View source for Mielie-meal

{{Infobox food
| name = 
| image = [[File:Meilie Meal.jpg|250px]]
| caption = Mealie-Meal for breakfast
| alternate_name = 
| country = [[Zambia]]
| region = 
| national_cuisine = 
| creator =           <!-- or | creators = -->
| year = 
| mintime = 
| maxtime = 
| type = 
| course = breakfast
| served = 
| main_ingredient = 
| minor_ingredient = 
| variations = 
| serving_size = 100 g
| calories = 
| protein = 
| fat = 
| carbohydrate = 
| glycemic_index = 
| similar_dish = 
| other = 
}}
'''Mealie-meal''' is a relatively coarse flour (much coarser than [[Cornmeal|cornflour]] or [[cornstarch]]) made from [[maize]] which is known as '''mielies'''<ref name="Sellick 2010 p. 330"/> or '''mealies''' in southern Africa, from the Portuguese ''milho''.  The Portuguese had originally brought corn from the Americas to [[Africa]].

It is a food that was originally eaten by the Voortrekkers during The Great Trek, but has become the staple diet of Black Africans, because of its ability to be stored without refrigeration, it is cheap and abundant in all shops and markets.  It is a [[staple food]] in [[Zambia]],<ref name="Mwakikagile 2008 p. 186"/> Lesotho, Swaziland, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana and many other parts of sub-Saharan [[Africa]], traditionally made into uphuthu], sour-milk porridge, pap, and also Umqombothi (a type of beer).

The raw ingredient of mealie-meal is added to boiling water, the ratio of which produces either porridge<ref name="Mwakikagile 2008 p. 186"/> or the firmer pap/nshima/sadza. When making porridge milk it is sometimes used to produce a creamier dish, the porridge usually has a thick texture and is commonly eaten for breakfast in Southern Africa.  The firmer pap is eaten with the hands with meat and gravy dishes as well as vegetable relishes. It is similar to Italian polenta or American grits except that it is usually made of a white rather than a yellow maize variety.


==References==
{{reflist|refs=
<ref name="Sellick 2010 p. 330">{{cite book | last=Sellick | first=W. | title=The Imperial African Cookery Book: Recipes from English-speaking Africa | publisher=Jeppestown Press | year=2010 | isbn=978-0-9553936-8-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=seX5e48GbpoC&pg=PA330 | page=330}}</ref>
<ref name="Mwakikagile 2008 p. 186">{{cite book | last=Mwakikagile | first=G. | title=South Africa and Its People | publisher=New Africa Press | year=2008 | isbn=978-0-9814258-3-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7kn7S2O2vRMC&pg=PA186 | page=186}}</ref>
}}

[[Category:Zambian cuisine]]
[[Category:Staple foods]]
[[Category:Maize products]]