Nshima (and other Zambian delights)

One of the most important (and fun) parts of getting to know a country is getting to know its food. And most countries are inextricably linked to their main cuisine. Think pasta in Italy, tapas in Spain, steak in Argentina, chicken tikka massala in the UK... (-; 


During my travels I've discovered time and time again that when you "eat local" the food is fresher, cheaper and more accessible. In Sierra Leone, that meant plantain, rice and cassave leaves (aka green sludge), regularly supplemented by tabbouleh and falafel thanks to the enormous Lebanese community. Tanzania was fish, fish and more fish. In South Africa it was easy to cheat with Nando's and KFC just round the corner from the office (although I did try Xhosa food too). And in Zambia its all about the Nshima.

Nshima with chicken and cabbage

Nshima is made with maize flour (aka mealie-meal) which is made into a kind of stodgy porridge. Although I've tried it a couple of times I've now reverted to very boring home-made sandwiches with my trusty marmite because a) if I ate it at lunchtime I'd want a long afternoon nap and b) I might have to dodge some pretty awkward "baby bump" questions when I get home, after developing a bit of an "nshima baby" look.


I have, however, been experimenting with the stuff to see if there's other things you can do with it other than induce naps and grow nshima babies. This weekend I had a go at making sweet nshima balls - fried and rolled in honey then dessicated coconut and mixed spices. I was quite proud of myself and the neighbours seemed to like them, but when I passed them round the office during our Monday morning meeting I got the impression that experimenting with nshima is not be encouraged and what starts as a savoury staple should remain a savoury staple!

Experimenting with sweet nshima balls

Other staples here include the cassava plant (possibly the same plant that's leaves are used to make green sludge in Sierra Leone?) and kapenta fish which bring back pleasant memories of Zimbabwe but really makes me want to gag when it's cooking in the office kitchen!)

Cassava

Kapenta fish

Shopping for food is pretty easy especially as the main market is on my cycle route home. The same rules of "eat local and in season" apply and as long as you're not looking for something obscure like coriander (I've never seem so many puzzled faces!) then you can get loads of great stuff. Big juicy tomatoes and HUGE avocados are particularly good so my lycopene and "good fat" levels must be as high as my potassium levels were in Sierra Leone when I was eating so many bananas. There's also a big Shop-rite supermarket (a South African chain) so it's easy to stock up on things you can't find at the market too.

My house-mate Mike trying to get a good price on ground nuts

Zambia also seems to be a place for "alternative" herbs and remedies. The ones below made me laugh in particular. But I'm still looking for my coriander....!