Sadza and Peanut Soup

Kwaziwai. Makadii Zvenyu? Do not be alarmed I have been told this means greetings, how are you in Shona from the people of Zimbabwe. I met an Uber driver in San francisco a few weeks ago that was educating me on the Zimbabwean culture and I definitely became more interested in the culture after my encounter with him. Of course the conversation led to food and he told me about Zimbabwean food and of course Sadza came up. I immediately started asking for recipes and looking things up and I saw Sadza was similar to Ugali in Kenya. For my Nigerian followers, this is a type of swallow made with corn-meal. How diverse we are and similar at the same time. I asked him for his favourite dish and he said it definitely had to be Sadza and Peanut soup with some Kale on the side. He said traditionally pumpkin leaves are used but in America, it is quite difficult to find. He definitely recommended Sadza and Peanut soup for people that are newbies to the Zimbabwean cuisine. For my Nigerian friends wanting to try this, pumpkin leaves are Ugwu leaves. Hope you enjoy this simple dish.

Recipe for Sadza and Peanut Soup

Ingredients (Serves 1-2 people)

Peanut Soup

1/2 cup of chopped beef

2 tablespoons of peanut butter (You can blend groundnuts yourself)

1 tomato

1/2 bulb of onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon of Vegetable Oil

Seasoning cubes (Traditionally, just salt would be used but the Nigerian in me added this)

Vegetables

A small bunch of Kale or Pumpkin leaves

Handful of chopped onions

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Seasoning cubes

Sadza

1.5 cups of water

1 cup of Corn Meal

Method

In a small pot, heat up one cooking spoon of oil and fry the beef till brown. Season as appropriate, reduce the heat and pour in some water and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes while checking to see if the beef is cooked occasionally.

Chop your tomatoes, onions and garlic and add to the pot. Stir in and allow to cook.

Stir in your peanut butter and reduce the heat. Pour some water to allow the soup loosen up a bit and cook on low heat. Check for seasoning and correct as needed. Allow to cook on low heat for about 15 more minutes. Add water as needed to continually loosen soup.

For the vegetables, Chop the vegetables and set aside. Heat up the tablespoon of oil, stir in the handful of chopped onions and vegetables. Season and stir for another 1 minute and take off the heat.

For the Sadza, Bring to boil the 1.5 cups of water, stir in the corn meal and continually stir till a dough is formed. Reduce the heat and cook for 5-7 minutes continually stirring. Add water as needed to ensure it cooks properly. 

Serve your sadza with the peanut soup and vegetables