What to eat Mozambique? culinary specialties and gastronomy

Some of the earliest inhabitants of present-day Mozambique were small groups of hunter-gatherers, often called Bushmen. These nomadic groups traveled from place to place in search of wild fruits, vegetables, roots and other grains. To supplement their diet, the groups also followed herds of wild animals such as impala, hunting them with bows and arrows. Bushmeat (gazelle, warthog, monkeys, snakes, etc.) is still prized in rural parts of the country. Agriculture was not developed until the ^4th century, when Bantu-speaking Africans introduced modern farming practices to the region.

Arab traders, arriving on sailing ships called dhows, set up some of the first trading posts in the ^8th century. They introduced to East Africa new ingredients such as spices from Asia, as well as new preservation techniques, such as salting meat and fish, then unknown in the region. Throughout the Middle Ages, both before and during the European presence in the region, numerous Somali, Indian, Persian, Ottoman and Arab Muslim merchants traded along the East African coast. In 1498, the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama landed in Mozambique on his voyage to India, quickly establishing port areas and introducing foodstuffs and customs into Mozambican culture.

Dominating the region for almost five hundred years, the Portuguese had a considerable impact on Mozambique's cuisine. Firstly, the European navigators introduced many plants from America to the Old World. This brought to Africa products that would revolutionize local cuisine: corn, chillies, tomatoes, potatoes, pineapples, peanuts, cashew nuts, papaya, not to mention sugar cane from South Asia. Seasonings such as onions, bay leaves, garlic, fresh coriander, paprika, chili peppers and wine were imported by the Portuguese.Espetada (kebabs), pudim (pudding) and the popular inteiro com piripiri (whole chicken with piri-piri sauce) are all Portuguese dishes commonly eaten in Mozambique. As a result, many Mozambican specialties are also found in the rest of the Portuguese-speaking world, including Brazil, Angola and, of course, Portugal.

Although Mozambique suffered a ferocious civil war until the 1990s, the country is still in full development, with no shortage of restaurants where you can eat well (or very well) without spending a fortune. In Maputo, you'll find absolutely everything, with some products imported from South Africa. Elsewhere, in the more remote regions, the choice will be more limited, but you'll always have the essentials, and if you like fish and chicken, you'll have no problem satiating yourself, as these two foods are so much a part of East African cuisine.

When you travel around the country, and especially if you use public transport, you'll manage to eat very cheaply on the street. At every chapa and bus stop, vendors rush to offer a diet of bananas, dried cakes or drinks kept chilled in the cooler. At the first chapa stop, before 7 a.m., you'll have a choice of cookies, homemade cakes or doughnuts. In the morning, it's usually fruit and vegetable vendors offering their wares, and around midday, grilled chicken and prego sandwiches.

Among the basics of Mozambican cuisine, it's impossible to overlook condiments, and if there's one that can't be ignored, it's piri-piri. This tiny but fearsome pepper comes from the malagueta variety, which the Portuguese imported to East Africa. By extension, the term piri-piri often refers to the sauce made with these peppers, which is so popular in Mozambique and neighboring countries that the South African fast-food chain Nando's specializes exclusively in piri-piri-flavored dishes. They come in different intensities, so be careful when ordering Mozambican in a restaurant, as the sauce can range from mild to very strong.

Portuguese influences don't stop there. Usually shortened to pão, pãozinho is a bread that has become a staple food, from the busiest towns to the most remote villages. Bakers are taught the art of making perfect bread from an early age. Baked in a wood-fired oven and sprinkled with just a touch of flour, pão is incredibly light and fluffy. It's also cheap, hearty and delicious - especially if you wake up early enough to buy them while they're still warm. They can be eaten on their own or as an accompaniment to any meal. They are also used to make tasty prego sandwiches, generously topped with steaks marinated in piri-piri. Other snacks include chamussas, an obvious distortion of the Indian word samoussa. Indeed, the links between India and East Africa before or during Portuguese colonization have strongly influenced the region's cuisine.

As in many African countries, chicken is by far the most popular meat. It is used in a large number of recipes, such as caril de amendoim, a dish typical of Mozambican cuisine, particularly in the south of the country, in the provinces of Maputo, Gaza and Inhambane. It is generally prepared with chicken, more rarely beef, and garnished with vegetables and dried shrimps. The recipe is rounded off with crushed peanuts, onions and grated coconut (particularly in Inhambane province). Another stew, frango com mandioca, combines chicken and manioc, cooked to perfection and deliciously melt-in-your-mouth. Simpler, but just as succulent, frango a Cafreal is a recipe for grilled chicken with chilli, garlic and lime juice. Other meat-based recipes include caldeirada de cabrito, a goat-meat stew with peppers, tomatoes, onion and, of course, chilli. There are also mixed land-sea dishes such as feijoada a moda do Ibo, a recipe reminiscent of the Brazilian feijoada, prepared with black beans, sausage and smoked pork. Here, the meat is replaced by poultry and shrimp, but the bean base is still present, in this case white beans.

