Culture of Zimbabwe - Food

Food

Like in many African countries, a majority of Zimbabweans depend on staple foods. "Mealie meal", or cornmeal as it is known in other parts of the world, is used to prepare bota, a porridge made by mixing cornmeal with water, to make a thick paste. This is usually flavored with peanut butter, milk, butter, or jam. Bota is usually eaten for breakfast. Cornmeal is also used to make sadza, which is usually eaten for dinner, and by many for lunch too. The process of making sadza is similar to bota, however after the paste has been cooking for several minutes, more cornmeal is added to thicken the paste until it is hard. This meal is usually served with vegetables (spinach, chomolia, spring greens/collard greens), beans, and meat that is either stewed, grilled, roasted, or sundried. Sadza is also commonly eaten with boerewors or curdled milk (sour milk), commonly known as lacto (mukaka wakakora). On special occasions, rice and chicken with coleslaw salad is often served as the main meal. Graduations, weddings, and any other family gatherings will usually be celebrated with the killing of a goat or cow, which will be braaied (or barbecued) for the gathered family.

Since Zimbabwe was a British colony, they have adopted some English habits. For example, most people will have porridge in the morning, however they will still have 10 o'clock tea (midday tea). They will have lunch, which can be left-overs from the night before, freshly cooked sadza or sandwiches (which is more common in the cities). After lunch, there is usually 4 o'clock tea that is served before dinner. It is not uncommon for tea to be had after dinner.