Zambia

🇿🇲Zambia

African Mangosteen

Imbe

Imbe or African mangosteen; a wild fruit found in Zambia; small, round, and golden-orange; sweet and tangy; eaten fresh as a snack; foraged from the wild; a seasonal treat; the wild fruit of Zambia's forests; sold at rural markets when in season.

🇿🇲Zambia

African Polony

Chikanda

Zambian dish made from boiled root tubers of wild ground orchids; mixed with groundnut meal, baking soda, and spices; boiled into a slurry that thickens into a cake; texture resembles bologna; also called African polony; eaten as a snack, dessert, or accompaniment to nshima; traditionally associated with the Bemba tribe; served at weddings and special occasions; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try.

🇿🇲Zambia

Amaranth Greens

Bondwe

Zambian dish of amaranth greens, also called African spinach; cooked with tomatoes, onions, and groundnuts; a key ingredient in ifisashi; a nutritious leafy relish served with nshima; foraged wild or grown in gardens; one of the most common vegetable relishes in Zambia; earthy and slightly bitter.

🇿🇲Zambia

Ash Water

Chidulo

Traditional Zambian ingredient made from burnt dry banana leaves, bean stalks, or maize stalks; ashes collected, added to water, and strained; the resulting liquid tastes like vinegar; used in dishes with green leafy vegetables and wild mushrooms; a unique cooking technique; combined with kutendela (groundnut powder) for relishes.

🇿🇲Zambia

Banana Stew

Chikwamba

Zambian dish of green bananas cooked in coconut or peanut sauce; a vegetarian relish served with nshima; green bananas used as a starchy vegetable; a unique way to use unripe bananas; earthy and filling; a regional specialty; the banana stew of Zambia.

🇨🇩DR Congo

Bean Stew

Madesu

A Congolese bean stew; listed in Wikipedia's Congolese cuisine; beans are slow-cooked with onions, tomatoes, palm oil, and spices; a vegetarian-friendly dish that is naturally gluten-free; a staple for many Congolese families; served with rice, fufu, or chikwangue; the bean stew of the Congo; a hearty, nutritious, and affordable dish.

🇿🇲Zambia

Bean Stew

Umushibwamosa

Zambian bean stew; beans slow-cooked with onions, tomatoes, and spices; a protein-rich relish served with nshima; a staple when meat is scarce; hearty and filling; one of the many bean dishes of Zambia; the bean stew that feeds families; inexpensive and nutritious.

🇿🇼Zimbabwe

Bota

Thin maize or millet porridge cooked for breakfast and flavoured with peanut butter, milk, sugar or a knob of butter.

🇿🇲Zambia

Cassava Leaves

Katapa

Zambian cassava leaves recipe; cassava leaves pounded and cooked with spices and condiments; takes time to prepare but has a fantastic flavor; a popular relish served with nshima; similar to pondu in DRC and cassava leaf dishes across Central Africa; a nutritious vegetable dish; earthy and rich.

🇿🇲Zambia

Cassava with Groundnuts

Tute Ne Mbalala

Popular Zambian snack of cassava and groundnuts; cassava soaked in water until soft, then roasted and mixed with groundnuts; smoky and nutty; a grab-and-go bite; roasted in some locales and fried in others; a street food that showcases Zambia's cassava crop; filling and inexpensive.

🇧🇼Botswana

Chibuku

Opaque sorghum and maize beer brewed commercially and sold still fermenting in cartons and plastic Scuds that must be shaken before opening.

🇨🇩DR Congo

Chikwangue

Kwanga

A fermented cassava bread wrapped in marantaceae leaves and steamed; the cassava is soaked in water for up to fourteen days, then pounded into a paste and wrapped in leaves for steaming; dense, slightly sour, and incredibly filling; commercially produced throughout the country; a staple across Central Africa; darker in some parts, nearly white in others; eaten with all kinds of sauces and fish.

🇨🇩DR Congo

Congolese Dough Balls

Mikate

Deep-fried dough balls, crispy on the outside and fluffy inside; a popular Congolese street food and snack; often served with a side of peanut sauce for a sweet and savory kick; listed in Wikipedia's Congolese cuisine; similar to puff-puff across West Africa; found at street stalls and markets across Kinshasa; the beloved fried treat of the Congo.

🇨🇩DR Congo

Congolese Fufu

Fufu

The staple food of the Congo — a smooth, dense, slightly elastic dough made from cassava flour, corn flour, or sometimes plantains; rolled into golf-ball-sized balls and dipped into stews; the proper way to eat it is to pinch off a piece with the right hand, indent with the thumb, and scoop up sauce; present on all Congolese tables from north to south; the universal accompaniment.

🇨🇩DR Congo

Congolese Palm Wine

Malafu

Palm wine made from the sap of a wild palm tree, fermented by natural yeasts; has an alcohol content of between five and seven percent; listed in Wikipedia's Congolese cuisine; a traditional beverage across Central Africa; the sap is collected from cut palm flower stems and ferments naturally; a refreshing, slightly sweet drink; the traditional alcohol of the Congo.

