Bogobe jwa lerotse, also known as slap-pap, is a type of
porridge
Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...
eaten in
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
and also a national dish of Botswana, characterized by a delicate flavor imparted by the ''lerotse melon'', a type of fruit that is visually reminiscent of a typical watermelon and distinguished by its orange-colored flesh. Lerotse has a neutral flavor when raw, but it imparts a unique flavor to the dish when cooked. The dish is typically stirred with a traditional wooden whisk, called ''lehetho'', and has a porridge-like consistency when fully cooked. It is often consumed at weddings and other social gathering.
Its key ingredient is the lerotse melon, a less-sweet variety of
watermelon
Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varieti ...
indigenous to Botswana which is more similar in taste to the
cucumber
Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables. when raw. Along with the lerotse, which is chopped into pieces and boiled, the dish includes
sorghum
''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...
meal and
sour milk
Soured milk denotes a range of food products produced by the acidification of milk. Acidification, which gives the milk a tart taste, is achieved either through bacterial fermentation or through the addition of an acid, such as lemon juice or vineg ...
.
Ingredients
* ½ of one lerotse (melon)
* 1 kg bopi jwa mabele (sorghum)
* 1 cup madila (sour milk)
* Mayonnaise (optional in place of madila)
* water
See also
*
List of melon dishes
This is a list of melon dishes and foods that use melon as a primary ingredient. A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit.
...
*
Botswana cuisine
The cuisine of Botswana is unique but shares some characteristics with other cuisines of Southern Africa. Examples of Setswana food include '' pap'', '' samp'', '' vetkoek'', ''bogobe'' and mophane worms. A food unique to Botswana is ''seswaa'' ...
References
External links
Botswanayouth.comSpar Botswana
Melon dishes
{{Africa-cuisine-stub