How to Prepare Hot Water Cornbread

There is no cornbread like hot water cornbread. The yellow mix in a box doesn't compare to homemade cornbread, and it's a delight for those who are lactose intolerant too--the recipe has no milk and blends well with vegetables, like greens or green beans.

Things You'll Need

• 3 cups of cornmeal
• 5 tbsp. of flour
• 1 tsp. of salt
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• Margarine
• Aluminum bowl
• Boiling pot
• Skillet
• Paper towels

Instructions

How to Prepare Hot Water Cornbread

1. Boil two cups of water.

2. Pour cornmeal and flour into an aluminum bowl.

3. Pour the boiled water slowly into the cornmeal while stirring the cornmeal, flour and the water every few pours. After pouring all hot water into the bowl, stir vigorously. When done, the mixture should be slightly thick and yellow, not soupy.

4. Pour a small amount of vegetable oil into your hands. Take a small clump of the blended cornmeal, hot water and flour mixture into your hands, and roll it back and forth into a ball to mix together. When each cornmeal ball is in a tight ball, lightly flatten the cornmeal with your hands so each cornmeal ball is about 1 to 2 centimeters thick. Repeat until all mixture is rolled into patties. (Note: If you flatten the cornmeal and it breaks around the edges, try putting a little more vegetable oil on your hands. They're not supposed to break if the cornmeal mixture was fully stirred).

5. Pour 1/2 cup of vegetable oil into the skillet, and spread it around the skillet to fry the hot water cornbread.

6. Put a maximum of five cornmeal patties in at a time, and fry the cornmeal patties back and forth the way you would a pancake. Flip as it browns until it has reached a dark yellow/light brown appearance (If you want to make sure that it's cooked on the inside, cut a little of the cornbread in the middle to make sure it's not mushy).

7. Take hot water cornbread out as soon as it reaches a dark yellow/light brown color. Lay each piece on paper towels to drain the excess vegetable oil. The hot water cornbread is not supposed to be greasy.

8. Spread margarine onto a serving plate. Place each piece of hot water cornbread onto a buttered plate or add margarine on top of each piece of hot water cornbread.

Tips & Warnings

• This is an excellent soul food side dish to collard greens or green beans.

• When rolling the cornmeal, hot water, and flour into balls, the mixture will be hot. Try to roll the cornmeal mixture as soon as possible so it's easier to shape, but let the heat from the water cool off enough to handle the temperature of the cornmeal in your hands.