Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland, Lesotho)**
The cooking of southern Africa reflects its complicated and evolving history. Aside from the original inhabitants of the region, the following groups affected the cooking of this region: Arabs, East Asians like the Malays, Dutch, Indians, Portuguese, British, Germans, and French. A true stew pot!
Like other culinary areas in Africa, the indigenous people of the area cook with grains like corn, millet, and sorghum; meat (including bushmeat and biltong, or dried meat like jerky); poultry; mopane worms; fish and other seafood, including dried and smoked; peppers; green leaves; pumpkin; peanuts; and beans. The Xhosas and the Zulus include the African flavor basics in their cooking: tomatoes, onions, and hot red peppers, as well some of the curry spices like cumin and ginger, introduced by Indians. As in North Africa, sugar also crops up in southern African cooking, while it does not figure in the West African or Central African flavor palette.
The cooking of other groups adds to the melting pot of southern Africa. One of the most distinctive cuisines is called Cape Malay cooking, which originated in the food of the Malay slaves brought to South Africa by the Dutch in the mid-1800s. Many Asian spicing patterns appear in this culinary practice. Coconuts, tamarind and vinegar, and curry spices, as well as dried fruit, enter into these recipes.
Grocery stores in southern Africa sell fermented milk, called amasi, traditionally made in calabashes by Zulus, but now made commercially as well. (Note: Amasi resembles yogurt.)
**For the next few weeks, I am going to be on a “working vacation,” so my posts will be somewhat more abbreviated. I will still provide you with something substantial to chew on, though!
© 2009 C. Bertelsen
CYNTHIA D. BERTELSEN 