History and characteristic products
The oldest human presence in Namibia dates back more than 25,000 years, and the country has always been a patchwork of different tribes who, over the millennia, have developed various specialties blending local Southern African products with ingredients gradually imported by European settlers. Among the Ovambo, who account for almost half of Namibia's population, the daily dish is maize or millet porridge, served with pieces of meat or freshwater fish. The Ovambo also make soup from millet.
The Himba, a pastoral people, like to consume dairy products (curdled milk transported in calabashes and butter), whereas the former hunter-gatherer peoples (Bergdamara, San, etc.) have a more diversified diet containing dairy products.) have a more diversified diet, containing until recently many foods found directly in the deserts and savannahs (tubers, wild onions, nuts, berries, game, ostrich eggs), although many are increasingly consuming grocery products (packet soup, corn flour, etc.).
Some of these foods may seem a little disconcerting, like the mopane worm. This large caterpillar comes from a species of butterfly found in southern Africa. Smoked, dried or in sauce, they are traditionally considered a delicacy for many communities in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa. While these mopane worms or omagungu may not be to the taste of our Western palates, they are nevertheless a precious food in Southern Africa, as they are very rich in protein, iron and calcium. Perfect for a hypernutritious meal, provided you get over the psychological barrier. You'll find them in markets and sometimes in traditional restaurants.
Namibia was colonized by the German Empire between 1884 and 1915. Although the colonial presence was very limited and focused on a few coastal towns, the German influence can be seen in certain recipes, notably the tasty desserts still found in the country. Between 1915 and 1990, South Africa controlled the country, which explains why many Afrikaner specialties are eaten.
Meat is usually accompanied by vegetables such as white or green beans, squash and spinach, not forgetting gem squash, a small round squash stuffed with a knob of butter or cheese before being cooked over a wood fire in aluminum foil. The quality of Namibian meats is excellent. Game, cooked as steak, in sauce in the potjie (traditional cast-iron pot), over a wood fire or grilled on the braai (barbecue), is frequently offered in guest farms and lodges. Unlike the bushmeat of some African countries, the game offered in Namibia is much more strictly traceable, and the meat on offer is often farm-raised. In all cases, the animals hunted are not endangered species. The cold waters off Namibia's coast abound with fish and seafood, including excellent lobster.
Local restaurants often serve rich, under-seasoned food, but upscale lodges have made great efforts in recent years to improve the quality of their cuisine, offering dishes with a Mediterranean flavour that showcases the country's excellent produce.
The classics of Namibian cuisine
The Namibian breakfast is based on the basics of an Anglo-Saxon breakfast (eggs fried, scrambled, with bacon, white beans, etc.), to which are added cold meats, cheese, fruit, yoghurt, cereals and a multitude of rolls with jam, butter or honey, as in Germany. Eggs are sometimes served with grilled sausages of Afrikaner origin.
These sausages, called boerewors - which can be translated as "farm sausage" - are mainly made with ground beef, vinegar and various spices (coriander seeds, nutmeg, cumin, etc.). There are also variations with lamb or pork. They are served with roosterkoek, brioche rolls baked on the barbecue, and potato salad. Indeed, the barbecue or braai is a precious moment in the life of Namibians and a common event on weekends with family and friends. Kapana is a specialty of beef cubes grilled with kapana spices (a mixture of fennel seeds, coriander, garlic, turmeric, nutmeg, etc.) and chilli. It's a snack prepared and served directly on the grill, very common on Windhoek markets, often accompanied by a "salsa" of raw tomato and onion. Finally, biltong is a preparation of beef, ostrich or game marinated in salt, vinegar and spices, hung and air-dried for several weeks. This snack of Afrikaner origin was highly prized by farmers, shepherds and explorers for its long shelf life, and is still a popular snack today.
Matangara is the local name for tripe, usually cow or goat tripe. They are cooked in a rich broth with vegetables and condiments. It's a common dish in Namibian restaurants. Tripe is also sometimes used to make potjiekos (pronounced "poi-key-kos"), a stew widely eaten in Namibia. Made with game meat, poultry or lamb and a variety of vegetables, this dish is cooked over a wood fire in a three-legged cast-iron pot called a potjie. Marathon chicken takes its name from the race of the same name. Indeed, Namibian chickens often live in the wild, and it's usually necessary to run after them to capture them. This dish, consisting of a whole chicken simmered for a long time with mild spices, is normally prepared on special occasions.
Although Namibia's coastal waters are rich in fish, strong currents do not make fishing easy with small boats, and seafood consumption is a fairly recent trend. However, freshwater fish have been caught for millennia in the rivers of the north and south of the country. One example is the Zambezi bream or kariba bream, which is grilled and served with steamed corn and spinach.
Vegetable and cereal-based dishes are not to be forgotten. Mealie meal or corn porridge is the daily dish par excellence, and can be found at breakfast or as a side dish throughout the day. Oshithima or millet porridge is a popular food in Oshiwambo culture. Umboga is a stew made from wild spinach or Cleome gynandra, a plant more closely related to capers than spinach. The leaves are boiled, then dried and cooked with tomatoes, onions and chilli. Alternatively, oshigali is a white bean purée cooked over a fire until soft enough to mash. Millet is also found in oshikwiila, thick little cakes eaten for breakfast and snacks. From South Africa, oukuki, or vetkoek in Afrikaans, are small ball-shaped doughnuts usually served with soup, dried meat or tripe. Very soft, they are also eaten as a snack with a spicy tomato sauce.
Desserts and drinks
Traditionally, the notion of desserts and sweets was not necessarily present in the country's tribal societies, but the German settlers were able to export their pastries, not forgetting the influence of the Afrikaners who also popularized desserts from South Africa.
There are many tearooms and pastry shops where you can enjoy schwarzwälder kirschtorte (black forest), apfelstrudel (apple strudel), bienenstich (honeycomb cake with almonds and vanilla cream), sachertorte (chocolate cake with apricot jam and chocolate icing), Linzer augen (raspberry jam lunettes cookies), and a host of other cakes, pastries and cookies. The bread is also excellent.
With both a German and South African - and therefore Anglo-Saxon - background, coffee and tea play an important role in Namibian daily life. Coffee is of a very respectable quality and tea, usually served with a splash of milk, is sometimes replaced by South African rooibos, which contains no theine. Cool drinks include the delicious sabdariffa juice, made from wild hibiscus flowers or bissap.
Namibia's Teutonic heritage has naturally put beer on a pedestal. In fact, the country abides by the Reinheitsgebot or Beer Purity Decree, a law enacted in Bavaria in 1516 to ensure beer quality. This gives us the excellent Windhoek Lager, Tafel Lager and Windhoek Draft, not forgetting the Camelthorn brewery, only created in 2009.
With its largely arid climate, it's quite surprising to discover that the country has a few - small - vineyards like Neuras Winery, east of the Namib-Naukluft National Park, known for its reds. In supermarkets and restaurants, however, you'll find much cheaper South African wines. Alternatively, try more traditional alcoholic beverages such as oshikundu (a light, fermented millet-based drink usually drunk the same day) or mataku (a kind of wild watermelon wine). Amarula, a creamy, sweet liqueur made from marula fruit, comes from South Africa and is very popular in Namibia.
