Spice up your porridge
Michelle Phetlhe | Tuesday January 25, 2022 06:00
To date, sorghum is a principle source of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals. It is also a versatile cereal that is easily digestible by children. Farming is a birth right in Botswana, pastoral and arable, with the latter being more common across tribes and districts as a sustenance measure of old, coupled with Batswana's dependence on rainfall.
Sorghum (mabele), maize (mmidi/mmopo) and sweet reed (sugar cane) are the more common crops farmed by Batswana, including watermelons (magapu) and groundnuts (manoko). Sorghum is used for food, fodder, and the production of alcoholic beverages. It is drought and heat-tolerant, especially important in arid regions and is an important food crop in Africa, said to be the fifth most essential cereal crop grown in the world. Sechaba Sorghum is proof of the importance of a name, Sechaba directly translates to Nation. Something they have set out to do, with #FeedingOurNation as their signature.
Sechaba Sorghum is rich in fibre, to help with digestion, vitamin B to give you energy, protein for the body to grow and iron for carrying oxygen around the body. Sechaba is also an excellent source of antioxidants which help prevent cancer, diabetes, arthritis as well as liver and heart disease. It would seem that in the past people were much healthier than now, this is greatly influenced by the type of foods that were available and consumed in the past compared to modern day diets and the variety of foods available at the press of a button.
Farming is still vastly practiced, however, with developments taking place and cities moving further and further out, fewer individuals are owning farms and doing the ground work. Another disadvantage when comparing the way of living now and to the past is that people do substantially less physical work/exercise. There are different ways to prepare and enjoy sorghum, to name a few : Motogo (porridge); Bogobe; Bogobe jwa lerotse which has a wonderfully subtle flavour given to it by the (wild melon) lerotse/lekatane.
This fruit, which looks almost identical to the common watermelon, has orange flesh that is not sweet. Raw, it tastes a little like cucumber, and when cooked it gives the bogobe a unique flavour which is a favourite among many palates. While bogobe can be accompanied by nama (beef), morogo (spinach), moro (gravy), gatwe ne bo sa shabiwe bogologolo, and understandably so, it is simply delicious and can be enjoyed plain.
INGREDIENTS
2 Cups Sechaba Sorghum
2 ½ cups water
½ Tsp tataric acid or juice of
½ lemon Delta Fresh Milk/ Inkomazi/ Nutriday
Plain Yoghurt, for serving Sugar, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Boil cups of water. 2. Mix 2 cups cold water and 2 cups of Sechaba into a thick paste. 3. Add mixture to boiling water and stir well, allow to simmer for 20 minutes. 4. Stir at 5 minute intervals while cooking 5. Serve with Nurtiday/Deltra Fresh Milk/inkomazi and a bit of Sugar. This breakfast porridge has been a staple in many homes for generations. There are plenty variations and it is enjoyed differently.