Mahewu

Name: Mahewu
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Ingredients: 1500 ml water; 100 g cornmeal, fine white maize meal; 1 tbsp all-purpose flour; 60 g sugar

Vegetarian

A thick, lightly sour drink made by fermenting thin maize porridge overnight, then sweetening it. Popular across Zimbabwe and South Africa as a filling refreshment.

Mahewu is a Zimbabwean cold drink, ready in about 1 hour 20 minutes and made with cornmeal, all-purpose flour and sugar. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking

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Prep: 5 min
Cook: 15 min
Rest: 1 h
Total: 1 h 20 min
Serves: 6
Level: Easy
Calories: 104

Plus 24–48 hours of fermentation at warm room temperature.

Ingredients

6 glasses

1500 ml Water (opens in a new tab)
100 g Cornmeal (opens in a new tab), fine white maize meal
1 tbsp (8 g) All-purpose flour (opens in a new tab)A spoon of wheat flour (or millet or sorghum malt) starts the fermentation.Swap: Sorghum meal (Gluten-free and closer to traditional malt.)Contains wheat, gluten
60 g Sugar (opens in a new tab)Add to taste after fermenting.

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Whisk (opens in a new tab) the maize meal (opens in a new tab) into the cold water in a saucepan (opens in a new tab), bring to the boil, stirring, and simmer until it thickens to a thin porridge.
- 15 min
- medium-low heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
- Whisk (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Kampus Production on Pexels
2
Step 2
Cool to lukewarm, then stir in the flour. Pour into a clean jar or jug, cover loosely and leave in a warm place to ferment until pleasantly sour.
- 60 min
- 25°C · warm room, 24–48 hours
Food safety: Use very clean containers; discard if it smells unpleasant or grows mould.
3
Step 3
Stir well, sweeten with sugar (opens in a new tab) to taste and chill. Serve cold.
- 2 min

About this dish

Origin: Southern Africa · Origin uncertainMade by Shona, Zulu, Xhosa and other peoples across southern Africa; no single country of origin.Also popular in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana
Dish: Breakfast · Snack · Cold drinks
Cooking method: Boiled, Fermented
Taste: sour, sweet, creamy
Diet: Vegan · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-fat · Low-sodium · DASH-style
With the listed swaps: No gluten ingredientsWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Make-ahead · Budget-friendly
Cook more with: Cornmeal · All-purpose flour · Sugar
Techniques: Boiling · Simmering · Fermentation

Allergens

Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour
Contains, can be adapted: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

104 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 278 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

Protein 6%
Carbohydrate 89%
Fat 5%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	104 kcal	37 kcal
Protein	1.5 g	0.5 g
Carbohydrate	23.8 g	8.6 g
Net carbohydrate	22.6 g	8.1 g
Sugars	10.1 g	3.6 g
Added sugars	10 g	3.6 g
Fibre	1.3 g	0.5 g
Fat	0.6 g	0.2 g
Saturated fat	0.1 g	0 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	0 mg	0 mg
Sodium	11 mg	4 mg
Salt equivalent	0 g	0 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 49 mg
Calcium: 26 mg
Iron: 0.6 mg
Magnesium: 26 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 2 µg
Vitamin C: 0 mg
Vitamin D: 0 µg
Vitamin B12: 0 µg
Folate (DFE): 8 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

In cool weather fermentation can take two days; it should taste tangy, like drinking yoghurt.

Common mistakes

Adding the starter while the porridge is still hot — it kills the fermentation; cool to lukewarm first.

Storage

Keeps 3 days in the fridge; it will continue to sour slowly.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 27 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sip & BlendCompare with

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Cornmeal, fine white maize meal100 g
All-purpose flour1 tbsp · 7.8 g

Used in steps 1, 2

Less sweet, dairy-free, caffeine-free or for more people — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sip & Blend

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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