ZAMBIAN FOOD
I've been asked a few times about the food in Zambia, so here is the basic menu:
The Africans always eat (nshima) a very thick corn meal that they form into a ball and flatten in their fingers to scoop up the other food (they eat with their hands rather than utensils). They often eat a vegetable called rape (it's a large leaf that grows pretty tall on a thick stem). They slice the rape into very thin slices and cook it. They cut most things quite small to conserve the wood or charcoal for cooking. Some of them have chickens for eggs and they usually only kill and eat animals that have grown old, so the meat can be very tough. The also like fish (usually bream) and a root that they eat both raw and cooked called casaba. The fish here in the market doesn't look too appetizing. They were setting out on a table in the sun with flies all over them.
Even the convent dogs and cat eat nshima mixed with a little beef and beef juice for their meal everyday. For a treat they get a cow leg.
I've been living with sisters from both Ireland and India. When with the Irish we always have potatoes and a little fish (frozen from Lusaka) or meat (which is a far cry from SD meat)! For vegetables we often eat rape, cabbage, tomato or (dried) peas. A young African man (Clement) does most of the cooking for us in Kaoma and the Irish sisters have taught him how to cook Irish meals.
The Indian sisters almost always have rice instead of potatoes and sometimes cook native Indian food. There isn't a lot of food variety here...there are mostly small markets on the street. However, I have found Coke...not Diet Coke...but at least Coke! They are very concerned that you bring the coke bottles back to the store when empty, because of the return deposit. I had to promise I would bring the bottles back and the little business owner trusted me to take them...ha!
The big meal of the day is served about 1pm and a small meal is eaten between 6-7pm...usually bread / scones, cheese, fruit, etc. I eat Cornflakes or Rice Crispies a lot for supper.
There are a number of fruit trees in the back yard--grapefruit, orange, lemon, papaya, guava & strawberries. Villagers also grow apples, mangos and avacados, so when the plants are bearing fruit it is a treat! We have moved into the very dry season, so there isn't much growing right now. I'm told that after the rainy season (which begins late November) Zambia looks like a whole different country...right now everything is dried, brown, sandy & hot.
The Africans always eat (nshima) a very thick corn meal that they form into a ball and flatten in their fingers to scoop up the other food (they eat with their hands rather than utensils). They often eat a vegetable called rape (it's a large leaf that grows pretty tall on a thick stem). They slice the rape into very thin slices and cook it. They cut most things quite small to conserve the wood or charcoal for cooking. Some of them have chickens for eggs and they usually only kill and eat animals that have grown old, so the meat can be very tough. The also like fish (usually bream) and a root that they eat both raw and cooked called casaba. The fish here in the market doesn't look too appetizing. They were setting out on a table in the sun with flies all over them.
Even the convent dogs and cat eat nshima mixed with a little beef and beef juice for their meal everyday. For a treat they get a cow leg.
I've been living with sisters from both Ireland and India. When with the Irish we always have potatoes and a little fish (frozen from Lusaka) or meat (which is a far cry from SD meat)! For vegetables we often eat rape, cabbage, tomato or (dried) peas. A young African man (Clement) does most of the cooking for us in Kaoma and the Irish sisters have taught him how to cook Irish meals.
The Indian sisters almost always have rice instead of potatoes and sometimes cook native Indian food. There isn't a lot of food variety here...there are mostly small markets on the street. However, I have found Coke...not Diet Coke...but at least Coke! They are very concerned that you bring the coke bottles back to the store when empty, because of the return deposit. I had to promise I would bring the bottles back and the little business owner trusted me to take them...ha!
The big meal of the day is served about 1pm and a small meal is eaten between 6-7pm...usually bread / scones, cheese, fruit, etc. I eat Cornflakes or Rice Crispies a lot for supper.
There are a number of fruit trees in the back yard--grapefruit, orange, lemon, papaya, guava & strawberries. Villagers also grow apples, mangos and avacados, so when the plants are bearing fruit it is a treat! We have moved into the very dry season, so there isn't much growing right now. I'm told that after the rainy season (which begins late November) Zambia looks like a whole different country...right now everything is dried, brown, sandy & hot.
posted by Sister Deb Nelson at
9:27 PM
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