What to eat Zambia? culinary specialties and gastronomy

Vegetables are an important part of the local cuisine. If we easily recognize tomatoes, onions, sweet potatoes, squash, peanuts or manioc, other vegetables can surprise us. These include many leafy vegetables that are rarely found in Europe, such as squash(chibwabwa), cassava(katapa), amaranth(bondwe), bitter African eggplant(impwa) and hibiscus(lumanda) leaves.Okra, better known in the West as okra, is a soft, gelatinous vegetable that resembles a zucchini and is about the size of a large pepper. Its viscous juice is very popular for thickening sauces.

Offered in salads or as a snack, you can also try chikanda, an orchid tuber sprinkled with peanuts and chilies. Maize is also a staple of Zambian cuisine and can be coarsely ground: samp. Maize is also ground into a fine semolina. Among the meats, chicken andguinea fowl are the most common. The many lakes and rivers of Zambia are full of fish: bream, ndombi (catfish), mpasa, kapenta (a kind of sardine, fried or dried). Grilled mopane(ifinkubala) caterpillars are very popular, but other insects such as bugs are also eaten. Finally, Zambia has many tropical fruits: oranges, lemons, avocados, watermelons, mangoes, bananas, pineapples... while the Zambian bush is full of a hundred different berries and wild fruits.

Of course, your meals will be different depending on whether you are traveling in a group, stopping at the high-end lodges and hotels, or independently. In the higher-end establishments, the cuisine is very westernized and often worthy of gourmet restaurants. Tastings of Zambian dishes may be offered. If you organize your own safaris, you will find most of the products you need to prepare your meals in the supermarkets in the towns and on the market stalls. In town, there are many small local restaurants where you can enjoy authentic traditional cuisine. You can also find, especially in Lusaka and Livingstone, tourist establishments with a Western menu, as well as good Indian restaurants.

The Zambian food ritual is identical to Europe with three daily meals: breakfast early in the morning, lunch around 12:00 and dinner around 19:00. Only the most exclusive restaurants in the capital will serve you until 10 pm. Prices range from a few euros for a chicken and nsima dish in the markets and in local establishments, to European capital prices for the best restaurants.

Nsima is a staple of every meal in Zambia. This maize flour-based dough - mixed in boiling water - has a similar appearance to Italian polenta, but thinner and whiter. It is also found in Malawi and under other names in neighboring countries: bogobe in Botswana, salsa in Zimbabwe, ugali in Congo. In Zambian villages, one can still observe the locals pounding the dried corn cobs in high mortars. The resulting fine flour is then stirred with boiled water until a thick paste is obtained. Nsima can be eaten slightly sweetened with milk for breakfast.

In rural areas where there is no automatic access to electricity, villagers cook outside over wood fires. Before eating, all family members wash their hands in a small basin, first the father, then the mother and the children. This ritual is also practiced in local restaurants where, even if you are offered a fork, Zambians will appreciate that you eat their way. The nsima is taken in small handfuls and then kneaded in the hand until it forms a compact ball. It is then used like a piece of bread to scoop out the various accompaniments.

The " relish " or stews used to accompany nsima are varied: chicken, fish or vegetables (spinach, eggplant leaves, okra). Vegetable stews are called " delele " in southern Africa and okra delele is often found. For example, chibwabwa contains pumpkin leaves, tomato, onion, etc.; as does katapa (cassava leaves); or kalembula (sweet potato leaves), etc.Ifisashi is another common food in Zambia. It is a type of stew, made with various greens and peanuts and served with nshima or - alternatively - millet, sorghum, rice, cassava or yam. Traditionally,ifisashi can be vegetarian but sometimes meat is added.

As in many African countries, dried fish is commonly used to flavor dishes in sauce. Imintesa is a type of dried fish that is cooked with tomato and onion. The term " michopo " refers to various types of grilled meats, sometimes in the form of skewers, which are commonly found on market stalls. Finally, chikanda is a type of very dense bread made of mashed chikanda tuber, bound with peanut butter and flavored with chopped onion. It is called " African polony ", a distortion of the word " bologna " (mortadella) for its meatloaf-like appearance, although chikanda is entirely vegetarian. In Bemba cuisine, the dish is crucial for special occasions such as weddings. Zambians usually serve this dish as a snack.

There are few traditional desserts in Zambia, but golabjamoun, sweet potato fritters, and vitumbuwa or ifitumbuwa, classic sugar fritters, are notable. As a former British colony, Zambia is necessarily accustomed to drinking tea. However, like coffee, it is mostly served in tea bags, much to the dismay of tea lovers. However, the lodges and tourist establishments offer very good coffee, especially since Zambia is a coffee producing country. Mineral water and soft drinks are available everywhere and more and more establishments are offering delicious fresh fruit juices. Please note: even if some hotels are equipped with filtration systems, tap water is often undrinkable.

Among the beers sold, you will find Mosi Lager (from the African name of Victoria Falls, Mosi-O-Tunya) and Rhino Lager. Zambians also love chibuku, a thick beer made from maize or sorghum sold in one-liter bricks. Finally, many villages make their own beer. Amarula, a liqueur made in South Africa from the fruit of the marula tree, is very popular and tastes like Baileys. South African wine can also be found in supermarkets, while in the spirits sector, due to the English influence, gin has pride of place.