🇿🇼Zimbabwe

Cowpea Leaves

Muriwo wenyemba

Young cowpea leaves boiled with bicarbonate of soda to soften them and finished with peanut butter or tomato.

🇿🇲Zambia

Delele

Zambian okra dish; fresh okra cooked in water with sliced tomatoes; bicarbonate of soda added for a distinctive thick, glutinous texture; a simple relish served with nshima; the term delele denotes both the vegetable and the dish; shared with Botswana; a beloved vegetable relish across Zambia.

🇿🇼Zimbabwe

Dovi

Chicken or beef stewed with onion, tomato and a heavy addition of peanut butter into a thick russet stew, sometimes with greens and okra stirred in.

🇨🇩DR Congo

Dried Small Fish

Ndakala

Small dried fish, nicknamed '1000 poisons'; a key ingredient in Congolese cuisine; fried in oil with chili and savored with fufu or chikwangue; mixed with vegetables and bathed in tomato sauce; added to pondu for umami depth; a preserved fish that extends the shelf life of river catch; found at every market; the fish that flavors Congolese stews.

🇿🇲Zambia

Flying Ants

Inswa

Flying ants collected after the rains; wings pulled off and bodies fried in oil; rich in protein; eaten as a snack or served as a side dish with nshima; a seasonal delicacy; crispy and nutty; a traditional food that marks the rainy season; a Zambian treasure.

🇨🇩DR Congo

Fried Plantains

Makemba

Fried plantains, a popular street food and side dish across the Congo; ripe plantains sliced and fried golden; eaten as a side or a snack; turn up alongside just about everything; in Congo's largest cities, fried plantains have become a popular fast food item, even overshadowing French fries; a simple, beloved staple.

🇨🇩DR Congo

Fumbwa

A vegetable dish made from the leaves of Gnetum africanum (African spinach); the leaves are rolled into a bundle and cut into thin strips, giving them a filament appearance; usually prepared with spices and peanuts; a specialty of the western provinces of DRC; also known as okok in Cameroon; a nutritious, earthy vegetable dish; served with fufu or chikwangue.

🇿🇲Zambia

Ginger Beer

Impanepani

Traditional Zambian ginger beer; spicy, warming, and refreshing; made from fresh ginger root, water, and sugar; served cold; a popular homemade drink; the spicy alternative to maize-based drinks; wakes up the taste buds; found at markets and gatherings.

🇿🇲Zambia

Groundnut Powder

Kutendela

Prepared groundnut powder made of pounded raw peanuts; added to chidulo sauce in Zambian cooking; used with green leafy vegetables and wild mushrooms; a traditional seasoning technique; the combination of chidulo and kutendela is a unique Zambian flavor profile; nutty and earthy.

🇿🇲Zambia

Ifinkubala

Ifishimu

Mopane worms or caterpillars of the emperor moth; called ifinkubala in Bemba and vinkubala in Chinyanja; probably originated among the Bemba tribe in northern Zambia; fried until crispy or boiled then fried; served with tomatoes and onion alongside nshima; a protein-rich snack or relish; also dried and powdered into seasoning; a Zambian delicacy.

🇿🇲Zambia

Ifisashi

Traditional Zambian vegetable stew made with leafy greens and groundnut (peanut) sauce; greens include pumpkin leaves, sweet potato leaves, spinach, kale, and amaranth; groundnuts are pounded and added to create a creamy, nutty richness; tomatoes, onions, and chili often added; vegetarian but meat can be included; served with nshima; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try.

🇿🇲Zambia

Kapenta

Small sardine-type fish from Lake Tanganyika and Lake Kariba; caught in nets, salted, and sun-dried on racks; a very important food and income source for many Zambians; fried until crispy or stewed with onions, tomatoes, and chili; salty, intense, and flavorful; served with nshima; a TasteAtlas-listed must-try.

🇲🇼Malawi

Kapenta

Matemba

Small freshwater sardines netted at night on Lake Kariba under lamps, sun-dried on racks and then fried with tomato and onion.

🇿🇼Zimbabwe

Madora

Amacimbi

Mopane caterpillars gutted, boiled in salt water and sun-dried, then fried with onion and tomato or eaten dry as a snack.

🇿🇦South Africa

Mageu (Mahewu)

Mageu

A traditional South African fermented maize-meal drink, sweet and tangy

🇿🇼Zimbabwe

Maguru

Cow tripe boiled for hours until it loses its chew, then stewed with onion and tomato — a cheap, slow, much-loved plate.

🇹🇿Tanzania

Maharage ya Nazi

Red kidney beans stewed in coconut milk with onion, tomato and curry powder.

🇿🇼Zimbabwe

Maputi

Whole dried maize kernels popped in a dry pot or roasted in sand until they burst and go crunchy, salted and sold in bags.

🇿🇼Zimbabwe

Mazondo

Cow trotters simmered until the tendons turn to gelatine and the sauce goes sticky, eaten with sadza and a lot of napkins.

🇹🇿Tanzania

Mchicha

Amaranth leaves cooked down with onion, tomato, coconut milk and often groundnut paste.

🇿🇼Zimbabwe

Muboora

Young pumpkin leaves and their shoots stripped of their fibrous skin, boiled and finished with peanut butter or tomato.