Local Dishes

1. Sadza

   Sadza (stiff maize-meal porridge)

   Usage

   Zimbabwe's staple. You break off a lump by hand, dent it with your fingers and dip it in usavi (relish). It is made from maize (chibage) meal or finger-millet (zviyo) meal, the latter called sadza rezviyo

   Grammar Note

   A class 5 noun taking ri- agreement (example: "Sadza rinogona kubikwa nehupfu hwezviyo"). The associative is likewise re-, as in sadza rezviyo

2. Bota

   Bota (thin breakfast porridge)

   Usage

   The morning porridge, the same meal as sadza but thinned with water. Made from maize (chibage), wheat (gorosi) and finger millet (zviyo) meal, and the version cooked with milk instead of water is called mudzamba

   Grammar Note

   A class 5 noun; the associative is re-, as in the example "Ndinoda bota remangwanani" (I want morning porridge)

3. Usavi

   Usavi (the relish served with sadza)

   Usage

   Anything eaten with sadza — meat or greens alike — is usavi. It is the word you answer with when asked what to have with your sadza: usavi hwenyama (meat) or usavi hwemuriwo (greens). Other variants are usayi and chisevo

   Grammar Note

   A class 14 (u-) noun taking hu- agreement, as in the example "Ndinoda usavi hwenyama". Being a mass noun it has no plural

4. Muboora

   Muboora (cooked pumpkin leaves)

   Usage

   The young leaves of the pumpkin plant (nhanga), cooked as greens — one of the commonest relishes. Soda is added to soften them and they are often flavoured with dovi (peanut butter)

   Grammar Note

   A class 3 mu- noun taking u- agreement, as in the example "Muboora unonaka kana wakabikwa nemafuta enzungu"

5. Mufushwa

   Mufushwa (dried greens, rehydrated and cooked)

   Usage

   Greens that were boiled, sun-dried for keeping, then cooked again later. Many make it not only to preserve but because they like its faint bitterness; it can be cooked with groundnut oil

   Grammar Note

   A class 3 mu- noun taking u- agreement, as in the example "Mufushwa unonaka kana wabikwa nemafuta egroundnut"

6. Derere

   Derere (okra relish)

   Usage

   A mucilaginous okra relish. It is cooked with soda to cut the sliminess. The word also covers slippery greens generally, in which case the kind is named, e.g. derere rejute

   Grammar Note

   A class 5 noun taking ri- agreement, as in the example "Ndinoda derere rakabikwa nesvoda"

7. Nhopi

   Nhopi (mashed pumpkin with peanut butter)

   Usage

   Pumpkin boiled until it collapses, mashed and mixed with dovi (peanut butter) and munyu (salt). Preparation: peel, cut into about 3 cm pieces, boil until soft, drain and mash

   Grammar Note

   A class 9 noun taking i- agreement, as in the example "Nhopi inonaka zvikuru". The nh- is a single prenasalised segment, so the word divides nho-pi

8. Dovi

   Dovi (peanut butter)

   Usage

   A thick paste of roasted groundnuts (nzungu). Besides being spread on bread it flavours greens, meat, bota and rice, so menus often show a dish "nedovi" (with peanut butter)

   Grammar Note

   A class 5 noun taking ri- agreement (example: "Dovi rinoshandiswa zvakawanda"). With the comitative ne- it becomes nedovi

9. Mutakura

   Mutakura (maize boiled with legumes)

   Usage

   Whole maize kernels (chibage) boiled together with cowpeas (nyemba) or bambara nuts (nyimo). It is maize cooked together with cowpeas or beans. It is also served as a snack

   Grammar Note

   A class 3 mu- noun taking u- agreement, as in the example "Taita mutakura wakanaka nhasi"

10. Rupiza

    Rupiza (mashed bean relish)

    Usage

    Cowpeas roasted, ground and cooked down until they are as soft as porridge. It consists of beans boiled and mashed like nhopi

    Grammar Note

    A class 11 ru- noun, with ru- agreement as well, as in the example "Takaona rupiza ruchibikwa pamoto"

11. Kariri

    Kariri (thick mashed-potato relish)

    Usage

    Boiled potatoes mashed to a thick, porridge-like relish. A kind of usavi, eaten with leafy greens

    Grammar Note

    A ka- noun. Example: “Takanakidzwa nekudya kariri nemuriwo wemashizha”.

