A traditional Zambian meal at Zungulila

Over the weekend past I covered at Zungulila with the wonderful team there. Their kitchen creators are Joseph and Thomas and they were very happy for me to do a Bushcamp feature on them. It just so happened that one of the days I was there the guests asked to try some traditional local food and so the team prepared some examples of what they might typically eat for brunch. Before I give you some tips on how to re-create a Zambian menu, first let me introduce you to the Zunga chefs, Joseph on the left and Thomas on the right.

So lets give you a bit of background on the traditional foods here in Zambia. Nsima is the main staple of not just Zambia, but Africa as a whole. It is a mealy meal base which when added to water and boiled in a big pot over a hot fire for approximately thirty minutes becomes a solid consistency. (When preparing Nsima, don't be afraid to stir, a lot, with a big wooden spoon!) People often liken it to polenta. 

To go with it the guys will have relish. Relish is anything that comes as a side dish to the Nsima. Now typically they would only have one relish to go with their Nsima, but Joseph and Thomas thought this would be a bit mean on the poor guests, so instead they offered a variety of examples for the guests to try. The first dish on the menu, fried Kapenta. 

To re-create this you would need:

1kg Kapenta

1 onion

1 tblsp oil

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

For those of you who cant tell what Kapenta are from my extremely amateur photo, they are in fact tiny little fish. First things first you will need to rinse the Kapenta. Then fry the fish in the oil. Next you add a chopped onion to the frying fish, and let this cook for fifteen minutes. Easy! And very tasty!

Boiled bream in tomato sauce. 

1kg fish

1 onion

2 tomatoes

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

Chop the onion and tomatoes and put them in a pot. In a separate pot add a tblsp of oil, 1 cup of water and then boil the fish fillets. When they are done add to the onion and tomato. Season with salt and pepper, and leave on the heat for fifteen minutes.

Beef stew. 

1kg sirloin steak

2 potatoes

2 carrots

1 onion

2 tomatoes

1 cup red wine

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

Chop up the sirloin steak and onions and fry them off together. When brown, add chopped tomatoes and a little bit of water and wait until it boils. After five minutes add potato and carrot, and one cup of red wine. Stew for thirty minutes.

Bean stew.

1 cup of beans

1 onion

1 tin tomato paste

1 tblsp oil

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

Boil a cup of water and add the dried beans. Leave for thirty minutes, until the beans are completely soft. Then add tomato paste, salt and pepper, and a tblsp of oil. Cook until they are tender. 

I asked the guys what type of beans they were, and they told me they were just beans. They explained that in Bemba they called these beans chilemba, and in Tumbuka they call the beans nchunga. But if you asked for beans in Zambia everyone knows what you are talking about. Not so helpful if your looking for them in Tesco's, my recommendation would be to use kidney beans as a substitute.

Rape and peanut.

(Rape is oil seed rape, a brassica - like spring greens)

2 bundles of rape

1 cup of ground nuts

1 onion

Pinch of salt

Pinch of pepper

Chop the rape and the onion. Bring a cup of water in a pot to the boil. Put the rape in the boiling water. Take the rape out of the water, and put the ground peanuts in the pot and add another cup of water. Stir all the while. Then add the rape to the peanuts. Season with salt and pepper. Keep stirring until it becomes thick.

Fried cabbage. 

1/2 green cabbage 

2 tomatoes

1 onion

1 tblsp oil

Pinch of salt 

Pinch of pepper

Put the tblsp of oil in a pan. Chop the onion, tomatoes and slice the cabbage. Fry the onion, and then add the cabbage and tomato. Salt and pepper. Leave for five minutes until cooked.

When plating up, make sure that the Nsima is separate from the relishes, like Adrian and Vicky are doing in the picture below.

These relishes are all enjoyed using the Nsima as essentially an edible spoon. You need to roll the Nsima into a ball, using your thumb to make an indentation and scooping up the tasty dishes. If your Nsima has relish already on it this makes rolling it a tad tricky. Either way, the best way to enjoy this meal is using your hands! As demonstrated by Vickie and Michek.

You are now fully equipped to lay on a Zambian dinner party for your family and friends, as directed by Joseph and Thomas, two very experienced Zambian's! However, the beautiful views of the Kapamba river and the surrounding Miomba habitat make the meal even more tasty. Sadly I won't be able to give you the recipe for these!