Traditional delecacies

There are a lot of foods that I remember eating as a child, that I don't see anymore. If lucky, I will get to eat it when I visit my grandmother's house otherwise it just seems like some traditional meals have just vanished into thin air. There are a few dishes that I remember tasted like heaven and I would like to share the basics of these dishes with you.

This is not a cooking post, so no step by step on how these are made. Just the basics of what they are.

1. Tshopi: It's like pap, only it is made from pumpkin. You then add a bit of mealie mealie to thicken it and add a bit of sugar to thicken it. It is can be enjoyed on it's own or you can add veges. We usually had it on it's own but one day I went home and I saw that my aunt had dished it with some salads and meat.



Tindluwa.
Pic: www.dreamstime.com

2. Tindluwa: AKA Bambara beans. I used to love these. My granny would just boil these and voilah! we had a snack. They were usually served during tale telling times at night by the fire when my aunts would take turns telling us African fairy tales.
3. Mikhusa: Dried wild spinach or even pumpkin leaves that have been boiled first and then left in the sun to dry. and then when stored. I imagine this tradition originally started due to the fact that there were no other form of preserving foods in the olden days except for first boiling and then letting said foods dry to make storing them and longevity easier.



Unwrapped ximbhundzhu

4. Ximbhundzhu: This is almost the same as idombolo. only it is made out of mealie meal and it is wrapped in a corn husk and boiled.
5. Matomani: Fortunately this snack is becoming more and more available all over the country. It is widely known as Masonja or Mopani worms. It tastes like chicken kiiiiii

These are just some of my once favorite traditional foods, that I miss and have become more and more scarce as the modern life takes over. What are yours?

by Queen Troll