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A-Maize-Ing African Food To Sample In Southern Africa

A-Maize-Ing African Food to Sample in Southern Africa

A-Maize-Ing African Food to Sample in Southern Africa.

In Africa, maize meal is known by several different names, depending on the region. It is a basic dish that may be eaten with a variety of other African foods and in all different forms, from soft and silky to crumbly and tougher.

There is a maize dish to go with or make up the majority of any meal in Africa, whether it is breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Maize meal can be prepared in literally hundreds of ways!

Meal Made from Maize (Pap)

Maize meal is made from roughly ground white maize, sometimes known as mielies. It was traditionally cooked over an open flame in a black kettle after being pounded in a mortar and pestle.

These days, it can be prepared in a pot on the stove and purchased in a packet at the grocery store. Or in the microwave, but don’t tell the culinary experts—they’d be appalled!

However, if you want to taste pap that is really good, try some that has been cooked in a pot over an open flame. It adds a smokey flavor that is difficult to match.

Sour Porridge

This traditional dish is made with sour milk (amasi in SA, mukaka wakakora in Zim) and maize meal (umphokoqo in IsiXhosa, impuphu in Zulu). Because the crumbly pap is cooled by the cold sour milk, it is best enjoyed on hot days.A-Maize-Ing African Food to Sample in Southern Africa

The idea of eating sour milk makes many people cringe, but this isn’t sour milk as we know it. Since the milk is whole and not pasteurized, the “sour milk” tastes more like yoghurt.

Known by several names, such as Bogobe ba ting (or simply ting) in Setswana or Umvubu in IsiXhosa, this meal is consumed throughout southern Africa and is frequently prepared with sorghum.

Sauce Chakalaka

This is a popular South African vegetable “sauce” that is hot and spicy and frequently eaten over mielie pap. Recipes vary from family to family and from place to place.
Curry powder, onion, garlic, tomato, and chillies are basic components. Some add carrots, cabbage, beans (usually a can of baked beans), or other vegetables.

It is customary to use the hands to roll the maize meal into balls and then dip them into the chakalaka. The chakalaka’s spiciness is perfectly complemented by the clear, uncomplicated flavor of the maize flour. In essence, it’s a tomato stew explosion of flavor packed with vegetables.
One of those foods is chakalaka, for which every family has a slightly different recipe that has been passed down through the generations.

Nyama Shisa (Meat)

Meat is a staple in Africa. The finest way to prepare meat, whether it’s chicken, beef, goat, or boerewors, is over an open fire, often known as a braai or barbecue. After cooking, it is served with a piece of pap that has been generously slathered with chakalaka or smoor sauce.

Families and friends gather around the fire to cook the meat, making it a communal event. In southern Africa, there are several restaurants and street vendors offering shisa nyama.

These are some of our favorites, where you select your meat and watch as your companions prepare it for you:

Johannesburg’s Imbizo Shisanyama, Midrand

Gaborone’s Mokolodi Bush Braai (booking required; visit their website)
The Boma: Victoria Falls Roadrunner Stew Restaurant

Roadrunner Stew, you read correctly. The roadrunner label comes from the fact that this Zimbabwean favorite is made with free-range (i.e., runs around the yard) chicken.

Garlic, paprika, onion, and chilli are all combined in this dish. When this spicy tomato chicken stew is served with sadza, you’ll be licking your fingers to soak up the sauces and then begging for more.

Locations for Dining: Victoria Falls, Roadrunner Gavas, Belgravia Sports Club, Harare Garwe Restaurant, Harare Galleria KwaMurongo, and Harare Mama Africa Eating House
Matapa Side Dish
Fishermen in Mozambique
Fishermen in Mozambique by Stig Nygaard
Mozambique is renowned for its miles of immaculate white beaches that face the warm, blue Indian Ocean and are bordered by palm trees. Delectable fish that comes directly from the sea onto your plate is an added benefit to this paradise.

Matapa is a side dish that is frequently served with fish and xima, which is Mozambique’s equivalent of pap. Made with coconut milk, peanuts, garlic, and finely ground cassava leaves, it’s creamy and delicious—especially when soaked in fresh shrimp and xima!