Bogobe

Bogobe is produced from millet or sorghum powder that is boiled in boiling water. Bogobe jwa lerotse is a sorghum variety prepared by inserting a lerotse melon into the mix.Its main ingredient is the lerotse melon, a less sweet kind of watermelon native to Botswana that tastes more like cucumber when eaten fresh. The recipe also includes sorghum meal and sour milk, in addition to the chopped and cooked lerotse. A lerotse melon tastes like a cucumber when eaten fresh, and it provides the bogobe its famed light-orange skin, which is a wedding crowd favourite. Another variation is bogobe jwa legala, which is cooked in milk for a creamier texture. Both are delicious when served with seswaa and local vegetables.

Ingredients:
½ Lerotse,1kg Bopi jwa mabele (sorghum),1 cup Madila,Mayonnaise (optional),water

Instructions:

• Slice lerotse and peel it. Remove the seeds
• Cut lerotse into pieces to fit the size of the pot.
• Boil some water (about 1/4 of the pot). When boiling, add enough lerotse to fill the pot and cover. When the volume reduces, add more lerotse, and continue until all the lerotse pieces have been added.
• Cook gently for another 30 minutes, until the lerotse can be whisked with a traditional wooden whisk (lehetho). Slowly stir in the bopi jwa mabele, a little at a time, while you whisk until all the lumps are broken down. At this point the mixture should be of a creamy consistency – the consistency of typical soft porridge.
• Cover the pot and allow simmering.
• Add bogobe while stirring with a cooking stick (liso le le apayang) to avoid lumps.
• Continue adding bogobe and stirring to a desired consistency and allow to cook for about 15 min and then add the madila, gently folding it into the boiling mixture. Then add 3tbs of mayonnaise and continue to fold in. Reduce the heat and simmer for another 5 min.
• Leave it for another 30 minutes