Sadza is a cornmeal porridge that is a dietary staple for Zimbabweans. It’s known by different names in different parts of Africa such as ugali, mieliepap, nshima or sima.
Ingredients
Method
To make the stew:
- Wash and sort the beans, discarding any shrivelled or broken ones.
- Soak the beans for 8–12 hours or overnight in cold water three times their volume.
- Once soaked, drain and rinse the beans and place in a large saucepan. Add cold water to come an inch above the level of the beans.
- Bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 10m. Lower the heat and simmer for 60–90m until beans are tender. Use a ladle to remove any foam when the beans are boiling.
- In a large frying pan, sauté the onions. Next add the curry powder, black pepper and chillies. Add the tinned tomatoes and mix well. Bring the mixture to the boil then let it simmer for 30m.
- Finally add the diced peppers, spring onions and cooked beans to the mixture. Cook for another 10m and serve with the sadza.
To make the sadza:
- Put 200g mealie meal in a medium pot. Add enough water to cover.
- Place saucepan over a medium heat, stir continuously and add more water if required.
- As the mixture heats up, the texture changes from rough to smooth. Continue to add water to loosen the mixture. It should start to look like porridge. If it’s too thin add more mealie meal.
- Allow the mixture to simmer on a medium heat for 5 more minutes. Gradually add more mealie meal until it resembles mash potato. Be careful not to make it too thick as it will become too hard.
- Once the sadza reaches the desired texture and is well mixed, turn the heat off and let it sit for a few minutes before serving.
Reproduced from the Flavours of Africa Cookbook produced by Manchester Public Health Development Service.
