Mogodu

Step 1: Rinse 3 ⅓ lb dressed beef tripe under cold running water, rubbing it gently; don't scrub off the honeycomb texture. Cut it into strips about 2 cm wide and 6 cm long.

Step 2: Put the tripe in a large heavy pot with 8 ¼ cups water, 3 bay leaves, 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp ground black pepper. Bring to the boil over a high heat and skim off the grey foam that rises.

Step 3: Turn the heat to low, cover and simmer until a strip squashes easily between two fingers and can be cut with the side of a spoon. Check every 40 minutes and top up with hot water so the tripe stays just covered.

Step 4: Lift out the bay leaves. Pour off all but about 500 ml of the cooking liquid and keep it to one side.

Step 5: Heat 2 tbsp sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry 2 onions until soft and golden at the edges.

Step 6: Add 3 garlic cloves and 1 tbsp fresh ginger and stir for 1 minute until fragrant, then add 2 tsp mild curry powder, ½ tsp ground turmeric and 1 tsp paprika and stir for 30 seconds without letting them scorch.

Step 7: Stir in 2 tomatoes and cook until they collapse into a thick paste and the oil glistens at the edges.

Step 8: Scrape the onion mixture into the tripe pot with 1 green chilli if using, the rest of 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp ground black pepper. Simmer uncovered over a low heat, stirring now and then, until the gravy thickens enough to coat the tripe. Add splashes of the reserved liquid if it gets too thick.

Step 9: While the mogodu finishes, bring 5 cups water and 1 tsp salt to the boil in a separate pot. Whisk in a third of 16 oz white maize meal to make a thin porridge and cook for 3 minutes.

Step 10: Add the rest of the maize meal all at once and stir hard with a wooden spoon until there are no dry lumps. Cover and cook over the lowest heat, stirring every 5 minutes, until the pap is stiff and pulls away from the sides.

Step 11: Taste the mogodu for salt, then serve in bowls with a scoop of pap alongside.