What to eat Botswana? culinary specialties and gastronomy

Despite arid climatic conditions over much of its territory, agriculture is still possible in Botswana, thanks in part to irrigation, especially in the slightly wetter north and southeast of the country. This does not prevent local markets from being overflowing with a wide variety of foods. Maize and sorghum are produced locally, while rice, wheat and potatoes are mostly imported. In addition, there are various varieties of legumes such as the famous cowpea beans, but also the ditloo or bambara bean, which is similar to the peanut, the morama bean with its brown seeds, and the letlhodi, better known to us as the cowpea asparagus or , a type of green bean that can grow to almost a metre long! As in many African countries, groundnuts or manoko are very popular.

Other locally grown vegetables are also found. These include sweet potatoes, cabbage, onions, spinach and carrots. Otherwise some species grow wild, available seasonally. These include okra or delele as well as dried bean leaves, which are also used in some recipes.

The meat is generally of very good quality. There is no shortage of livestock in this country and despite the dry climate, the vast savannahs and grasslands allow the animals to graze easily. Beef is one of the few major food products that is not imported. It is one of the most common ingredients in the local cuisine and is present on the plates of all families, even the poor. Chicken is its great rival, often roasted and marinated, or otherwise simmered. Botswana also produces its own mutton, lamb and goat meat, which Botswanans love. Although the country is predominantly Christian, pork is rarer, partly because the aridity is not conducive to raising pigs, and so pork is imported, mainly from South Africa. Although bush

meat has been an ancestral source of protein in the region for millennia, the country's strict policy towards hunting has made it less common than in the rest of Africa.

The locals eat another source of protein from a much smaller animal: the mopane worm. These are actually large black and white caterpillars from a moth. They are harvested from the trunks of mopane trees in southern Africa during the rainy season. After roasting and drying them, they are eaten as a small crispy biscuit. The tourist will taste them more for the adventure than for the culinary experience, as the taste of the mopane worm remains quite neutral.

The hot and dry climate of the country allows the drying of certain foods such as beef, cut into thin strips before being dried. This is also the case for cowpea bean leaves. Some maize pastes are pre-cooked and then dried for other uses. Madila is a kind of yoghurt, produced from fermented milk and rich in probiotics. Botswana women traditionally give it to their babies to relieve colic.

Among the most famous dishes in the country is seswaa, also known as chotlho or leswao (understand pounded beef). This meat dish is usually prepared by men for special occasions such as weddings and funerals. It is made by simmering the meat - either beef or goat - with salt for several hours until it melts. It is then crushed and finely shredded. Its melt-in-the-mouth texture and subtle flavour work well with mashed corn and boiled leafy vegetables. Another popular dish, serobe, is a stew of goat, mutton or beef intestines, simmered for a long time. Sometimes sheep or goat feet are added and poached in a broth. Alternatively, try mogatla, an oxtail stew with flour-based dumplings (matlebekwane) that cook directly in the sauce. As in the rest of southern Africa, braai is a separate event where various cuts of beef, pork or chicken are barbecued, not forgetting sausages. Although this type of meal is less common in Botswana than in South Africa, it is often offered on safari, especially in lodges. The meat is served with vetkoek

, a type of South African fried bread that is usually topped with meat.

Botswanans are also fond of various porridges made from maize, sorghum and other starchy foods, which are a cheap and easy source of food. The pap is a maize meal mash that is slow-cooked and requires some technique. This kind of robust polenta holds well in the body, but remains rather neutral in taste, which is why pap is usually accompanied by meat in sauce or even grilled. This is why it is often found on the table during braai. The word samp means dried and coarsely crushed corn seeds. They are boiled for a long time and sometimes mixed with beans to prepare dikgobe aka izinkobe

. It is a common dish for celebrations, both weddings and funerals.

Mabele is a sorghum flour used to make breakfast porridge. There is also bogobe jwa lerotse, also known as slap-pap. This sorghum porridge is sometimes considered the national rural dish of Botswana. Bogobe is a general term for any type of cereal mash - such as pap - and is characterized by a mild flavor. Here, the pulp of the lerotse melon, which might resemble a watermelon and whose slightly orange flesh gives the bogobe jwa lerotse

a delicate flavour and caramel colour, is added. However, the taste of this melon is closer to a cucumber than a cantaloupe. It is usually prepared for events such as weddings. Morogo wa dinawa is made from dried cowpea bean leaves that are then simmered for a long time with various condiments. It has been a major ingredient in Botswana cuisine for many centuries. More recently, wheat flour - mainly imported from South Africa - has been gradually integrated into the local gastronomy, allowing the preparation of breads and pastries. Indeed, thanks to tourism, which has become an important activity in recent years, more and more international cuisine, especially Western cuisine, is being enjoyed in the country. In the lodges or the big hotels in town, the menus are generally worthy of a French brasserie. Burgers, various cuts of beef, and a wide variety of vegetables are readily available. Western cuisine is becoming more and more sophisticated and the country can now boast a solid gastronomic foundation.

Botswanans are not necessarily fond of desserts. However, there are several types of porridge based on sorghum or maize fermented with milk and sugar called ting. Otherwise, we can also mention the diphaphatha, a kind of small bun in the shape of a puck, similar to English muffins, which are spread with butter and jam. Magwinya are simply sugar doughnuts.

If botanists are divided on the possible origins of the watermelon between the arid zones of the Sahara or southern Africa, one thing is sure, it is that this fruit is well native of Africa. In the Kalahari Desert, several species grow which have always been an important source of water for both humans and desert animals. Although they look very similar to a watermelon, their white to orange flesh is much firmer and more bitter than our cultivated version. These melons are usually called tsamma or lerotse, but this variety is known by the French name gigérine. Its astringent taste makes it rather unpleasant raw, but it is often prepared in pickles or jam. Traditionally, melon pulp was even mixed with fermented milk.

In addition to the mangoes, citrus fruits and papayas that are grown and consumed in the country, there is the marula. It is from this plant thatamarula, a delicious creamy liqueur, is made. It originated in South Africa, but is widely distributed in neighbouring countries such as Botswana. Legend has it that the idea to produce this alcohol came from the observation of animals that became drunk after eating too much marula fruit. Indeed, the very ripe and sugar-rich fruits would have started to ferment because of the heat. Its very sweet, caramel-like taste and its light alcohol content - only 17 degrees - make it very pleasant to drink as an aperitif.

The main alcoholic beverage in the country, however, is beer, and many varieties have been produced since time immemorial. Bojalwa ja Setswana is brewed from fermented sorghum seeds. Some beers are also made from millet or lebelebele. But it can also be brewed with maize. This is the case of chibuku, which is also brewed in other neighbouring countries such as Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Finally, khadi is made with the berries of the Grewia flava tree, a local tree whose slightly sour fruit is fermented to produce this cheap alcohol, which is very popular with the working classes.