Cooking Bajan Style: Corn Pap

As we know, our food today often tells a story of our history and the people of our beautiful island. Many of the food was developed by the Slaves who were sailed over to the Caribbean and today they are still eaten on a daily basis.

By the end of the 19th century corn had become an important food crop in Africa and when slaves came over to Barbados and the rest of the Caribbean they brought many of their food traditions with them. The West African inspired cook in the Caribbean used corn in a variety of ways. However, one of the popular methods was to create a porridge which used the foundational recipe based on the African one pot soup known as Corn pap (or Ugali). A Coconut milk base was often used as a substitute in the Caribbean instead of the more familiar tradition of a palm-oil. This Pap was could be prepared for breakfast, lunch or dinner and was devoured by many - today it still is! Here is the recipe many Bajan Folks will use.

CORN PAP (PORRIDGE)
INGREDIENTS

½ cup cornmeal (finely ground)
2 ½ cups of water divided
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
½ cup of coconut milk
½ tsp. grated nutmeg
2 tsp. vanilla flavoring (essence)
½ cup Evaporated Milk
½ cup Sweetened Condensed Milk (or sugar)
Or 2 cups of Evaporated milk (your preference)

METHOD

Add cornmeal to a bowl. Pour in 1/2 cup water and let soak for 5 minutes.
While the cornmeal is soaking, add the remaining 2 cups of water to a sauce pot along with the cinnamon stick. Cover and bring to a boil.
Pour in soaked cornmeal as well as any liquid in the bowl, to the boiling water. Lower the heat to simmer and whisk to avoid lumps.
Cook covered for 15 - 20 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat, add milk and sweeten to taste stirring until fully incorporated.