With some 2,500 km of coastline teeming with fish, Mozambican cuisine has no shortage of fish and seafood. A source of income for families and protein for the body, seafood is an ideal complement to the local diet. The strong smells of dried fish will undoubtedly accompany you on your travels through the fishing villages. The northern coasts are renowned for their large-scale production of dried fish.

Rissóis de camarão are an excellent example of how Portuguese cuisine has taken root in Mozambican culture. A popular aperitif or snack in both countries, these crescent-shaped croquettes contain a creamy shrimp sauce which, depending on the recipe, may also include spices or piri-piri. The mixture is used to fill small disks of dough, which are folded into ravioli shapes, then breaded and deep-fried. Rissois de camarão can be eaten hot or at room temperature. Other dishes include the very simple camarões fritos, huge grilled prawns flavoured with garlic and chilli, and caril de camarão em ananás, a creamy coconut milk curry with prawns and pineapple. Finally, matapa de abóbora is a surprising stew of finely chopped squash leaves and shrimp. It is sometimes prepared with young manioc leaves pounded with garlic and manioc flour, and cooked with crab(caranguejo). Indeed, crab is also very popular. One example is guisado de caranguejo, a crab stew spiced with coriander and tomato. Caranguejos a Sofala refer to the Sofala region in the north of the country, where crabs are grilled with a light chilli and garlic sauce. Caril de caranguejo a moçambicana is a rich crab curry with coconut milk. Finally, of course, there are other popular seafoods such as clams, which are combined with coconut milk in a recipe called amêijoas com leite de coco.

Of course, vegetables and cereals play a vital role in everyday meals. Millet flour can be found in every market. The pestle and pot are still in use in every rural family. The flour, mixed with water, requires a fairly long cooking time; the resulting white paste is called upshwa or xima. This preparation can also be made with cassava. Manioc(mandioca in Portuguese) is commonly used in the same way as millet, certainly more so. Crushed and cooked with water, it is eaten on its own in the poorest families, or with fish and tomato sauce in wealthier families. While chima is of little interest on its own, it is well worth tasting as an accompaniment to meat in sauce. Last but not least, rice is a more luxurious foodstuff, requiring extensive irrigation. It is grown in the wetter north of Mozambique, mainly in the Zambezi Valley and in marshy areas. Accompanied by potatoes and meat, it's the richest dish you can find in rural areas. More bizarrely, arroz de coco e papaya is a recipe for rice cooked with coconut milk and garnished with papaya cubes, which is not in itself a dessert despite its composition.

As far as beverages are concerned, the country offers several brands of beer (2M, Laurentina and Manica), all of which are of good quality. For those who appreciate dark beer, Laurentina is highly recommended, although it is systematically served iced rather than chilled. Cerveza de Moçambique remains the country's largest beverage distributor, with the famous local Mac Mahon beer on display in bars and pubs throughout the country. Mozambique also produces amber rum called Tipo Tinto. It is used to make a cocktail called R&R - meaning rum and raspberry - based on raspberry soda from the Sparletta Sparberry brand, originally from South Africa.

While Mozambique is far from being a major coffee producer - partly due to the civil war that caused many crops to be abandoned or destroyed - it is interesting to note that the country grows its own coffee known by the Latin name Coffea racemosa. This often semi-wild plant from southern Africa is used as a substitute for the robusta and arabica usually sold on the market. Unlike other coffee species, it pays little attention to soil quality or humidity, and has a very low caffeine content.

While there isn't necessarily a huge diversity of pastries, there are some very gourmet specialties, such as the national dessert, bolo polana, often served on special occasions. It's made with mashed potatoes and powdered cashew nuts, creating a particularly moist texture and rich taste with a hint of lemon zest and vanilla. Cashew nuts are an important ingredient in the country. Indeed, until the 1970s, Mozambique was the world's largest cashew nut producer, supplying around half the world's production. The bolo polana is a delicious reminder of this heritage. The simpler bolo catembe gets its smoothness from the syrup with which it is generously soaked. Finally, bolo de mandioca is a dense manioc cake, akin to a flan.