Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Basotho Chicken Stew with Papa
A highland chicken stew served with papa, the stiff maize porridge of Lesotho.
Basotho · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 55 min
~937 cal · 80g protein · 83g carbs · 31g fat · 9g fiber · 6g sugars · 7g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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This chicken stew is an everyday meal in Lesotho, the mountainous kingdom encircled by South Africa. Chicken is simmered with tomato, onion, and simple seasonings into a warming gravy, served with papa, the stiff maize porridge that is the staple starch of the Basotho people.
In Lesotho's high, cold climate, filling maize-based meals are essential, and the pairing of papa with a savory relish or stew is the foundation of daily eating. The chicken gravy is soaked up by the mild, dense porridge.
Served in Maseru and across the highlands, sometimes with moroho (cooked wild greens) alongside, it is honest, nourishing mountain food.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2.5 lb bone-in chicken pieces
2.5 cups white maize meal (for papa)
3 tomatoes
2 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp paprika
3 tbsp oil
to taste salt
Instructions
1
Brown the chicken (or mushrooms and chickpeas) with onion and garlic.
2
Add the tomatoes and spices and simmer to a thick stew.
3
For papa, boil salted water and whisk in half the maize, then add the rest and stir stiff.
4
Cook the papa on low, covered, until firm.
5
Serve mounds of papa with the chicken stew.
Maseru home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Maseru. Moroho is usually finished with a splash of sour milk, which is what makes the pairing with plain papa work at all. Likhobe, made from stamped grain, is the third staple alongside them, and trout out of the mountain rivers is a genuine Lesotho speciality that surprises visitors.
🗺️
Lesotho. Lesotho, the mountain kingdom, cooks hearty highland food, maize-meal papa with moroho greens, sorghum porridge, and slow-cooked meat. Sorghum beer and communal eating warm the cold Maloti heights.
🌍
Africa. Much of what reads as timeless African cooking is younger than the Atlantic crossings. Maize, cassava, groundnut, chilli and tomato all arrived from the Americas after 1500 and pushed older crops aside; millet, sorghum, teff, yam and fonio are the ones that were already here, and the map still shows the join.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Lesotho
MakoenyaGolden Basotho fat cakes: crisp-edged deep-fried dough balls, soft and lightly sweet inside, sold hot from street stands for breakfast.
NyekoeA filling one-pot of sorghum and beans simmered slow with pumpkin and onion, the warming everyday lunch of the Lesotho highlands.
MotohoLesotho's fermented sorghum porridge, soured overnight with a tomoso starter and eaten warm by the bowl or thinned into a tangy drink.
Browse all Lesotho recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Whisk.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Lesotho meal
Leting la MabeleDrink
MorohoLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Basotho Chicken Stew with Papa?
A highland chicken stew served with papa, the stiff maize porridge of Lesotho.
Where does Basotho Chicken Stew with Papa come from?
Basotho Chicken Stew with Papa is a Basotho dish from Maseru, Lesotho.
Can Basotho Chicken Stew with Papa be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Basotho Chicken Stew with Papa recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Basotho Chicken Stew with Papa safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Basotho Chicken Stew with Papa take to make?
About 70 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 55 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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