12. Chimukuyu

    Chimukuyu (dried salted meat, biltong)

    Usage

    Meat rubbed with salt and spices and dried. It is made from beef (mombe), wildebeest (ngongoni) or goat (mbudzi), and can be eaten as is or cooked, notably with dovi

    Grammar Note

    A class 7 chi- noun taking chi- agreement, as in the example "Chimukuyu chinonaka kana chakabikwa nemuriwo". The plural takes the zvi- class

13. Mazondo

    Mazondo (cooked cow or goat trotters)

    Usage

    The part of the leg below the knee, taken from cattle (mombe), goats (mbudzi), kudu (nhoro) or sheep (hwai). The hair is scraped off before roasting; it is a favourite at a braai

    Grammar Note

    A class 6 ma- plural; the singular is zondo. Agreement is a-, as in "Mazondo anofarirwa"

14. Matumbu

    Matumbu (cooked intestines, tripe)

    Usage

    Literally "intestines", and also the name of the dish. Cow matumbu is delicious mixed with tripe (guru) and vegetables. Note that the word names the offal itself, so check which animal it is from before ordering

    Grammar Note

    A class 6 ma- form, always used in the plural, taking a- agreement (example: "Matumbu anoitawo basa rokuseredza chikafu")

15. Madora

    Madora (mopane worms)

    Usage

    The caterpillars found on the mopane tree (mupani), widely eaten in Zimbabwe. They are harvested most in Matebeleland, squeezed out, sun-dried, then fried in oil until fragrant

    Grammar Note

    A class 6 ma- plural; the singular is dora (example: "Dora rakabvukucha"), and agreement is a- ("Madora anokohwewa"). Other variants are masodya and mashonja

16. Ishwa

    Ishwa (edible flying termites)

    Usage

    The termites that pour out of the anthills (churu) after rain — a seasonal delicacy. Example: "Ishwa inonaka kana yakakangwa" (they taste good fried), and the soldier termites bite while you gather them

    Grammar Note

    A class 9 noun, identical in singular and plural, taking i-/ya- agreement, as in the example "Ishwa inonaka kana yakakangwa"

17. Mabumbe

    Mabumbe (pounded roasted pumpkin seeds)

    Usage

    Pumpkin seeds dried, roasted, pounded and pressed together. A kind of usavi made from manhanga (pumpkin).

    Grammar Note

    Used as a class 6 ma- plural. Example: “vogadzira mabumbe”.

18. Nyemba

    Nyemba (cowpeas)

    Usage

    The commonest bean in Zimbabwe: put into mutakura, or ground and cooked into rupiza. It grows where rainfall is low and can be intercropped with maize, finger millet, cotton, sugarcane or sorghum; the young leaves are also eaten as greens

    Grammar Note

    A class 9/10 noun; the plural agreement is dzi-, as in the example "Nyemba dzinobikwa mutakura". The plant itself is munyemba, class 3. The ny- and mb- are single prenasalised segments, so the word divides nye-mba

19. Mbambaira

    Mbambaira (sweet potato)

    Usage

    Boiled, or roasted in the embers. Served with tea as a breakfast or snack staple; some eat it with the skin on; other variants are mabura and madima

    Grammar Note

    A class 9 noun taking i- agreement, as in the example "Mbambaira inonaka kana yakabikwa nemafuta". The initial mb- is a single prenasalised segment, dividing mba-mba-i-ra

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