Zambia

Bone-in goat pieces slow-braised in a reduced tomato-and-onion sauce seasoned with aromatic spices until the connective tissue breaks down and the meat is fall-tender.

A whole tilapia or bream seasoned with salt and spices and grilled over charcoal until the skin crisps and the flesh flakes.

A commercially produced opaque, thick, mildly alcoholic beer of fermented sorghum and maize, sold in waxed cartons and shaken before drinking.

A Zambian everyday relish of young pumpkin leaves braised in a base of tomato and onion, finished with groundnut paste or crushed groundnuts to create a thick, nutty, savory accompaniment to nshima.

A traditional Zambian non-alcoholic fermented drink made from maize and millet meal, lightly soured into a thin, refreshing porridge-like beverage.

A firm, cold-served loaf made from dried and ground wild terrestrial orchid tubers set with groundnuts, baking soda, chili, and water — a wholly plant-based Zambian staple with no close analogue in world cuisine.

A Zambian relish of fresh or dried leafy greens — most canonically pumpkin leaves — simmered in a thick groundnut paste until the sauce is dense, nutty, and clings to the wilted greens.

A Zambian relish of leafy greens—most traditionally pumpkin leaves (chibwabwa)—simmered in a sauce of ground roasted peanuts until the greens are tender and the sauce is thick and nutty, always served alongside nshima.

Seasonal alates (winged reproductive termites) caught after the first rains and pan-fried in their own fat with salt, eaten as a crunchy protein-rich snack or relish.

A relish of tiny sun-dried freshwater sardines (Limnothrissa miodon or Stolothrissa tanganicae) harvested from Lakes Tanganyika or Kariba, either pan-fried until crispy or slow-stewed in a tomato-and-onion base, and served alongside nshima or sadza as the protein component of a meal.

Munkoyo is a Zambian lightly fermented, non-alcoholic beverage made from a maize-meal base set fermenting with the grated root of the munkoyo plant.

A Zambian celebration dish of free-range village chicken jointed and deep- or pan-fried until golden, served with nshima.

A stiff, smooth white maize porridge cooked to a dense, moldable consistency, formed into hand-rolled balls at the table and eaten together with savory relishes.

Mopane caterpillars — the larvae of the emperor moth — degutted, dried and roasted with salt, eaten as a protein-rich snack or relish.

A Southern African staple of dried, crushed (stamped) maize kernels slow-cooked together with sugar beans until soft, creamy and porridge-like, known in isiXhosa as umngqusho.

A thin, sour Zambian morning porridge-soup made from fermented cassava, drunk or sipped as a light first meal of the day.

Zambian deep-fried fritters made from a lightly fermented or mashed maize, rice or wheat batter, sold hot as a street snack.