how I would always ask my mom for the crust at the bottom of the pot. When you cook it, the bottom forms a crust that is like a chip. It’s basically a homemade corn chip, and as a lover of chips, I can never say no to that.
