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Corinne Erasmus

Corinnes' Papballetjies

These amazing (and super simple) deep-fried orbs of golden joy were a firm favourite when I was growing up! Served as a decadent and more-ish snack before a braai (barbecue), or as a scrumptious side-dish instead of bread, it was always a winner!
 A family favourite? Sure! But I’ve also realised that the main ingredient of this dish - mieliepap (maize porridge) - means that it is uniquely South African! Surely there is no-one is our beautiful Rainbow Nation that hasn’t enjoyed some version of mieliepap. Many South Africans adore ‘krummelpap’ (“crumbly” porridge) and a tomato-based relish with their braaimeat. I grew up with ‘slappap’ (goodness, it’s difficult to think of a apt translation! “Runny” porridge certainly doesn’t roll off the tongue well!) for breakfast, loaded with butter, sugar and a splash of milk.
As luck would have it, there often seems to be pap leftover… This recipe happens to be the perfect solution! Of course, you’ll probably find that it is so good that you may just want to make pap specially!
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Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Afrikaans
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 c cooked cold mieliepap salted
  • 1 c grated cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 - 1 pack of diced bacon raw
  • One onion finely diced (optional, but exceptionally yummy!)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 t salt
  • 2 c flour
  • 15 ml baking powder
  • Sunflower oil - lots to deep-fry Heat this up in a big pot on the stove before continuing.

Method
 

  1. Mix everything well in a big bowl. Add the flour and baking powder last. The mixture should be nice and moist but quite firm, without any flour left unmixed. If it is too dry, add a dash of milk (or water).
     Dish spoonfulls of the mixture into the hot oil. Keep the oil on high. Once one side of the balls become golden brown, nudge them with a spoon to make them flip over. When golden brown all over, remove with a slotted spoon and allow to drain in a serving dish lined with paper towel.
     Spice to taste and serve hot (although they are still yummy even when cold!).