Take equal quantities of water and maize meal. Boil water, add salt to taste, then, and this is the technical bit, add the maize meal slowly while stirring – the trick is to add it slowly enough that lumps don’t form, and even more importantly, not to let the water come off the boil. If it does, you end up with raw tasting sadza unless you steam it for a good while – and then you end up with it burning on the bottom of the pot etc.

Carry on adding meal until you have a thick boiling porridge that is going ‘plop’ ‘plop’ and the bits ‘plopping’ out of the pot are burning the hell out of you. Leave it to plop away for 20 mins or so (covered with a lid) and then add the rest of the meal bit by bit until you have the texture/stiffness you are looking for.

Works quicker than any other way I know, and doesn’t have that raw taste that badly cooked sadza can have.