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Cooking
recipe for Nshima
A
healthy way to cook an African dish
By Imfwama Wotela
We
have been discussing how to cook a healthy version of
Nshima, a popular dish in Africa. In the first
part, we discussed a little background
of Nshima. In this part we will discuss how to
cook it for two people.
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For most African dishes you do not need a scale to weigh the ingredients as they are in the head or you use hands and you just know that the quantities are correct. Sometimes the number of people will determine the quantity of the meal to be prepared. Ingredients and preparation
- ½ kg mealie meal
- Water 1 liter
- In terms of utensils, you will need a kettle, enamel cooking pot with handle, flat wooden spoon, and a cup for measuring.
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Instructions 
- Boil water in the kettle.
- Put half a cup of mealie meal in a pot and add three quarters of a cup of cold water and mix into a smooth paste.
- Then pour in two cups of hot water and bring to boil on the stove at moderate heat and keep stirring. One need to be careful as the porridge can burn you, so keep it covered as soon as it starts boiling. If it is too thick, add more water, if it is too light, then add more cold paste. Take care to avoid having lumps in it. Cover and let it boil for 10 minutes.
- If you are an amateur, reduce the heat to low and get the half cup and pour a bit in the pot while its on the stove and start stirring in circular movements and while holding the handle firmly. You need a lot of energy so that it won’t have lumps as the ‘Nshima’ needs to be smooth. Keep adding the powder bit by bit and increase the heat as you stir until it comes to a desired thickness. Some prefer it hard and others soft. Then cover it and let it steam for another 5 minutes. When it is ready, it smells like roasted maize and looks like a think cake.
To serve it, you need cold water put in a small dish. Get a spoon, wade it through the cold water and then scoop it out and place in the dish which also needs to be rinsed in cold water so that the
Nshima will not stick to the dish or spoon. Make sure they are nice smooth lumps.
Nshima is best served hot.
NOTE: It is important that you learn how to prepare
Nshima whether using white, yellow, roller or cassava meal. There is a slight difference in preparing each type of meal. Nshima may be served with various dishes like beef, chicken, fish and vegetables.
Related links: More
healthy recipes Healthy Sandwich
Pumpkin leaves recipe |
