South African Boerewors Braai with Pap and Tomato Relish

Start the pap, as it needs time. Bring the water and salt to the boil in a heavy pot. Sprinkle in the maize meal in a steady stream, whisking, then drop the heat to very low.

Ingredients

• Serves 4:
• 1kg boerewors (South African coriander-spiced sausage), in a coil
• For the pap:
• 250g white maize meal (mielie-meal)
• 1 litre water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp butter
• For the tomato relish (sous):
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped (or 1 tin chopped tomatoes)
• 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of chili flakes

Instructions

1. Start the pap, as it needs time. Bring the water and salt to the boil in a heavy pot. Sprinkle in the maize meal in a steady stream, whisking, then drop the heat to very low.
2. Cover and let the pap steam-cook gently for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes with a wooden spoon, until thick, soft and fluffy. Beat in the butter and keep warm.
3. Make the relish: heat the oil in a pan and soften the onion for 8-10 minutes until golden. Add the tomatoes, sugar, curry powder, salt and chili and simmer for 15 minutes into a thick, jammy sauce. Keep warm.
4. Get the braai (grill) to a steady medium heat with glowing, ashed-over coals — boerewors needs gentle, even heat so it cooks through without bursting.
5. Lay the boerewors coil on the grid, keeping its spiral shape (pin it with two skewers crosswise if you like). Grill for about 6-7 minutes a side.
6. Turn once, carefully, when the underside is browned and the skin blistered; avoid pricking it so the juices stay in.
7. Cook until just firm and cooked through, with a deep smoky char but still juicy inside.
8. Cut the coil into lengths and serve with a mound of warm pap and a generous spoon of tomato relish alongside.
9. Boerewors — literally 'farmer's sausage' — is the soul of the South African braai, the social ritual of grilling over wood and coals that crosses every community in the country. Made to a spice mix dominated by toasted coriander, with nutmeg and clove and a coil shape that is almost a law unto itself, it is grilled whole and served with pap (soft maize porridge) and a tomato-onion relish. The trio is the national comfort plate, eaten at weekend gatherings, sports days and family braais alike. Smoky, coriander-scented and deeply satisfying, boerewors and pap is South Africa on a plate.