Recipes from Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe has an interesting history. Its name means “house of stone,” referring to the ancient city of Zimbabwe from which the Shona people ruled and conducted a gold trade between the 8th and the 15th centuries. Its more recent history echoes that of most of Africa dealing with a colonial past. The presence of Europeans and their descendants have influenced the cuisine of the country, but the majority of the people eat the food familiar in much of sub-Saharan Africa: corn, cassava, millet, pumpkin, peanuts and yams. The importance of peanuts, which were brought to Africa by the Portuguese in the 16th century, is seen in the recipes below.
Salted Groundnuts (Zimbabwe) serves 2 to 4
1 cup peanuts, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ cup warm water
Toast the peanuts in a frying pan, without oil, stirring frequently so they do not burn. (a cast-iron pan works well)
When the peanuts are very hot, dissolve the salt in warm water. Pour this over the peanuts and keep stirring while the heat is high. Suddenly all the water will disappear and the nuts will be coated with salt.
Continue to cook for three minutes to remove any moisture.
Recipe from The World in Your Kitchen by Troth Wells, Second Story Press, 1993, p. 40
Corn Meal with Pumpkin (Zimbabwe) serves 4
Nhopi - this is a popular dish among Zimbabweans
1 cup corn meal ½ teaspoon sugar
2 cups water 2 tablespoons peanut butter
½ pound pumpkin, peeled, cooked and mashed (include any cooking liquid)
salt to taste
Bring the water to a boil in a good-sized saucepan and put in the corn meal. Cook, stirring frequently, until it forms a porridge.
Next, stir in the mashed pumpkin. Then add the sugar, peanut butter and salt and combine all ingredients well.
Continue to cook for a few minutes over low heat, adding about ½ cup of the retained pumpkin cooking water if necessary to make the consistency you prefer. Serve immediately with spinach or another leafy green.
Recipe from The World in Your Kitchen by Troth Wells, Second Story Press, 1993, p. 73
Peanut Butter Stew (Zimbabwe) serves 4-6
Dovi
2 medium onions, finely chopped 2 green peppers, chopped
2 tablespoons butter 1 chicken, cut into pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced and crushed 3 to 4 fresh tomatoes (or 1 large can of tomatoes)
1 teaspoon salt & ½ teaspoon pepper 6 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 chili pepper or ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper ½ pound spinach or pumpkin leaves
In a large stew pot over medium heat, sauté onions in butter until golden brown. Add garlic, salt and hot peppers.
Stir for 2 or 3 minutes then add green peppers and chicken. Brown the chicken.
When all the chicken pieces are brown on every side, mash tomatoes with a fork and mix them into the stew, along with about 2 cups water. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
Thin the peanut butter with a few spoons of hot broth and add half the resulting paste to the pot. Simmer until the meat is well-cooked.
In a separate pot, boil spinach or pumpkin leaves for several minutes until tender. Drain and toss with the remainder of the peanut paste. Serve stew and greens side by side.
Recipe from The Africa News Cookbook, by the Africa News Service, Inc., 1985, p. 44
It finally makes sense to me. Jimmy Carter destroyed Rhodesia to eliminate competition in the peanut market. Thanks for giving me a clue to the explanation after 3 decades.
New Zimbabwe recipe
Mugabe stew
Take a pound of nothing and mix it with 2 tablespoons of nothing and add a pinch of nothing.
Dinner is served. Serves everyone in Zimbabwe except Mugabe and friends (who are probably eating foie gras and truffles)
Modified recipe.
Corn Meal with Pumpkin (Zimbabwean Nhopi 2007)
serves 1/4
Steal 1 tablespoon corn meal from neighbor. If not available, try using bark or weeds.
Sugar has been deleted from this recipe due to unavailability.
2 cups water, preferably from middle of puddle to minimize scum and mud
1 teaspoon peanut butter if available (may substitute dirt)
A piece of rotten pumpkin if you can find or steal it
Salt to taste
Secretly heat the water in the sun, and put in the corn meal, bark or weeds. Maintain a watch for starving people who may try to take your food by force.
Stir frequently, until it’s softened a bit. Don’t waste too much time on this. Someone may see you.
Next, stir in the rotten pumpkin bit, if you have it.
Then add the peanut butter (dirt) and salt. Combine all ingredients.
Drink any pumpkin water. Serve immediately with several blades of grass.
Sounds tasty. Will have to try them!